There seems to be a fair amount of interest in aircon at the moment possibly due to our traditional three days of warm weather before the Summer downpour, therefore I thought I would share a few of my experiences.
Due to the amount of older cars I work on I thought I would invest in the necessary aircon servicing kit rather than trusting the work to the many specialists that have turned up over night.
My initial projects involve the conversion of my R129 500SL to RS24 gas,the recharging of my W126 560SEL after being previously converted to r134, and the repairing of my C36 after a complete loss of pressure.
My most interesting findings so far are:
1. Although the systems require around 1 kg of gas they will actually run and provide limited cooling with as little as 100 grammes!
2. Even with fairly major leaks ( a holed condenser in the C36) you can still get the system running and cooling for a short while. This probably explains Kwik Fits' offer where they will guarantee to get your system running cooler but will send you elsewhere if you go back a few days later.
3. Until the system is leak free and fully recharged a number of problems will not show up. The 500SL still worked with the original R12 after 19 years but was not very cold. Refilled with RS24 and the whole system froze, due to the expansion valve being blocked. Worked with a part charge but not with a full charge. Changed the valve and recharged, now fine.
4. When a car is advertised as "needs the ac recharging" it is generally never that simple. It may work for a day or a week or two but usually it will require some fairly intensive work.
5. The gases used are actually very cheap, a 13.6kg tank of r134 is around £60 which is around £4 per average charge.
6. To service AC properly is potentially very time consuming and may require multiple recharges. With todays labour prices work could run well into 4 figures! The chances of a £50.00 recharge working are fairly remote, especially on older cars.
7. The idea that you lose 10% of the gas per year and require a recharge every 2 years seems to be nonsense in my opinion. 2 to 5% is nearer the mark and the nature of the system means that it should'nt need to be touched for many years. Who gets their fridge and freezer serviced every year?
Please bear in mind that I am no expert but these findings are based on actual experience on the cars listed. Happy to go into detail on any points that may be of interest.
Due to the amount of older cars I work on I thought I would invest in the necessary aircon servicing kit rather than trusting the work to the many specialists that have turned up over night.
My initial projects involve the conversion of my R129 500SL to RS24 gas,the recharging of my W126 560SEL after being previously converted to r134, and the repairing of my C36 after a complete loss of pressure.
My most interesting findings so far are:
1. Although the systems require around 1 kg of gas they will actually run and provide limited cooling with as little as 100 grammes!
2. Even with fairly major leaks ( a holed condenser in the C36) you can still get the system running and cooling for a short while. This probably explains Kwik Fits' offer where they will guarantee to get your system running cooler but will send you elsewhere if you go back a few days later.
3. Until the system is leak free and fully recharged a number of problems will not show up. The 500SL still worked with the original R12 after 19 years but was not very cold. Refilled with RS24 and the whole system froze, due to the expansion valve being blocked. Worked with a part charge but not with a full charge. Changed the valve and recharged, now fine.
4. When a car is advertised as "needs the ac recharging" it is generally never that simple. It may work for a day or a week or two but usually it will require some fairly intensive work.
5. The gases used are actually very cheap, a 13.6kg tank of r134 is around £60 which is around £4 per average charge.
6. To service AC properly is potentially very time consuming and may require multiple recharges. With todays labour prices work could run well into 4 figures! The chances of a £50.00 recharge working are fairly remote, especially on older cars.
7. The idea that you lose 10% of the gas per year and require a recharge every 2 years seems to be nonsense in my opinion. 2 to 5% is nearer the mark and the nature of the system means that it should'nt need to be touched for many years. Who gets their fridge and freezer serviced every year?
Please bear in mind that I am no expert but these findings are based on actual experience on the cars listed. Happy to go into detail on any points that may be of interest.
