sneakingfart
OBS Enthusiast
Honestly, it's stupid simple to recharge your own AC. Since you are able to pull a vacuum, I assume you have a set of manifold gauges. All you need are the little cans of R134a. And if you don't have the gauges, they are cheap at harbor freight or Amazon. I have the HF ones and they work perfectly fine. Vacuum the system for an hour, let it sit for another hour, and if it holds, add the required amount of refrigerant for your system. Cans hold 12 Oz, just do the math from there. And did you fill the comoressor with oil? That the other thing. Since your system is currently empty, you can literally take off the lines from the top of the compressor and pour oil into the compressor.
If you go the DIY route, which I highly recommend, make sure you get the cans of refrigerant without the stop leak in it. Don't ever use that stuff, it'll gum up your brand new system. Just get the bare cans, don't get the ones with the gauge on it. You need to fill while monitoring both high and low side pressures, which is why you need the manifold gsuge set. But realistically, you fill by weight, not pressure. Because it's cold now, you can't reliably test the AC, unless you're in FL or something. Ambient temps should be around 65 or above. I got the refrigerant cans that had UV dye in it also. So if it ever leaks, you can trace it.
If you go the DIY route, which I highly recommend, make sure you get the cans of refrigerant without the stop leak in it. Don't ever use that stuff, it'll gum up your brand new system. Just get the bare cans, don't get the ones with the gauge on it. You need to fill while monitoring both high and low side pressures, which is why you need the manifold gsuge set. But realistically, you fill by weight, not pressure. Because it's cold now, you can't reliably test the AC, unless you're in FL or something. Ambient temps should be around 65 or above. I got the refrigerant cans that had UV dye in it also. So if it ever leaks, you can trace it.
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