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How to maintain your own car Air-conditioning system

Holden Commodore Aircon

I love maintaining my car though one of the mysteries was the Air conditioner

My VT Commodore is quite old now I have had her since brand new and every other sweaty hot day I would go to the Air con man who would quote me like $199 for a re-gas. Inevitably the bill would be $350 plus as he said he needed to also replace this, or do that, you know how it goes. I felt in the dark so I set out to learn how to do it myself

Picture of my car

Before you re-gas your own car Air conditioner

You should understand the regulations and safety around Automotive Air conditioning and do it yourself refrigerant that can be dangerous. You could search for The automotive code of practice of 2008 and you should understand the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act because your car may contain gasses like R22 or R134a that for all our protection need to be removed and contained properly. I suspect there may be a lot of protectionism in the Aircon and HVAC industry going on, they want to protect their jobs and they want to also protect you, and there is a lot of FUD around the home automotive handyman's ability to maintain his own system if you have a good working mechanical and safety knowledge and common sense and willing to do a little reading and study. I fould maintaining my own car Aircon a fun and interesting side hobby. It cost me some investment to get set up though it now saves me a lot of dollars every year and I have learnt a handy skill
I use HyChill Minus 30 that is a flamable hydrocarbon as I understand it so you must be careful and aware when working with this gas. As I understand it is basically a more refined LPG. it is also highly efficient refrigerant,

Hychill Minus 30 for Car Aircon

I can get the gas from Burson Auto Parts

And there is information at https://hychill.com.au
here is a list of Distributors https://hychill.com.au/en/distributors

You would probably be pulled into the fear factor of putting Natural Gas into your car instead of one of the "Dark Magic" gasses that are licensed probably out of your hands,
Did you know many domestic refrigerators use natural refrigerants.
from "the Guide to Natural Refrigerants" by Shecco Publications
As a general differentiation, "natural refrigerants" are substances that exist naturally in the environment, while "non-natural refrigerants" or "synthetic refrigerants" are man-made chemicals. The most commonly used natural refrigerants today are ammonia (NH3, R717) carbon dioxide (CO2, R744), and hydrocarbons (HCs), such as propane (R290), isobutane (R600a) and propylene, also know as propene (R1270).

There is plenty of great Video on Youtube
That you can find, I recommend watch plenty of these type of video and do study and research before you attempt work on your own Aircon, Messups can be expensive and It can be dangerous so do only attempt this with safety in mind and at your own risk

Remember

Discharging fluorocarbon refrigerant is illegal and not only are there big fines it is also bad for you, me and our kids future, so the last visit you need to do to your expensive Aircon man is to recover the gas in your car safely

My Commodore takes 270gm for a charge of Gas so a 9KG Bottle of Hychill can last me a Long Time, you need to do your own calculations and figure out how much Gas yours needs, it takes me about 30 Minutes to do my own Aircon Service that is after a few years of practice and the learning has already saved me about $1000

My Tools include

  • Digital Scales
  • Vacuum Pump
  • Manifold Gauges and Hoses
  • Regular Screwdrivers, Spanners, etc
  • Gloves, Rags, Safety Equipment
  • and the Gas Cylinders

Please only attempt this if you have a bit of a Brain and do be Careful and Responsible.
I found the little side hobby really fun and interesting and unlike popular opinion it is very do-able


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