Dollars
and Sense
A
low refrigerant charge can cause major damage to your cars air
conditioner. Unlike some compressors used in the '70s, which
had their own oil supply, most current designs rely on a sufficient
refrigerant charge to carry oil through the system. If that
charge is lost -either partially or completely - the compressor
may starve for oil and fail shortly there after. This results
in a major expense, not only for the compressor, but not related
items that will have to be replaced if the compressor fails.
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Environmentally
Speaking
There
was a time you simply flipped on your air conditioner in the spring
to see if the air coming from the outlets was cold. If the temperature
seemed to be warm, you merely brought the car in and had some refrigerant
added. At one point, it was even considered normal for an air conditioning
system to lose a pound of refrigerant per year. Since that time,
attitudes about refrigerant loss have changed drastically. That's
because scientists have concluded that R-12 refrigerant, a Chlorinated
Fluorocarbon (CFG) also know as FREON, is partly responsible for
depletion of the earth's ozone layer. To reduce the loss of refrigerant,
car manufactories now make their systems much more leak-resistant
by using improved materials for lines, hoses and seals. Federal
and state regulations also require that repair shops have the correct
equipment and training for handling refrigerant |