Do you use your air con?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by cheshired5

I've had and used ac constantly for 25 years and never needed to do any maintenance other than the odd regas.

Funny you should call it maintenance - many service schedules recommend evacuating the system, renewing the dryer, evacuating the system again and regassing - every 2 years or 24k miles.

This keeps the oil in the compressor fresh, adds leak detector, sealant and the right amount of gas every 2 years keeping the inside of the system as clean, fresh and dry as it should be.

[phil1968]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Funny you should call it maintenance - many service schedules recommend evacuating the system, renewing the dryer, evacuating the system again and regassing - every 2 years or 24k miles.

This keeps the oil in the compressor fresh, adds leak detector, sealant and the right amount of gas every 2 years keeping the inside of the system as clean, fresh and dry as it should be.

As an airconditioning engineer I can tell you that you only need replace the drier when the system is broken into, for instance to replace the compressor. Replacing it & evacuating / re-gassing on such a regular basis is completely unnecessary

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by phil1968

As an airconditioning engineer I can tell you that you only need replace the drier when the system is broken into, for instance to replace the compressor. Replacing it & evacuating / re-gassing on such a regular basis is completely unnecessary

Probably a ploy by the manufacturers to get more service costs but can i ask, are you automotive, commercial or industrial air-con Phil?

[phil1968]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Probably a ploy by the manufacturers to get more service costs but can i ask, are you automotive, commercial or industrial air-con Phil?

Yes I agree All 3, but primarily commercial.

[biggbn]

Must admit the air con in my old BMW had been a boon last few days, black with black leather means it's a furnace when the door is open first trip of the day!

[Delta66]

When I had a car with AC, I used it primarily when it was hot and to demist the car. I would not go more than a week without running it for 20 minutes or so.

[ma70]

Use it or lose it IMO, there's been a feature in Car Mechanics mag this month about fixing AC & it seems the myth is still going strong that you lose 10% off your economy when its running... :/ Maybe on older systems/low powered cars it can have an effect, but I think the (small) amount of fuel to drive the compressor as well as the alt/PAS pump etc already running is well worth it on something like a D5 with 163bhp & would be less than the fuel wasted by driving with windows open (ruining aerodynamics) for a start. Not to mention the benefits of demisting etc when it's not so warm out.

All in all, I think keeping it running on auto has far more benefits than any saving in fuel could offer even if it did take a couple of mpg off our average.

Just as an aside, do the people who refuse to use their AC on grounds of fuel saving also disconnect their vacuum pump on diesel cars, after all the brakes would just need a bit more of a shove and think of the savings! lol

[ma70]

Originally Posted by FunkyMelon

I just use mine when I need it.

The problem with setting a temperature and leaving it on AUTO is that it's just so bl**dy noisy all the time.

My S40 just wacks the fans on full and will keep it like that till it reaches the temperature I've set, then it dials back a bit, but never down to 'low' speeds which I'd like. It's just a primitive, annoying system IMO!

Sounds to me like there's a sensor issue with your system, our '06 S80 bumps the speed up a bit when it's bringing the temp in line with what's requested but soon drops down to a whisper again. Also how fresh is the pollen filter? that can make the fan noisier/run harder than it needs if blocked. Or there's the possibility the fan is just noisy on yours.

Certainly wouldn't equate the word noisy with climate control, especially compared with having windows open.

[DSK]

I never really use aircon, only this year its been REALLY hot.

When in crawling/slow traffic I switch it on (e.g M25/M1 rush hour). Once were above 50mph and flowing then I like the heat and open the sunroof and and/or windows.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by ma70

Sounds to me like there's a sensor issue with your system, our '06 S80 bumps the speed up a bit when it's bringing the temp in line with what's requested but soon drops down to a whisper again. Also how fresh is the pollen filter? that can make the fan noisier/run harder than it needs if blocked. Or there's the possibility the fan is just noisy on yours.

Certainly wouldn't equate the word noisy with climate control, especially compared with having windows open.

I couldn't find the quote you were replying to above but it sounds very like the person you were responding to needs to get his A/C regassed - all symptoms point to that!