About

Chris Bede

Founder & Editor

I founded aircondition.com in 1996, after searching for an alternative supplier of UV refrigerant dye. After hours of wading through search engines with that slow dial-up connection, I ended up with little more than what I started with. In fact, I found only two sites that even discussed automotive air conditioning. This was just the excuse I needed to start Aircondition.Com.

The Site

Since I was an A/C installer, my hope was to attract a handfull of other installers and harness the power of networking to share tips and tricks of our trade. I envisioned a base where installers across the country would meet to swap electrical diagrams and discuss aftermarket air conditioning installation for the good of all mankind.

The trend that emerged was not what I expected. Early on, around spring of 1996, I began receiving electronic mail messages from do-it-yourselfers requesting advice for a wide variety of automotive air conditioning problems. At first, I thought this was great. What started as dozens of e-mails became hundreds. After weeks of staying up late to keep up with all the pleas for help, I put up an electronic bulletin board to handle the volume, and that bulletin board became the heart of the site.

I was even surprised myself on July 17, 1997, while scanning The Wall Street Journal for news, I found aircondition.com listed as a featured destination. By 1998, the site was averaging more than 12,000 unique visitors per day, with most of that traffic going through the original bulletin board.

The forum has evolved over the years. What runs today at forum.aircondition.com is the direct descendant of the original. The community that formed in those early years is still part of what keeps this site going.

My Work

I started installing automotive air conditioning in the early 1990s, when A/C was still optional equipment on many new vehicles. Dealers would have inventory without air conditioning, and when buyers wanted it, I'd install A/C on-site so they could take delivery of a fully equipped vehicle.

As air conditioning became standard on most cars and trucks, I shifted to installing A/C systems on school buses. This was during the push to provide air conditioned transportation for students.

These days, my hands-on work has shifted from installation to service and repair, primarily on heavy-duty trucks and recreational vehicles. I still service cars and trucks of all kinds. Thirty-plus years in, and some things have changed dramatically. Refrigerants, controls, diagnostics. But the fundamentals of what makes a system work haven't.

What This Site Is For

Aircondition.Com exists to be a useful technical reference for anyone working on automotive air conditioning. DIYers diagnosing their own vehicles, working technicians looking up specifics, and shop owners building their knowledge. The site is independent and self-published. The articles are written from real-world experience.

If you have a question that isn't covered, the forum is the right place to ask.