11/08/2020
Ok so there seems to be some confusion about A/C re-gassing.
There are three reasons to have your ac regassed,
1/ you have had damage to part of your ac system repaired or replaced, the damage caused the loss of refrigerant or it was removed to enable work to be completed, now it has been repaired, it needs to be re-gassed, this involves at least an hour on vacuum to remove any moisture that entered the system while it was open, then a re-gas with pag oil.
This usually costs around Β£100
2/ you are having it serviced.
3/ you have a leak and the gas has escaped.
That is it, in no way does the A/C system "use" gas, it is not a fuel.
I get this all the time on the phone, customers calling to have the system regassed, when asked has it been taken out or leaked? I'm told "no, none of those, it's just used it all!"
When I explain the above, 7/10 Will still just want it regassing, regardless of advice or leaks, this is not only against the law for us to regas a vehicle with known leaks, but also badly damaging the Ozone layer.
On top of this, even when tested on most A/C service machines for leaks, a 10 or 20 minute vacuum test will only show up a fairly big leak, it is very common for the new gas to leak out over the next three days or so.
In this case, not only have you paid and lost the refrigerant, but after you have had it repaired, you will have to pay again to have it re-gassed a second time.
Modern A/C service machines will still allow a vehicle with a 3 day leak to be refilled, make no mistake, a 20 min or even an hour test will not show up a 3 day leak. You Will have to pay for another re-gas
The same as your fridge or freezer at home, once the gas is in, the only way you need a re-gas is if it has leaked or been taken out.
Vehicle A/C systems, unlike fridges, require servicing, this is mainly to check for leaks which can occur due to lack of use or fatigue of joints or cracked pipework caused by movement, vibration or heat processes.