Cheap refrigerant for car air con unit?

overworked_underpaid

Does anybody know where I can refresh or replace the refrigerant for the air con in my car at a relatively cheap price. I havent used it for a while and when I did try the other week, I found that it is not cooling at all. I believe it needs refrigerant and maybe a possible service. Anyone had this done recently? All advice will be greatly appreciated.

jockettuk

overworked_underpaid wrote:

Does anybody know where I can refresh or replace the refrigerant for the air con in my car at a relatively cheap price. I havent used it for a while and when I did try the other week, I found that it is not cooling at all. I believe it needs refrigerant and maybe a possible service. Anyone had this done recently? All advice will be greatly appreciated.

boyfriend had his done and also had a pollen filter replaced and got it done at a local garage..depends on how big the car is etc but cost him around £60 last lot lasted him 2 yrs and was being used everyday.

just ring up some local garages or even the dealers of the car you got and ask the price to get the air con refilled.. doesnt take long.. yes you could get it done when you get a service but if it doesnt need a service you can have it done separatly

Pink.

Hi overworked_underpaid,

Your thread would be better placed on the Motoring board, so I hope you don't mind if I move it over there for you.

Pink

Pink.

Have a look at this thread for an idea of costs: car air con problem

Pink

overworked_underpaid

I wasnt aware that there was a seperate board for motoring. Thanks for moving the thread.

I have called a few local independent garages and the best quote I have had is £10 for testing the pipes (they pass nitrogen through the unit to check for pipe leaks) and £50 for re-gassing the unit. It sounds quite reasonable, as I was expecting the quote to be over a £100.

Ted_Hutchinson

My five year old Peugeot has the same problem. You need to check with local garage what they charge for re-gassing first and find out what they charge if the air conditioning radiator is holed. My main agents were going to charge £79 to look at it and regass and then further money to fix leaks but the first £79 was fixed. Other garages were about the same price but I found one that charged £60 and Bullwinkles Baumber had a look at the radiator first by blowing compressed air in and it was obvious that the air was coming out as fast as it was being pumped in.
A new airconditioning radiator is £150 ish with gas/filter/fitting plus VAT £400. As the car is probably only worth £2000 and I may have to change it anyway I've decided not to replace the rad. Hope you have better luck. But at least Bullwinkles didn't charge me for telling me the bad news which would have happened at the Main Agents.

Ted_Hutchinson

overworked_underpaid wrote:

I wasnt aware that there was a seperate board for motoring. Thanks for moving the thread.

I have called a few local independent garages and the best quote I have had is £10 for testing the pipes (they pass nitrogen through the unit to check for pipe leaks) and £50 for re-gassing the unit. It sounds quite reasonable, as I was expecting the quote to be over a £100.

It does sound as reasonable as the garage I used. There's no harm in mentioning their name, (unless you are the garage owner, or getting a referral fee) so other local MSE users could benefit.

overworked_underpaid

I've only looked in the local Yellow Pages and found these two companies to be reasonable:
Dalecroft Services Ltd, Ilford - 020-8597 9010
£20 to check for leaks, £48 to add refrigerant

EKS Performance Cars, Ilford - 020 8554 3354
£10 to check for leaks, £50 to add refrigerant

Will need to take time off work later on this week and get this done. I think I will go to EKS. I will keep you updated on the outcome and quality of service.

Baz-Bee

What most people do not realise is that you need to use the aircon for at least 20 -30 mins (more is probably better) at least once a week, even in the winter. If you do not then many of the seals and moving parts in the system will not be lubricated, as the refridgerant also contains a lubricant.

I know that it can reduce your mpg slightly but my view is that I can afford a few pennies a week rather than a whacking great bill for replacing seals, the compressor, etc that will be damaged if not lubricated regularly.

Ted_Hutchinson

Baz-Bee wrote:

What most people do not realise is that you need to use the aircon for at least 20 -30 mins (more is probably better) at least once a week, even in the winter. If you do not then many of the seals and moving parts in the system will not be lubricated, as the refridgerant also contains a lubricant.

I know that it can reduce your mpg slightly but my view is that I can afford a few pennies a week rather than a whacking great bill for replacing seals, the compressor, etc that will be damaged if not lubricated regularly.

But that won't stop the radiator cracking at one of the mounting points and letting all the gas out. I found that running the air conditioning in the winter helped with the demisting so mine was never left unused. The default position for my airconditioning was on, so if I didn't want it I had to swich it off and so it often got left on through neglect.

Baz-Bee

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

But that won't stop the radiator cracking at one of the mounting points and letting all the gas out. I found that running the air conditioning in the winter helped with the demisting so mine was never left unused. The default position for my airconditioning was on, so if I didn't want it I had to swich it off and so it often got left on through neglect.

I realise that, there will always be faults that arise with anything. However, it was meant to be a small piece of advice/information as many people do not realise that by not using their aircon regularly (once a week minimum) they are potentially letting themselves in for expensive problems.

I have had 4 cars (Ford, Renault and Nissan) with aircon over the past 8 years, the latest having climate control. However, on none of these has the default been aircon/climate on. It has always had to be selected manually.