In hot New Zealand summers, your air con gets a real workout. As a result the gas in the system is recycled and reused constantly. Like anything, this leads to small leaks and loss of the gas over time. Without the refrigeration gas, your air con system is just pumping air from outside the car to inside without any cooling effect.

What is an Air Conditioner Re-Gas?

Over time your Air Conditioning system will slowly lose refrigerant, even if there is no fault, damage or leak. This shrinkage means that you will eventually need to consider a re-gas, roughly every 3-4 years.

The Air Conditioning system is made up of a few key parts: a condenser, a compressor, an evaporator, and the gas or refrigerant. When in use, the system pressurises the refrigerant into a gas, then cools it in the condenser until it turns into liquid form before entering the evaporator. The cool air that is pumped into the vehicle cabin has been cooled by traveling over the evaporator.

The gas is the key to the whole cooling operation. Without air conditioning gas there’s no ability for the evaporator to cool the air and your car becomes a small glasshouse in the middle of summer. 

During a re-gas the mechanic replaces and refills the lost gas, topping up the system to ensure it runs efficiently, and the evaporator gets as cold as possible.

Why do you need to get your air conditioning system re gassed?

As we’ve said, over time your air con system loses its gas. You need to re-gas your air conditioner to keep everything working as it should. If you want to keep your car cool then you need your air conditioning gas to be maintained.

What happens during an Air Conditioner re-gas?

If your air con doesn’t blow cold when it should, then there’s a good chance that you need a re-gas. This should be carried out by a mechanic as it’s an important and possibly hazardous job. 

The mechanic will check the pressure of the system and determine the level of the refrigerant, before removing the gas. The other components of the system should be checked for any damage before adding new gas. Finally, a test of the system will be completed to ensure there are no leaks.

How much does an Air Conditioner re-gas cost in Wanaka?

The cost of an air con re-gas varies depending on your vehicle, but it is generally not very expensive. A re-gas through My Auto Shop starts at around $180.

You can easily find a mechanic in Wanaka with My Auto Shop.