Instead of being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, take proactive steps to prevent issues before they happen. Many air conditioning system failures could be avoided through regular, planned maintenance.
The cost of repairing a neglected air conditioning system vs the cost of regular maintenance is what we will deal with in this article.
Let's look at what normally happens in the general repair world. A vehicle comes in for servicing, fluids, filters and running gear all go through inspection and replacements are carried out as required. Maybe at the most the AC cabin filter gets checked but no inspection of the air conditioning refrigerant level is carried out.
Yes, all the above should be happening but there is one very important question rarely asked during booking; “When was your air conditioning system last serviced?” AC system servicing is required every 2 years to ensure long term correct operation.
This question will likely be met with silence, or what, or aye, it's working fine! But actually is it? So little is the appreciation of this system that we all take for granted, it is reliable until it is severely damaged right? Then it's not, and it is hot, sweaty and expensive.
We need to educate our customers a little bit about their air conditioning system. These systems actually lose refrigerant all the time, there is little you can do about that when there are flexible hoses crimped to couplers and also O-rings, sealing couplings and rotating compressor shaft seals. Not to mention all the while the system is operating in a hostile environment (try living in an engine bay) and being subjected to constant pressure and temperature changes.
In any air conditioning system, tiny leaks allow tiny amounts of refrigerant to escape due to the internal system pressure being higher than atmospheric pressure. Engineers refer to this process as an acceptable leak rate. There is a rate that is acceptable, any more means the system has a leak that requires detection and repair.
Air conditioning systems can still produce cool car interiors with some losses in system charge, it can sometimes take up to two thirds of a total system charge loss before the driver will notice a loss of cooling performance.
So why worry about these losses, maybe just wait until the system stops working before we carry out a refrigerant system service? Bad idea, I think we all know that feeling of procrastination and she'll be right but I think we also all know that it will not get better on its own! During gradual leak down of an AC system, the compressor will begin to work progressively harder, resulting in longer compressor on times to produce the required cooling. Running a compressor longer and harder means more energy consumption (fuel or battery energy if EV vehicle) and heat produced. Oil is suspended in the refrigerant, much like a 2 stroke engine uses oil in fuel to lubricate the moving engine parts, which lubricates the compressor. The compressor bearings & pumping mechanism (pistons or vanes) generate heat and an undercharged AC system both lacks lubricating oil quantity and quality as it overheats and breaks down resulting in compressor failure.
Compressor failure is an expensive enough job to begin with but we also have to somehow remove all the ground metal paste from the rest of the AC system. “Flushing” sounds great but to carry this out we must remove and flush the condenser, remove and replace the expansion valve, flush the evaporator and all pipes and hoses. If we cannot completely clean these components of metal fragments and sludge, replacement is required. Costs at flush and compressor replacement stage will likely be around $4000 so taking any risks or shortcuts resulting in new parts failing prematurely is not worth thinking about.
Regular servicing of an air conditioning system is actually fairly simple, although there are many parts to it, much can be completed automatically by a good quality machine.
Recovering the refrigerant
Weighing it
Comparing what came out to what should have been in there
Inspecting and measuring the oil when separated from the refrigerant
Running a vacuum test
Re-injecting the correct quantities of oil and refrigerant
System performance testing - cabin cooling, condenser fan operation and system pressures for correct operation.
Sounds a bit daunting but everything in the list above, except the final performance tests, can be done by the machine while you carry out the rest of the service. An Automatic AC station will require about 15 minutes of labour to set up before getting on with the job all on its own. That is straightforward, quotable and only when a problem is found will you need to contact the customer and ask permission to dig deeper into testing.
You are now the specialist at top of the cliff preventing serious failure.
Servicing an AC system that is in good condition is a simple procedure taking little time while generating a good return and leaving the customer confident their system will not cost them a small fortune in repairs.
It is when the expected amount of refrigerant is not recovered, the system will not vacuum, or the oil looks burned and metallic that we need to stop and inform the customer that diagnosis is required before complete compressor failure occurs.
Refrigerant recovery - good amount, carry on. Low amount - how low, how long since the last service, was the leak rate acceptable?
Recovered oil in good condition - carry on. Oil burned with metallic paste - stop and price up compressor replacement and a system flush.
System vacuum ok - (removes water and other non condensable gases increasing system pressures and corroding internal components) carry on. Failed to vacuum - quote a leak test.
Assuming the service went well, we can now start our vehicle as it will have the correct amount of refrigerant and oil injected as part of the automatic procedure. Then all that remains is the performance tests - cabin vent temperature, condenser fan coming on, and correct system pressure readings.
If we look at the AC system service from our customer’s cost perspective, around $500 for a trouble free service, which can be carried out with minimal labour inputs and while concurrent work is being carried out, then the return to the workshop is very good.
The return to the customer is also very good as $500 spent every two years to maintain optimal function, and prevent a $4000 minimum catastrophe is simple math. However less tangible but very real are also fuel savings and an environmental buzz because you are not discharging refrigerants into the atmosphere.
For marketing purposes the workshop could sell $500 service jobs with less difficulty than $4000 plus repair jobs. This is, after all, the purpose of servicing or preventative maintenance. Specialist at the top of the Cliff or Ambulance at the bottom? One is a much messier parking space than the other!
AECS Equipment has decades of experience in AC work. We supply, support, provide expertise and service for top quality Brainbee AC equipment.
Call 0800 673 034 and discuss how you can benefit from adding this service to your operations. Lets hope we have a long hot summer!
