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[Taxi_Driver]

Last time i had my aircon recharged, i used a mobile guy...who

firstly...filled the system with nitrogen and put a pressure gauge on it, to check for leaks...

secondly...vac'd the system out

thirdly.....refilled with refrigerant with added dye

fourthly....had pressure gauges on both valves (low and high pressure side) to balance the system

So, unless you've got all this kit and know what your doing, its a professional job, imo

[omega3000]

I read a few feedback from people that that have used these recharge bottles and they have had very good results  Anyone used them for Omega's 

if you need you air con services you can visit my place
I do offer for oof members £30 

Thanks for that Serek , will give you a ring next week 

[TheBoy]

I just topped the aircon up with one of those bottles from Halfords. I already have the connector with the gauge though so it cost me £34.

My aircon is now fine. But I was able to check mine first with the connector I have and I could see that there was gas, just not enough.

Thanks

But how much. You can't tell. That's one reason why these refills are a waste of time.

If the refrigerant has leaked out over time, something else will have replaced it, and this needs to be removed before refilling with refrig. That's another reason why these refills are a waste of time.

TBH, the money spent on these is better spent on getting specialists to do it - unless you have the correct equipment, which isn't the refill adapters that Halfords sell.

I can tell as the connector I have, which I never said I got from Halfords, has a pressure gauge. This told me that the system had gas in it and it was just below the required amount to make the system run.

If it had told me anything else then I would have either done nothing and lived without aircon or taken it to a specialist which I don't have time for.

Guess what, I put some gas in, not the whole bottle by any means, and now I have ice cold air conditioning.

Here was me thinking this was a friendly site....

Hopefully snowy is still lurking...

If you have decent pressure gauges connected to both HP and LP sides, you can do a DIY, *BUT* not just by topping it up, as you cannot tell how much is in there - so you have to start again, from scratch.

Vac it all out, this needs a decent pump. The longer you can vac it for, the more you can boil off. An hour or more is better, though most automated machines are 15-20 mins. To comply with UK regulations, the contents must be captured and disposed of properly.

Close the valves, disconnect vac pump, and leave it for as long as possible to see if any increase in pressure, indicating a leak. Most leaks cannot be detected in a few mins, so again leave as long as possible. Hours is ideal, though most automated machines is 10-15m, which is why Shitfit will regas, say no leaks, but its stopped working within a week.

Then put in the correct amount of PAG46 and R134a, which from memory is 150ml and  950g respectively, but check first. The R134a **HAS** to be put in by weight. Not pressure. Hence, scales. Hence you can't just "top up" a partially full system.



As you can see, specialist equipment is needed, even if not specifically for A/C. And topping up is not an option.

The ramifications for getting it wrong range from working sub standardly to severe burns or exploding compressors.

[biggriffin]

I read a few feedback from people that that have used these recharge bottles and they have had very good results  Anyone used them for Omega's 

if you need you air con services you can visit my place
I do offer for oof members £30 

Form an orderly que please     another splendid deal for OOFers.

[ted_one]

ALL...advice given on here is based soundly on years of Omega ownership/experience and in many many cases finding ways around the problem with a certain degree of ingenuity that your local VX dealer will NOT even if in possession of that information reduce your mortgage size repair bills....So pin your lugholes back and listen to the vast amount of good advice that is given FREELY!! without charge..OR...go your own sweet way and F**k your car up!!!! 

[omega3000]

I read a few feedback from people that that have used these recharge bottles and they have had very good results  Anyone used them for Omega's 

if you need you air con services you can visit my place
I do offer for oof members £30 

Form an orderly que please     another splendid deal for OOFers.

Will be going round sometime next week , spect it will be bloody freezing outside by then 

[johnny_boy]

You can ezchill a car.
But only if you already have cold air coming out and it really is a top up.

Omega holds nearly a kilo of gas, twice as much as most modern cars. And you would need two ezchill bottles to fill a really low system. So no point to it in that situation.

No cold air, then replace valves, put dye in, get it vacuumed and filled by kwikfit.

Btw, the only way to get the system optimal is a vac followed by a weighed refill.
You can use gauges and temperature charts, but reality is its easier to weigh it, preferably with an automatic charge machine.
Ezchil can boost a system that needs a squirt, but the low gauge is a bit of a guess. Use the temp gauge On the ezchill gauge, very important to avoid overfills!
Also ezchill is not really useful for diagnosis, as it does not read the high pressure side.

