I was in Halfords yesterday, after a bit for my pushbike. I had a mooch around the store and saw that Halfords are now selling various aircon products, including a cleaner (containing a biocide) for smelly aircon, and also a regassing kit. The regassing kit is £40, and consists of a large aerosol containing the refridgerant and lubricant, together with a connector. The connector contains a pressure gauge so that the user can tell when he has pumped enough refridgerant in.
They also sell leak testing kits etc.
As Mrs Lawman's Picasso has pretty much non-functioning aircon I bought one of these kits, and tried to use it last night. Locating the inlet nozzle was a doddle, as was connecting the connector. The gauge immediately showed that the pressure was low. I pumped in enough refridgerant to get the pressure up into the acceptable band.
However, no noticable results! Oh well, £40 down the swannee. Of course, they may be something other than low gas that is causing the aircon not to work.
Has anyone else tried one of these kits and dows anyone have any views?
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Forum search will reveal previous discussion, the gist of which is that they are a complete waste of time and money; ineffective and can actually contaminate your system and the equipment that any a/c tech subsequently connects to it. Sorry!
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>>> As Mrs Lawman's Picasso has pretty much non-functioning aircon I bought one of these kitsand tried to use it last night.
From what I gather, these kits are purely a top up. If the system is very low (or even empty) then one can will not refill the system - you would need several. Also, these cans won't tell you if you have a leak, unlike a qualified AC technician. These cans *claim* to seal leaks, but all it is doing is expanding the rubber seals to create a temporary repair.
Here's one such post on the subject of these kits.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=29208
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IIRC, you have to run the system, then do the check & pump up thing again and repeat etc.. They are (as stated on the can, usually) a top up and as someone else has pointed out you would probably have to put 2 in to fill an empty system, which would cost you another £40. You probably could have got it re-gassed by a mobile refrigeration engineer for about the same £80.
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Halfords should be banned from selling these kits. They are inaccurate, expensive and unsafe for untrained persons to use. The powers that be wouldn't take on a big company like Halfords though would they??
Even if your system is short of refrigerant and you 'add a can or two' you have no way of knowing how much was left in the system before hand.
System charge is often critical and based on 'weight' so you need accurate scales to carry out the job correctly. For another £20 - £30 the job could have been carried out by a professional.
I have been in the trade for over 15 years and have held a refrigerant handling certificate for the past 5 years. Does Joe Public understand the dangers and safety issues of handling refrigerants?
It's a shame you have wasted £40 on this kit cause you assumed it would sort the problem. I hope you get it sorted soon.
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wrightstuff,
I think the "F" gas regulations will hopefully finish off these kits. The perils of using them have been covered on this site several times.
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including a cleaner (containing a biocide) for smelly aircon,>>I
I, along with many other forum members, have regularly pointed out that a can of Neutradol, Oust, the Dettol equivalent or Morrison's Odour Neutraliser will do exactly what is required for an outlay of a £1 or less.
Just having the A/C running in recirculating mode after spraying the car's interior and keep the doors closed for about five minutes.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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If the aircon hasn't had gas in it for a while then the seals may be hardened. Also can the hoses handle the pressure after all this time? It might be better to replace the hoses first then get it regassed. You wouldn't want to put the gas in and then have a hose blow.
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I had mine regassed for £50.
It didn't help... the system had a leak in it which was going to cost £250 to replace the part. Oh well.
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I had mine regassed for £50. It didn't help... the system had a leak in it which was going to cost £250 to replace the part. Oh well.
This week i had mine done for £55 which also includes a dye which is placed inside the system to highlight any leakages if there was to be a fault.
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Halfords should not be selling these kits! one day ones going to blow up in someones face! refrigerant is dangerous & has to be handled with care, best you advise that whoever touches your air con next that you have used a halfords top up, he may not touch it umles he has a gas analyzer & can check for contamination. I have been in the trade for over 30 years & held refrigirant certs for 15 years & i would recommend you leave to an expert.
You would be well recommended to read all the previous articles. I would also recommend you now go & get the system recovered & vacumed promptly. I have reported before the dangers of mixing gas with air if the system had dropped to atmospheric pressure. you can create a potential bomb & on the rare occassion an AC system has exploded destroying a car & its system.
One of the most serious dangers is the risk of having the valve stick when removing the pipe connector & having liquid gas spray out causing serious burns unles you have neoprene protection on your hands & eye protection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Can someone post any links to car A/C trade organisations?
I need an A/C service. Esher Surrey / Kingston areas. Thanks
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