Using car air con, good for the car, or money down the drain?

neilmcl

reddwarf2002 wrote: »

I find that I am better off leaving the A/C turned off as it causes a lot of condensation due to mainly short trips. As the car doesn't get enough time to warm up properly the A/C collects a lot of moisture which is released into the cabin once it is switched off.

Isn't that the perfect reason for keeping it switched on!

motorguy

neilmcl wrote: »

Isn't that the perfect reason for keeping it switched on!

+1

Theres no way air con releases condensation / water back into the cabin after a short run. It disposes of it out and on to the road.

agrinnall

neilmcl wrote: »

You may find the system will last less due to intermittent use than when it's being used as it should be.

You might be right, and time will tell, but my experience to date is that it suffered after being on all the time - I suspect that may have been the exception, but I have nothing else to go on (both cars are Fiestas, 2012 and 2015). And who is to say what is "being used as it should be"?

EssexExile

I keep my cars about 10 years, I leave the A/C (or climate control, whichever it has) on all the time, I've never had any problems with it. The only time I touch it is to turn it back on again after its been in for a service.

Iceweasel

reddwarf2002 wrote: »

I find that I am better off leaving the A/C turned off as it causes a lot of condensation due to mainly short trips. As the car doesn't get enough time to warm up properly the A/C collects a lot of moisture which is released into the cabin once it is switched off.

That is a total misinterpretation of what is happening.

The AC cannot produce any condensation - quite the opposite.

AC does not release moisture into the car - quite the opposite - it removes it and it drains out the condensate pipe to the underside of the car.

You have the whole thing completely wrong.

NBLondon

foxy-stoat wrote: »

You can drive way more economically if your smoother, no hard acceleration and no hard braking, than you could ever hope to achieve by keeping the A/C off.

Not disputing that old mustelid :-) just the 520:1 ratio ...

chrisw

My wife's car has climate control. The first thing she does in the morning is turn the temperature up to 26 degrees and then down to about 22 as it warms up. :wall:

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Iceweasel

chrisw wrote: »

My wife's car has climate control. The first thing she does in the morning is turn the temperature up to 26 degrees and then down to about 22 as it warms up. :wall:

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That is totally pointless - if she were to leave it at 22 it will reach 22 in exactly the same time.

But don't argue with her - wifes have to be agreed with not have errors pointed out.

reddwarf2002

Iceweasel wrote: »

That is a total misinterpretation of what is happening.

The AC cannot produce any condensation - quite the opposite.

AC does not release moisture into the car - quite the opposite - it removes it and it drains out the condensate pipe to the underside of the car.

You have the whole thing completely wrong.

I understand how A/C works - i.e. it removes moisture from air. The problem is definitely there, I'm not just imagining it. It's likely an issue with Mk5 Golf design, but it certainly does bring the condensate back into the cabin (if A/C is not turned off a few minutes before and fan left running to dry the pipework). With my short trips, mostly, this is not possible. I've seen it mentioned by other VW Golf owners so I'm not alone in this.

Also, short trips exacerbates the problem by not allowing the car to warm up and therefore taking longer to dry.

Iceweasel

reddwarf2002 wrote: »

I understand how A/C works - i.e. it removes moisture from air. The problem is definitely there, I'm not just imagining it. It's likely an issue with Mk5 Golf design, but it certainly does bring the condensate back into the cabin (if A/C is not turned off a few minutes before and fan left running to dry the pipework). With my short trips, mostly, this is not possible. I've seen it mentioned by other VW Golf owners so I'm not alone in this.

Also, short trips exacerbates the problem by not allowing the car to warm up and therefore taking longer to dry.

That's weird - as you say it might well be a Mk5 Golf thing.