[05omegav6]

You can ezchill a car...

You're correct, you can. But there are several very good reasons why doing so is retarded.

Not least because...

1. A bottle of the stuff costs about the same as having the system filled correctly.
2. Unless you're Gandalf or God, you will have absolutely no idea how much the system needs to top it up.
3. Putting the wrong amount in can cause as much damage as leaving the system empty.
4. Adding refrigerant to a leaky system is illegal.
5. Such topping up does nothing to address or test for any leaks.

[Kevin Wood]

You can ezchill a car...

You're correct, you can. But there are several very good reasons why doing so is retarded.

Not least because...

1. A bottle of the stuff costs about the same as having the system filled correctly.
2. Unless you're Gandalf or God, you will have absolutely no idea how much the system needs to top it up.
3. Putting the wrong amount in can cause as much damage as leaving the system empty.
4. Adding refrigerant to a leaky system is illegal.
5. Such topping up does nothing to address or test for any leaks.

.. plus the fact that every time you disturb the valves to top the system up you risk the valve not seating properly, leaving you worse off than when you started.

[omega3000]

Get to Serek's while the discount is on  Think he's booked up for 3 months now  But he will fit you in 

[Marks DTM Calib]

If near Melton Mowbray then Astons will do your aircon for sub thirty quid

[johnny_boy]

You can ezchill a car...

You're correct, you can. But there are several very good reasons why doing so is retarded.

Not least because...

1. A bottle of the stuff costs about the same as having the system filled correctly.
2. Unless you're Gandalf or God, you will have absolutely no idea how much the system needs to top it up.
3. Putting the wrong amount in can cause as much damage as leaving the system empty.
4. Adding refrigerant to a leaky system is illegal.
5. Such topping up does nothing to address or test for any leaks.

A bottle of ezchill costs about £25. A service at kiwkfit costs £50. The ezchill will top up roughly 3 cars. I base this on the 10% yearly loss in every system that happens naturally. So given my rough guess ezchill cists £9 per top up for 3 top ups. 3 services costs £150. Nothing retarded about my maths, as you can see.
Yes, you have no idea how much gas is in the system. But that doesnt stop you getting the low side pressure to what it should be for r134a, as there is a standard pressure for each ambient temperature.
All systems leak. So by your logic all aircon is illegal.
If you have a large leak, dont top up.
Putting too much in can cause the system to not work, or possibly damage it in the worse case. So read and follow the instructions.

[05omegav6]

Ez chill etc is for stupid, lazy people.

Ignoring the fact that you cannot accurately fill or test the system with it, your maths is flawed.

10% leakage is an industry assumed/accepted amount, and often used to scare people into buying shit they don't need. Not all systems are anything like that leaky. Also by the time you have figured out that you have a reasonable size leak, you've dumped a can into the atmosphere... so that's £35 thrown away without trying.

Different systems contain different weights of refrigerant, fact. Pressure and volume both vary with temperature, fact. So unless you can accurately measure the weight of gas into any given system, having first vacuumed it down and pressure tested it, then you're never going to get repeatable results with a can an gauge.

Achieving a working system by guesswork is luck, it won't ensure that the system is functioning correctly, and it certainly won't be reliable or effective.

I'll wager that you use radweld and ezy start too

[Kevin Wood]

My system has worked perfectly for the last 7 years without a service, so not sure where my 10% a year has gone.

[TheBoy]

OK, lets try to keep this factual and friendly, not abusive and personal.


Ignore the 10% per year, if you're losing that much, you have a leak. Its an industry marketing/protection value, not reality.

If you're losing r134a, you are also losing PAG46, and running low on that will cause damage to the compressor and make all the seals in the system leak. The only way to accurately fill the system is by weight. Everything else is a guess, including pressure. In addition, when R134a leaks out, something often takes its place, be it moisture or air, which can only be removed by vac.

For this reason, I would never refill mine with the refill kits, and believe it would be poor, possibly irresponsible advice for me to recommend it to others, esp when its usually easy enough to fine a specialist who can do it properly for around the price of a can and a half of refill kit.


Advice is all OOF can give, members are of course welcome to follow or ignore, based of their own circumstances and beliefs