Before you set out to recharge your car's air conditioner system, you need to be sure your car uses the newer R134 (not the older R12 refrigerant). The best way to determine this is to check your car's owners manual, or you can consult your repair manual. You do have a repair manual, don't you? It's a must for do-it-yourself auto repair.

If your car was manufactured after 1994, chances are you're in the R134 camp. If your car uses the older R12 refrigerant, you should take it to a repair shop and have it converted to the newer stuff so you can be in the cool again.

If your AC system is R134 equipped, read on and we'll help you recharge your air conditioning so you'll be away from the "blowing warm" blues.

To recharge your air conditioning system you'll need pressurized refrigerant (sometimes referred to as freon) and a pressure gauge to keep track of how much is in the system. There are lots of different AC recharge tools you can buy, but most are for the professional and are pretty expensive. If you have a fleet of vehicles you plan to maintain, go ahead and spring for your the real deal, but if you're air conditioning maintenance is limited to a couple of family cars, I suggest one of the all-in-one kits. These kits consist of a can of R134 and a pressure gauge all in one. They work well and are very easy to understand, even for somebody who has no experience with AC.

The kit we chose had the pressure gauge clearly visible in the cap, so you know what you're getting. Any all-in-one kit is probably fine.