Air Con Recharge

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Thu 27 Jul 2006 14:31
Air Con Recharge - Botchit, Soddem & Leggit
Just had my car air con serviced by one of these mobile fellas. I watched the guy at work and he performed the following...
- system discharge
- vacuum test for leaks
- system recharge
- checked the supply of cold air in the vehicle

I have a question. As he extracted the gas from the system, this was transferred to the gas cylinder he brought with him. This would be fine, but this was the same cylinder that he subsequently used for recharging. To what extent does the gas get contaminated as it "in use" in the vehicle? Would I not now have a cocktail of crap from all the other cars he has worked on?

Regardless of this, the cabin is now much cooler than before so I am quite happy!!

Almost a license to print money selling me back my old gas like that - makes me think of the chocolate biscuit factoty from Bagpuss!!!



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Thu 27 Jul 2006 15:31
Air Con Recharge - mjm
It is illegal to vent the gas to air so the engineer was correct to recover it. I don't know what recovery unit he used but most of the ones used for this application contain filters/driers etc to scrub the refrigerant clean. Most car air con units use R134A refrigerant, so there will be no cross contamination. Yes, he has sold you your own gas back, but he has cleaned it for you! You probably have more in the system now, if so he has sold you back more than he borrowed!

From my knowledge of car air con (which isn't to any degree of detail) there isn't much in there to contaminate the gas unless a pipe has split and been left unrepaired and open to atmosphere. Domestic systems with an electric compressor can under certain conditions leak gas out and suck in air/moisture. This can react inside the system to cause the insulation on the motor windings to break down. The remaining refrigerant is then contaminated and should not be used.
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Thu 27 Jul 2006 16:27
Air Con Recharge - Falkirk Bairn
How much?

I had it done to 1 car last yr - £50+VAT

The same chap wanted £65 yesterday
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Thu 27 Jul 2006 16:49
Air Con Recharge - Roger Jones
I've been paying £75 +VAT for several years from two different mobile services, so £65 looks low to me.
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Thu 27 Jul 2006 17:47
Air Con Recharge - Craig_1969
Local ford rapid fit in Thrapston, Northants £60. Bargain in this weather.
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Fri 28 Jul 2006 12:39
Air Con Recharge - Botchit, Soddem & Leggit
I paid £54 pounds for this, but this did include a 10% discount since he came to work and did five of us at the same time.

www.coolcaraircon.co.uk
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