Aircon Regas

Hi All

Going to regas my AC myself and have the right gas coming as well as a tube with a monitor built in but before I do, the port under the H Cap is the one to use yes? I know its 750ml etc but Just wanted to make sure I have the right aperture (oo-er)

Yes mate. Although I would say Kwik Fit do it for a cheap price of £50 or something. I had mine done last year. It's good to test for any leaks etc so might be better?

If you've got all the kit yourself then great.

I think there's two ports isn't there, a high and low pressure, from memory. The H port and then one over by ABS/Oil dipstick.

You will struggle to find a cheap place now due to the sky rocketing price of the gas. We still have some from before the price shot up but what used to cost £60-70 is now up to nearly £400! And it’s come down a bit to get to that price. We have stopped offering it until the price comes down, we just do it for people who mention it when we are repairing their car.

Nope, wrong. Still the same cost at Kwik Fit as per this provisional booking I've just done.

I thought you had to refill via the Low pressure L cap, unless you've got all the proper gear including a pump. Otherwise you won't have enough pressure to blow the gas in there. Its what I did last time I gassed it from a refill cannister like this https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/air-con/ez-chill-auto-air-conditioning-recharge-gas-r134a

I thought you had to refill via the Low pressure L cap, unless you've got all the proper gear including a pump. Otherwise you won't have enough pressure to blow the gas in there. Its what I did last time I gassed it from a refill cannister like this https://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/air-con/ez-chill-auto-air-conditioning-recharge-gas-r134a

Kwik Fit needed both porta when they did mine mate.

 

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...because they have the proper high/low manifold and pumps...

You always fill via the low pressure port, you need the compressor sucking the gas out of the can or cylinder.

If you can is coming with a hose, gauge and quick fit connector then it'll be the low pressure port connector (the LP and HP service ports are different sizes so you couldn't get it wrong even if you tried). Before you screw the needle down to pierce the can check the car system pressure on the gauge by pushing on the coupler to the LP service port. If the pressure is zero or very low (say 10psi) then you need to be thinking leaks and get that checked and sorted before adding more refrigerant. The standing engine off - compressor off pressure should be around 60 - 70psi. Now unscrew the hose from the can coupling to release a little bit of gas from the car system to purge the hose of air and then retighten. Then you are ready to go.

Start your engine with a/c on. The gauge pressure should drop straight away to around 15 - 25psi (range dependant on ambient conditions). If it falls to the bottom end of that or below then you are running short on refrigerant. Tap down into the can and withdraw the needle to allow the refrigerant to flow from the can. The bottle pressure will be around 60psi so it'll be pulled into the system quite quickly so open and then close the needle valve to let the pressure settle back to its running pressure and repeat until you are running around 20psi or 25psi on a hot day. Then start checking the vents, they should then be running pretty cool with the blower on. If you only use a little gas to top off then you may as well check any friend a relatives cars as the can once pierced is unlikely to hold the refrigerant for the long term. If you weight in the can and hose and coupling at the start and finish you'll be able to work out how much you added and also how much remains in the can.

Its really easy to do just make sure you wear glasses and preferably some gloves to push on and pull off the quick fix coupling.

PS - Its important to never invert the can or even shake it about when filling a system as it'll be liquid rather than gas you could then start sucking into the a/c system and that could go on to hydraulic the compressor. Gas fill only!

I've just bought the ATS Euromaster one from Groupon again. Full regas with an antibacterial clean for 45 quid. 37quid without the antibacterial. Last one lasted me 3 years.