The Danger of the "Quick Gas Top-Up"
When a car's AC stops cooling, the most common request we hear is: "Can you just fill the gas?" In Kolkata, many roadside garages are happy to take your money, pump unmeasured refrigerant into your car, and send you on your way.
At Daga Autolek, we consider this malpractice. Car air conditioning is a sealed, closed-loop system. If your refrigerant gas is low, it hasn't "evaporated"—it has leaked out. Simply topping it up means the gas will leak out again in a few weeks, and worse, you risk over-pressurizing the system and destroying your expensive AC compressor.
The Daga Autolek Diagnostic Standard
- Recovery & Deep Vacuuming: We first extract any remaining gas and pull the entire system into a deep vacuum. This crucial step removes all internal moisture and humidity, which can freeze and cause blockages.
- Nitrogen Leak Testing: Before refilling, we pressurize the system with dry Nitrogen to pinpoint exactly where the gas escaped (often a micro-puncture in the cooling coil or a hardened O-ring).
- Precision Weighing: Every car model requires a highly specific amount of gas (e.g., exactly 450 grams). We use automated, digital scales to inject the exact factory specification.
R134a vs. R1234yf Refrigerants
Modern automotive engineering is changing rapidly. While older vehicles use standard R134a refrigerant, many new luxury and European cars (such as late-model Mercedes, BMW, Audi, and Volvo) mandate the use of the new, highly eco-friendly R1234yf gas.
Using the wrong gas or mixing refrigerants will cause immediate and catastrophic failure of your climate control system. Our facility is fully equipped with dedicated, independent automated machines for both R134a and R1234yf, ensuring absolute purity and safety for your premium vehicle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ideally, never. Because it is a sealed system, a perfectly healthy AC will not lose gas. However, over 5 to 7 years, microscopic amounts can escape through the microscopic pores of rubber hoses. If you need a refill every year, you have an active leak that must be repaired.
Overcharging the system is extremely dangerous. It causes the internal pressure to skyrocket, which will either violently burst a rubber AC hose or blow the seals inside your compressor, leading to a massive repair bill. This is why we strictly weigh the refrigerant on digital scales.
Yes. Refrigerant gas carries the lubricating oil through the system to keep the compressor running smoothly. During our comprehensive service, we inject the exact required amount of fresh PAG or POE synthetic oil alongside the gas.