Thread: Aircon de-gassing

Thanks all. Definitely planning to do it properly which is why I asked the question.

Is the de-gassing gear portable? Eg is it likely I could get someone mobile to come out and do it if required?

After having another good look at the evaporator setup I'm hoping that we can get away with angling it up a bit without disconnecting to give the passenger some room (currently horizontal directly in front of the front passenger), but if that doesn't work out its likely that the vehicle might not be mobile when we find that it needs to be degassed.

Guess we're probably better off to just take it to get degassed now and be done with it.

Do you automatically need a new drier once you open the system up?

Steve

Originally Posted by steveG

Do you automatically need a new drier once you open the system up?

Steve

No,but good practise is it should be changed, and the system evacuated correctly.This reduces the moisture in the system.Moisture in any refrigeration system causes problems.

The other thing is if you have system components disconnected,make sure they are sealed up as best as possible.

I did some Google searches on this a while ago as I might remove my evaporator etc too (doesn't work anyway). I found a few mobile places that looked like they would do it. Haven't rang any, but these were the 2 I shortlisted.

Pricing & Payment < Service and Repairs | Express Mobile Mechanics

Car Air Conditioning Melbourne | Regas & Mobile Repairs | Mobile Car Care

I'm hoping the first one would be $130 (minimum charge - 45mins) to just remove gas. Could be up to $275 for "regas and service" though I suppose.

Originally Posted by steveG

Thanks all. Definitely planning to do it properly which is why I asked the question.

Is the de-gassing gear portable? Eg is it likely I could get someone mobile to come out and do it if required?

After having another good look at the evaporator setup I'm hoping that we can get away with angling it up a bit without disconnecting to give the passenger some room (currently horizontal directly in front of the front passenger), but if that doesn't work out its likely that the vehicle might not be mobile when we find that it needs to be degassed.

Guess we're probably better off to just take it to get degassed now and be done with it.

Do you automatically need a new drier once you open the system up?

Steve

it can be mobile, but be prepared to pay a premium and make sure you have 240v on site or they'll hit you with a call out fee and just bugger off. 15A is preferable but not essential.

no you dont have to but it is reccomended practice if you have the system open to atmosphere. at work I generally cheat because people always want it on the cheap and I run nitrogen from the welding gear through at 1psi for a max flow rate of 2l/min while Im working. Of course this depends on what Im doing and how long it takes. Id do nitrogen if I was only replacing the orings on the compressor joint flange, or the schreader valves or uncoupling the condensor on one side for acess to something else but not if I was removing major components that I couldnt replace in under 20 minutes.

Steve, did you end up having the system de-gassed?

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

no you dont have to but it is reccomended practice if you have the system open to atmosphere. at work I generally cheat because people always want it on the cheap and I run nitrogen from the welding gear through at 1psi for a max flow rate of 2l/min while Im working. Of course this depends on what Im doing and how long it takes. Id do nitrogen if I was only replacing the orings on the compressor joint flange, or the schreader valves or uncoupling the condensor on one side for acess to something else but not if I was removing major components that I couldnt replace in under 20 minutes.

You would be surprised how much moisture that nitrogen removes from a system while it is being purged as per Daves post.But high purity is the best by far.

Years ago,when the govt. had inspectors,we used to have to pull deep vacuums on large A/C systems,and they had to hold over 24hrs.Less than 100microns are the figures that come to mind.
If we had issues with a system,a good purge with HP nitrogen sorted out the system every time.

Not sure why all these cowboys degass without the right gear. I've been involved with an ARC audit, and the lengths they go to is nuts- I would not want to be a dodgy operator with those guys snooping around.

Worst case is you reclaim it, and get a $ per Kg reclaim levy.
If you were licensed to handle refrigerants, and were wrecking a lot of cars, this would add up at the end of the year.

Originally Posted by Judo

Steve, did you end up having the system de-gassed?

Still on the TODO list Justin.
Hoping to have it mobile again shortly so we can drive it into town and get it done.

Can't recall if I posted the price earlier, but one local place charges $25 for a de-gas, and around $170 for gassing it up again later.

Steve