Summer is rapidly approaching and its starting to warm up... Which means its A/C time again! I am already starting to see specials and incentives for A/C services at both the small shops and the national chains. Time for another bit of honesty in a dishonest industry: Resist the urge to have that free A/C system check done!!! Its marketing at its worst and they know you will need a service. Let me try and explain: On more modern systems, a car will hold somewhere around 740 grams of freon (about 1.5 lbs). On really new cars - say 2011 or newer - that number is cut down to as low as 350 grams (about .75 lbs) A system that has lost as little as 125 grams (4 oz.) will not feel as cold as it should. A system that has lost as little as 200 grams (7 oz.) will start to ice up and blow warm. When you lose freon, you lose the ability to circulate oil as well, so you are wearing the compressor just as you would if you ran your engine without oil... but I digress... When they hook up their machine or their gauges to see what the pressures are, you lose as much as 225 grams (8 oz.) in the gauge lines! So when they disconnect, you are IMMEDIATELY below the limit to need a service... and they KNOW IT!! Your system that might have been a little low and not quite as cold as it should have been is now significantly low, is damaging to the system and needs a service that they will charge you for! The ONLY correct way to check a modern A/C is by performing a full service: Evacuate, vacuum and recharge with a modern, calibrated machine. And finally: DO NOT use the little cans of freon you can buy at the parts stores. They contain as much as 2 oz of stop leak which will damage your system and potentially damage my machine.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 21:25:00 +0000
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