Air-con re-gassing

[kalniel]

Yes, I should have planned ahead and done this in spring for half the price.. but never mind.

Any tips/recommendations/places to avoid for re-gassing? Don't think it's been done for about 3 years, though not noticing any ill effects (climate control still works fine, air is still chilly though not freezing - but it's climate control rather than full on A/C so don't know if that's a side effect of that - maybe takes a bit longer to cool a hot car than it used to?).

Kwik-thingy and F1Autocentre seem cheapest at around 50 quid during this peak season. Also seen a mobile site (wechillanycar) for the same price if there's a need to avoid those two.

Cheers,

[DanceswithUnix]

I used a mobile bloke. There was a leak, so he put some leak fixing gunge in there. He then vacuumed the system out and refilled it by putting in the required weight of refrigerant.

I gather the proper way is to fill with gas until the aircon output air starts getting warmer again, then pump a bit of the excess back out. He didn't do that, but the end result seems good enough.

Had too many bad experiences with the Kwik people.

You can buy top-up kits from Halfords if you fancy having a go yourself. You need to buy a trigger/pressure gauge, and there is a deposit on the refrigerant bottle.