Turned on my a/c for the first time yesterday for the year. Started to blow out warm air. I know its not the thermostat since I just changed that last year. Thinking about buying an a/c recharge kit myself and giving it a whirl. Then again, if I screw it up...I'll have to spend the extra money to take it to a shop and have them do it. So instead of taking the chance in having to pay twice, I'll probably just go spend the $100 to have a shop do it the right way the first time.

 

if your out of freon, you have a leak somewhere and it should be fixed BEFORE adding more. Otherwise you'll just have the same problem a year from now.

 

What he said^

 

If it's a slow leak you might be good for a long time. If it's the compressor it will do nothing to charge the refrigerant. There's no shame having a shop look at a system you don't know how to fix properly. If you can find a place to do a free a/c check up all the better.

 

Too bad we can't say the same for the ozone layer.

 

You mean the one that is regenerated by the sun hitting the sky, which has always had a normally occurring hole at the poles because of lower amounts of sunshine? Yeah, not too worried about that.

 

r134a isn't really harmful to the ozone as the old stuff.



Better hope its a leak and not the compressor, those can be a pretty penny

 

ANY refrigerant is harmful to the ozone/environment when released to the atmosphere. Yes, some are more harmful than others but the less refrigerant needlessly released into the atmosphere the better.





Just FYI, I am a licensed a/c / refrigeration mechanic and don't think an a/c system is something to be working on if your not licensed AND have a good understanding of the dangers it poses. When an a/c system has a leak the leak should be repaired and the system should be vacuumed (to a pressure below atmosphere) to remove all the air and moisture in the system before it is re-charged. If there is air or moisture in the system when it is re-charged or you recharge the system yourself without repairing the leak, you have a really good chance of damaging or ruining the compressor.

 

^ got my ASE refrigerant cert in 2005 and deal with it on a daily basis, your preaching to the choir.



The exhaust gases from any motor without a cat is much worse for the environment then 134 EPA mandated freon.



Neither here nor there, just stop quoting the post above yours