I can imagine that if you are reading this then it is in the dead of summer and it is ninety degrees outside or maybe even hotter. I can also imagine that you turned on your car the other day, cranked on the air conditioning, and then groaned in frustration when you realized that it was only blowing hot air into the cabin. When this happens, especially in the summer heat, many people begin to look for a quick, easy, and cheap fix. Most of the time they end up at either an auto-parts store or online looking at AC Recharge kits.
But the question here is are they worth it? Should you really spend thirty dollars on trying to repair your own air conditioning system, or should you break down and take your car into the shop to be repaired?
Are They Worth It?
If you ask me, yes, they are worth it. But here’s the thing, you have to realize that an AC recharge kit is not a fix for your broken system. No, it doesn’t fix it at all. What it does is that it recharge your system, just like the product states. Remember, that your air conditioner is a completely sealed system. What that means is that you should never run out of refrigerant. If you do then there is a leak or a faulty piece of equipment somewhere in your system. In a perfect world you should never need to recharge your system.
So, while an AC recharge kit will put more refrigerant into your system you have to realize that if you have a bad leak then all of that new refrigerant is just going to leak out again after only a few days or a week. The good news though is that if you have a very small leak then that new recharge of refrigerant may in fact last your car the entire summer season. You never really know with these things.
The good thing here is that they aren’t that expensive, so even if you do charge your system and then find that you car is blowing hot again after only a few weeks you are only about thirty dollars and then you KNOW that you need to take your car to the shop to have it repaired. This basically boils down to, are you willing to spend thirty dollars and push your problem further on down the road, or do you want to spend some money at the shop and get it fixed right now?
If you are interested in purchasing one of these check out our ‘Best AC Recharge Kits‘ article.