jamurrin

The air conditioning seems to have degraded slightly over the last few years...suspect a slow leak. Does the "do it yourself" A/C refrigerant that you can buy at Walmart or AutoZone seem to be work OK?

Seems pretty basic...seems it might be a significant savings to do it myself over a mechanic's service.

Any opinions??

Thanks

Radi

Worked fine on mine. Ten bucks a can at Dollar General. 1.5 cans later and it's icy cold again.
FWIW, avoid the stuff with the 'leak stop' added. It makes a horrid mess when you open up the system to make proper repairs.

jamurrin

I saw 4 brands on the shelf...they all advertised something that would stop the leak. Since my leak seems pretty slow, I'd be OK with dropping in a can every year or two rather than gum up the system....I never even thought to shop at Dollar General!?!!

Radi

Me either, lol. I was in there for dog food and there it was.

The leak stop stuff... it seals when it hits air. When you open the system to make mechanical repairs- it hits lots of air and turns into a blockage.

hbracing13

Just remember you'll have to eventually evac the whole system out just adding a can every years doesn't always work. Also put some uv dye in it so you'll know where its leaking from and then can replace the o-ring or ect or even just tighten up the lines

jamurrin

Sorry for asking silly questions...how would I get die? How would I pump it into the system?? I do prefer to fix things the right way...I just don't want to pay a garage.

Thanks for reading!!

aerojt

Well as far as I know, and I'm not expert in a/c repair, the dye is in most of the cans, or you can add it to your system. Then with the proper equipment you can see where it leaked out, might be a different color or with a uv light type thing.

I also have done the add a can each year thing, it really isn't the proper way of fixing it and you could damage your system, but I Just add it up till the ac compressor kicks on and stays on, then I quit.

Mine held in for the most part all winter, and the ac is still working now. It is a little low though, the compressor cycles on/off randomly. I might get a small can and "top it off"

Good Luck!

XJcountry

It would be advisable to have someone do it professionally, because if there is a leak there is a high chance you will have moisture in the system which will cause poor operation, and ruin the dessicant in the receiver dryer, meaning more money. They will need to evacuate the system and run the system under a vacuum for 30 minutes to remove all moisture and air from the system.

Omnipotent Octopus

Yes, most recharge kits come with it already in the freon.

Nichesound

See Below...doh!

Nichesound

I had my first recharge after 15 years, though it hasn't worked for a while, it just needed 2lbs of charge gas, and now it works fine. The garage put the dye/oil in to lube pump and see if there are any leaks. It cost $149.73 total. I had tried the can but that never worked. Sometimes you just need to leave it to the pro's!

JK253

Some of the recharge kits I've seen have dye included (it was a neon yellow IIRC, because it's ultraviolet) and is already mixed in with the refrigerant. Just look for a can that has 'UV' on it.

toasterknight

Unless you bypass the low pressure cutoff switch to get refrigerant into the high pressure side, you will never get it to go by just adding.

Nichesound

Or I could pitch it to Marshawn and he could run it straight up the middle but he has decided to retire...I would not have any idea of how to do that move...I would just be sand