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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Would I be correct in thinking that a proper air con regas would be as follows?.

1. Vac (suck) out all the old refrigerant.
2. Refill with 500g of new refrigerant ( I'm not sure if this is the correct amount).....whilst checking for leaks.
3.Pay no more than about £40.



I hear that some unscrupulous dealers will just "top up" the refrigerant.

[GaryBC]

Pretty much, yes. But they should also do a leak check too.£40 is about right as well. On my miggy the refrigerant charge is on a decal by the bonnet catch.

[Kevin Wood]

It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.

[Jimbob]

as above...I expect £49.99 +vat round here

Thats the kwik-fittup price that many seem to match.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a die for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.

950g....thanks Kevin. I didn't know it was that much.

Oil.....what oil?. This is a new one on me.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Pretty much, yes. But they should also do a leak check too.£40 is about right as well. On my miggy the refrigerant charge is on a decal by the bonnet catch.

So it is. . I've not noticed this before. It reads Refrigerant 134a...950g.

Well spotted that man...

[Shelby]

Useful to know and saved me a new thread.  I was going to be asking similar as I need to get mine redone.

On that note, anyone know of a decent place in the Lincoln area?

[Tonka.]

On that note, anyone know of a decent place in the Lincoln area?

PK Automotive Solutions. Ask to speak to Paul Killingsworth

01522 589696
07774 870514

Paul is a very knowledgable guy who will talk you through what he is doing to the car. He is also an automotive aircon instructor. When I had mine done, he quoted £40 but only charged £25 as he charges by the weight of gas etc used 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.

I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.

I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

[Kevin Wood]

I'd say that's plenty cold enough and it doesn't need any attention.

I can't remember what the spec. is but I think it's higher than that.

[twiglet]

It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.

I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.
I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that! Leave it well alone! 

[Shelby]

On that note, anyone know of a decent place in the Lincoln area?

PK Automotive Solutions. Ask to speak to Paul Killingsworth

01522 589696
07774 870514

Paul is a very knowledgable guy who will talk you through what he is doing to the car. He is also an automotive aircon instructor. When I had mine done, he quoted £40 but only charged £25 as he charges by the weight of gas etc used 

Great thanks, ill get in touch when I get paid.  I suspect I may have a leak though, as I have a receipt from a re gas done last year before I got the car and it has been pretty dead since I got it (3 months ago).

Had a look on google maps and thats up around the vicinity of Charles Warner and other dealers isn't it?

[Tonka.]

Had a look on google maps and thats up around the vicinity of Charles Warner and other dealers isn't it?

That is correct. Also, not far from a guy who can set up your geometry correctly 

[Tony H]

It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.

I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.

I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

Thats very good for a Miggy aircon system 8-) which is not the coolest in the world. How did you measure the temperature?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

It does need to be vacuumed down and the vacuum held for a while to remove any old refrigerant, oil and moisture.

They need to make sure it will hold the vacuum (no leaks).

It needs to be refilled with the correct quantity of refrigerant (950g IIRC) along with the correct quantity of oil and, optionally, a dye for detecting subsequent leaks.

I would also add that they should verify hi/lo side pressures and vent temperature to ensure that the system is actually working. It's perfectly possible to carry out the above procedure on a system that doesn't work due to a problem with the compressor, expansion valve, etc.

Given that the above would take the best part of an hour if they're doing it properly, I'd say £40 is the very minimum I would expect to pay.

I'm getting about 3C (38F) at the vents. After running the system on maximum cold for about ten minutes.

I'm really not sure just how cold it should be.

Thats very good for a Miggy aircon system 8-) which is not the coolest in the world. How did you measure the temperature?

I used an old-fashioned household mercury thermometer. Which I held against the centre  vent. Showing 29C to start with it dropped to 3C after about ten minutes. As for how accurate these figures are ......well your guess is as good as mine. The air feels very cold after a few minutes though.