recharging car A/C?

[Homerboy]

Anyone every use one of those recharge kit/cans?
I have a 2007 Honda Odyssey that is our "beater car" but it appears the A/C is virtually dead in it. If I recall correctly, over the last couple of years it was in slow decline but never bothered to mess with it as the car is rarely driven (maybe 30 miles a week on average at the most)

Do those recharge things work? Any tricks I need to know before buying/using?
I've got a few youtube videos to watch on it...

Thanks

 

[jlee]

One of these and an $8 can of r134a at AutoZone will probably band-aid it.

 

[BoomerD]

Why did it leak? Bad compressor seals? Bad hose? Bad evaporator?

You can dump freon and "stop leak" into it...but if you have a leak...it won't last.

 

[Homerboy]

One of these and an $8 can of r134a at AutoZone will probably band-aid it.

This is what I was thinking about getting. They sell the cans on Amazon as well.

 

[Homerboy]

Why did it leak? Bad compressor seals? Bad hose? Bad evaporator?

You can dump freon and "stop leak" into it...but if you have a leak...it won't last.

Not sure - 12 year old car so I'm guessing there's a leak somewhere (obviously). I dont really want to invest 100s of more dollars in the car just to have it diagnosed, let alone fixed. If it came down to that for the little amount it's driven, we'd live without A/C. But if one of these "rechargers" can bandaid it for the summer at $30... so be it.

 

[jlee]

My MR2 leaks from somewhere - I put a new can in every year and call it close enough. /shrug

My GX is leaking and that I'll have fixed, but I put far more miles on it so it's more important for everything to be right.

 

[Homerboy]

My MR2 leaks from somewhere - I put a new can in every year and call it close enough. /shrug

My GX is leaking and that I'll have fixed, but I put far more miles on it so it's more important for everything to be right.

I have to figure out how much I need. Not sure if it's bone dry and 1 can will be enough or if I will need more.

 

[jlee]

I have to figure out how much I need. Not sure if it's bone dry and 1 can will be enough or if I will need more.

Autozone / Walmart have cans for $7-8. I'd go buy two and put the second one on a shelf if you don't need it.

 

[Homerboy]

Autozone / Walmart have cans for $7-8. I'd go buy two and put the second one on a shelf if you don't need it.

Ever use the stop-leak cans? I see Amazon has a 3oz one that is a red dye (no UV needed)
I'd imagine I need to get the Freon pressure up first, then add in the stop-leak

 

[jlee]

Ever use the stop-leak cans? I see Amazon has a 3oz one that is a red dye (no UV needed)
I'd imagine I need to get the Freon pressure up first, then add in the stop-leak

I have not - I have a general distaste for stop-leak systems (adding gunk into the mix) and would rather locate and fix a leak properly.

 

[Rifter]

I wouldn't do anything until you figure out how bad the leak is. It may be so bad that adding more refrigerant may be useless and a total waste of money.

 

[crashtech]

Adding refrigerant indiscriminately may or may not work. Assuming it just has a slow leak, I think just keeping an eye out for an A/C charge special from a local garage might be the best way. Having the right amount of refrigerant is pretty important for proper operation of the system. In the case of a system with known leakage, the technician can slightly overcharge to the high end of the acceptable range to maximize the length of time it will operate on that charge. My wife's old minivan was like that, it needed a charge every spring.