Charlie H

This is my first car with air con and have been told by several people that you must shut the windows while using it. Forgive my muppet like question but WHY?? I'm sure there will be a good reason but nobody I've asked seems to know. I'm sure one of you nice people can put me straight

Yours muppetly
Charlie H

WREXY

Don't see no winks so it's serious. Keep windows closed to keep cool air in (to not escape) and hot air out.

Moz

with climate control you should ideally keep the widows shut so that interior temperature remains constant i.e when sat in traffic or doing 70mph. Also air con affects fuel economy and so does an open window so do one or the other but not both. then again I have the window open with air con on as well

Charlie H

Wrexy - I love the cold breeze during days like this week but you've got to have the window open to chat to girls as well I realise you should have them shut for climate control that's obvious, but I'm just talking about straight forward cold breeze i.e fully anti-clockwise. I just wanted to make sure that it wouldn't do any harm. Not bothered about fuel economy or I wouldn't have bought a scoob

DavidRB

For the same reason you keep the windows shut when you have the heater on in winter!!!! Your a/c can cool all the air in your cabin, but not if you keep letting hot air in through the windows.

Another trick is to alternate between opening and closing the recirculation lever. I find it cools the car better than just leaving the recirc on or off the whole time.

A/C does affect fuel economy, but the effect is trivial in comparison to a heavy right foot!

Brendan Hughes

Aircon works to cool (and I think also dehumidify) the car's interior.

If you have hot or humid air coming in through an open window, the aircon will have to constantly work to process this as well. And as it increases fuel consumption by up to 10% (working off engine power), you are basically using your petrol to try to aircon the street!

Let's put it this way - in winter when there is snow outside, do you open lots of windows while your central heating is on?

It's just common sense advice really.

BJH

MattOz

Charlie,

If you have air con on, and also your windows open, you'll cause overload on the air con. The chances are that with Subaru a/c you'll put too much strain on it and it will expire!

Seriously though, think of it this way. The air con is only designed to keep the inside of the car cool, not the surrounding area too!

Matt

Charlie H

But who wants their windows shut when it's bloody roasting outside? I knew I'd get replies like this. So it's ok to have cold air blowing on to myself using aircon while the windows are down if I don't mind the extra cost? Cheers Guys

ian_sadler

Ian

banshi

Was always puzzled by the fitting of sunroofs on cars with a/c.


Obviously a special dealer promotion for Yorkshire

WREXY

No harm in leaving windows open. I do it on less hot days sometimes when I want everyone to hear my ice.

WREXY.

Squizz

So lets get this straight...

You haven't noticed that the muggy, "sweaty knackers", humidity we've had the past few days is suddenly alleviated by closing your windows and having the air-con on??

You find that even in winter, you can keep the heat up full and use the air-con to help de-mist the car in a tenth of the time it normally takes.

JUST KEEP THE BLOODY WINDOWS CLOSED!

JackClark

The 01 switches the Air Con on automagically when you select demist Works a treat.

TURBO7379

A/C removes the moisture from the air as well as cooling it . If you keep letting fresh humid air into the cabin the moisture freezes on the condenser of the A/C unit reducing its efficiency and eventually it will stop working altogether ( it becomes a block of ice ) . The only way to defrost it is switch it off and let it defrost naturally ( or switch the heater on ) . I have seen this happen on A/C units at work .

Matty B

DavidRB
or anyone else

when is it best to use the recirculation method then? I've never got the hang of the difference between that and the AC, except that I thought it kept nasty smells out and didnt cool you down like the AC does.

PS. Graham at TSL suggests that the AC should be used in winter too,(not just for a de-mist) as he's now working on repairs on ACs that have seized due to lack of recent usage.

Matthew

banshi

The recirculation system should never be used when "pressing on" in challenging conditions.

It's equally effective at keeping nasty smells in, or perhaps I should change the passengers

The a/c doesn't sieze, the moisture residue in an unused system affects the seals which in time deteriorate and then let the gas out

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Aircon works on the principle of humidity!!!
the more humid the climate, the colder the air given out
thus the reason i froze my b@lls off today in the scoob and i wasnt as cold on monday!!

the only time u need to re-gas is every 2 yrs when its due! dont under estimate the fact that in hot weather the a/c aint as cold as you thought it was, thats due to the ambiant temp (as long as GaryC dont catch me ) lol!! humidity makes your a/c colder, not the temp outside!!
Dry heat, wet heat, dry cold, wet cold!
ex mil so these are what u need to know

Tony

Charlie H

Turbo7379 & banshi - AT LAST, DECENT ANSWERS!
This is why I was asking, not because I wanted to cool the street! I know what climate control is for just wanted to know of any mechanical problems in having a constant cold breeze blowing on me while sat in traffic or cruising around town with the window open as well. I didn't realise they dehumidified as well, as I stated this is my first car with a/c. So thankyou to the people who genuinely answered my question. No further info required

[This message has been edited by Charlie H (edited 07 July 2001).]

RIMPY T

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by banshi:
<B>The recirculation system should never be used when "pressing on" in challenging conditions.

It's equally effective at keeping nasty smells in, or perhaps I should change the passengers

The a/c doesn't sieze, the moisture residue in an unused system affects the seals which in time deteriorate and then let the gas out[/quote]

i reckon uk spec cars sre fitted with ****e a/c units ,cos although they work (yes i've had mine re gassed and all that),they never seem to work /get cold as a/c units fitted to cars in much hotter climates ie the us or middle east for example.

i remember travelling in a beat up toyota cressida in egypt,it was 40degrees outside but inside the car was literally freezing,and i had to open the window!!lol.

and as for sunroofs,they make the car hotter on a really hot day as the sun is right on top of your head!

Matty B

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by TonyBurns:
the only time u need to re-gas is every 2 yrs when its due! Tony[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

so whats this about having to re-gas every two years - my (import) WRX will have been in my possession for nearly 2 years soon, and I was unaware of re-gassing

Matthew

GranTurismo

If you have aircon then open the windows just after you get in to equalise the temp with the outside and THEN turn on the air con and keep em closed.

Also closed windows = better MPG due to less drag.

Also I like a sunroof becuase it makes the car lighter for the 9 months of the year when its dull outside! (however it does make it hotter in summer hence many have shades.

RB5SCOTT

I don't now why anyone would want a sunroof in a performance car

less headroom

more weight

less rigidity

and aint sunroofs 90's

Scott

druddle

if you get into yer scoob and it is bl00dy hot then (apparently although i have no scientific proof) it cools the inside of the car quicker if you recirculate the air.

dave

DavidRB

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Matty B:
<B>DavidRB or anyone else when is it best to use the recirculation method then?[/quote]Recirc just stops the vents drawing in "fresh" air from outside and keeps recirculating the air inside the cabin. It doesn't help with cooling down directly unless you use it at the same time as the A/C. That way you can stop the car from drawing in hotter air from outside.

Trouble is, after a time, I find it helps to draw in some fresh humid air to give the condenser something to drink!

Serious question, does anyone consider freezing the condenser to be a real risk? As far as I can tell, there's so much heat in the engine bay, there's no chance of it ever happening.