Receiver-driers may not be the most complex component of car air conditioners, but they still perform essential functions and need to be replaced if they risk causing damage to the entire system.

Functions of the AC drier

Receiver-driers, also called filter-driers, are located between the condenser and the TX valve. They are intelligently named because of the way they ‘filter’ fine debris and ‘dry’ moisture from the system. Another component of the AC drier is the accumulator, which functions similarly to a receiver-drier but in a different system configuration.These components are as important to change as the oil filter on your engine and have a life span of about two years. Neglecting your drier change requirements is the leading cause of costly system failures, so get yours changed today!

When driers need to be replaced

The drier’s efficiency will be greatly compromised if the air conditioner unit is opened and exposed to the air, as the desiccants will rapidly absorb any moisture present and become saturated. If the receiver-drier is no longer able to purge the liquid refrigerant of moisture as it passes through, this could potentially cause serious damage to the compressor and other parts of the air conditioner that are greatly more expensive to replace than the drier assembly itself.

Other circumstances in which the drier needs to be replaced include loss of charge in the refrigerant and internal failures in the compressor, which can allow small pieces of metal to pass through the system and block the filtering part of the filter-drier, restricting refrigerant flow.

Replacing the receiver-drier

The drier is a relatively small component that normally easily inspected, removed and replaced during routine services. It’s recommended that automotive air-conditioning is serviced every year and the filter-drier replaced every two, to keep the system operating at maximum efficiency and to fix any minor faults before these become more serious.

Car air-conditioning in Brisbane

Mr Cool offers a same-day service for all air-conditioning repairs in Brisbane. Get your car AC health check now by calling 07 3188 4348.