Flushing the A/C after each compressor service is critical as it removes any contaminants from the system.
If the contaminants are left in the system, they would continue to circulate through the whole system and may cause premature failure of the replacement part.
Across our many years as industry experts, we have come an astonishing amount of compressors that have been replaced, sometimes more than 3-4 times and the system has never been flushed! So you can imagine the filings and contamination along with the sheer glut of oil the system is retaining.
Flushing is a good practice for any system that is not performing well, even if you aren’t replacing a compressor. When you don’t know the history of a system, you may have had a compressor replaced by another tech and who had not completed a proper flush of the system. Over time an oil ‘sludge’ builds up and hinders cooling. A system additive, Hi-Cool helps to overcome this and has a lubricity agent in to help compressor run smoother, cooler and last longer.
Beware of oily flush solvents in the marketplace. These leave a residue that can affect oil viscosity and even lead to compressor failure down the track. Try by dropping a finger in the top of the solvent and watch the oil even be dried off the end of your finger as it evaporates.
Always remember to give the system a good vacuum following with a 2 stage pump to avoid any flush being left in the system and make sure you use dry nitrogen to blow out. Any flush left will result in a hydraulic lock up in the compressor which we want to avoid at all costs!