Graham wrote:


Out of interest why does car aircon get less cold without use. My home
aircon has never had any problems and not used for most of the year.
Is it just an urban myth because some cars suffer or is it all cars.
Certain does not apply to the Ka in question.

Graham

Car air con especially modern stuff only has a tiny amount of gas in the
first place, so any loss means that the pressure switches detect it and
prevent the compressor working. Home air con on the other hand has more gas
and less pressure switches.

Depending on the type home air con may not have any flexibles, which means
far less losses, compared to car stuff which must have flexis and is subject
to more vibration, heat, oil, fumes etc..

I have just finished regassing one of my home units (split type with
flexis), which lost enough gas over the winter to fail to cool, even though
the compressor still runs. While using the same unit, if it loses gas the
first sign is ice forming and leaks of water appearing on the floor (so it
is actually running colder than it should at the evaporator), keep using it
and the next stage is less and less cooling. The balance line between too
little, enough and too much is quite narrow, which is why it is a good idea
to use the right gear to check and refill air con, these halfords aerosols
seem a bit iffy to me.

Mrcheerful