Anyway - my point was in post #1... people often say it is best to leave your AC on. My findings on my own compressor, that has been idle for some time, show exactly why.
Anecdotal bit of info - I've had to regas my own cars for reasons unrelated to taking it to bits or doing an engine conversion only twice: the first time a pipe rubbing through on bodywork. The second I hit a deer.
Never had one 'just run out'.
Err No Sloth... in fact I know quite a lot about cars myself.... not just P38s and again I really don't owe anyone explanations about that either.
Lost count of the number of times I have had cars A/C charged though and they also performed a vacuum test too, is that better for you than the RAC link ? Beyond the criticisms it seem that a pressure test is advisable too..
I would also take issue about suggesting DIY dangerous stuff in the A/C: Whilst You/Richard are obviously technically very competant, indeed the majority of us on here are, but not everyone who reads this is of course
Incidentally my R134a comment was also partly for Lpgc's benefit too, no need for the hostility....
If you think what I have said is me suggesting that someone does go and fill their car AC system with a nice flammable mix then great - you've taken something said out of context and twisted it to get all dramatic about it. You could also pipe antifreeze into the AC system if you tried hard enough.
The point was both of those mentioned materials (which are also referred to as refrigerants when used as such!) are easily obtainable because they are not fluorinated gases and thus anyone could, if so inclined whilst it is not advisable for safety reasons, put them into their AC system.
And that is, I'm betting, what is in a lot of the other DIY top up kits. If they say they only contain 'hydrocarbon' or 'natural' gases with no mention of HFCs... then what else is it going to be? Legitimate question - there may be something I don't know about.
For all the snowflakes out there that don't understand common sense here is the disclaimer just for you - I don't endorse putting anything other than the manufacturer's specified refrigerant and oil into your car's air conditioning system.
Thankyou Sloth, seriously. You have certainly removed the ambivalence there.
Unfortunately Common Sense seems to have been rather eroded, mainly by the unregulated nature of SM,
I have lost count of the number of odd 'car' things I have encountered and/or been sent too...
Natural selection is underrated.
Just so long as they don't take anyone else out with them, preferably.
Sloth wrote:
Natural selection is underrated.
Just so long as they don't take anyone else out with them, preferably.
Indeed, anyone else including me (and god knows they have tried a few times...)
Edit: Just as i sent that I received a "429 too many requests" message....
Maybe Halfords is trying to 'nobble' the site ?
Things do seem to be getting warm.
Time for a beer perhaps?
No wish to add fuel to any fire (there's a pun in there somewhere heh!) but the subject is interesting...
Didn't BMW use propane as refrigerant in AC systems at one time? More efficient than the usual refrigerant gasses and isn't carcinogenic in the event of a leak (or leak in the presence of a flame)? While of course the risks of propane entering the cabin and setting on fire in e.g. a crash situation wouldn't make up for it not being carcinogenic, on balance plenty of us carry a lot more propane around inside vehicles and some older cars like Jags had the petrol tank inside the vehicle body behind the back seats.
Do these Halfords AC kits contain R134, propane, or something compatible with R134 (and if so what and how does it compare to R134)?
Not had any beer yet but will be having some in about half an hour ;-)
I'd imagine the hazard perceived with filling it with propane would be that any leak on the evaporator side would be ducted into the interior. Unlike a spare wheel well tank which is somewhat more robust by comparison. That combined with it being pressurised makes it somewhat more of a hazard than a petrol tank I guess? Though none of them are ideal by any means.
Its unclear what the Halford's cans contain, these by example clearly aren't the same stuff as the original fill.
https://www.thompsonsltd.co.uk/aircontopup-car-aircon-air-con-air-conditioning-top-up-recharge-refill-regas-diy-gas-can.html
"he product does not fall within the scope of the F Gas regulations - the coolant is not R134a. Instead it is a 100% compatible product that can be added directly to vehicles specified with R134a"
As said above, it seems an expensive way to avoid doing it properly, even recent prices seem to be around £50 to do a machine fill, which you then know has had the right amount put in with oil rather than guessing from a can of something they won't even clearly tell you whats in it.
Lpgc/Brian: As stated/posted earlier:
Their advert is wrong, EZ-Chill in NOT R134a, it is a leak sealer and a refrigerant that will mix with R134a but it moist definitely isn't R134a. I suppose they put that to stop people trying to put it in a modern system with R1234YF.....
Dave, what you have to remember is the average staff member in Halfords falls into the 'pay peanuts and employ monkeys' category. The buyers will buy in whatever product they think might sell, irrespective of what it is or its legality. In my previous life I did a 6 week stint in the Spectrum Management Centre when they were short of staff. One of the jobs done when on night shift was to troll through eBay and Amazon looking for items being advertised that were illegal for use in the UK (and EU too in most cases). Amazon will sell whatever a supplier offers them and would only remove it when they were told they were committing an offence. One amusing case involved the former Chief Executive being taken out shopping with a Compliance Officer who found an illegal item being sold by John Lewis, made amusing by the fact that the Chief Executive was one Sharon White, who is now CEO at John Lewis......
If you check the datasheet for ez chill, it is 80-95% tetra...1,1,1,2, ie r134a.
But as I say, other cans/products don't seem to be but I've not looked into them further. Interestingly STP now do one for r1234yf too.
Yes Richard, I am aware of the limitations at Halfords; Quite good for bikes/bits/e-scooters though (apparently) !
(I remember that CEO too: Much more interested in a fast-track career that anything even remotely technical.)
davew wrote:
(I remember that CEO too: Much more interested in a fast-track career that anything even remotely technical.)
Or more interested in the money. As CEO of Ofcom she got around £300k a year with her bonus, the basic salary for CEO of John Lewis is £990k a year. Even after tax and other deductions, that works out at over £40k a month take home pay.......