I reckon my air con is not cool anymore, is it just a question of getting the stuff and attaching it to the pipe near the bulkhead?


I see kwik fit do the job for £49.

What sort of reasonable DIY cost is it?

Any recommendations of which recharge stuff to use ?

What capacity needs to be bought? 730g ?

Thank you and there's a banana in the post to anyone who can answer best  2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
2007 HSE with HST bodykit in Zermatt Silver 169,700 miles (dec 2016 - May 2022 )
2007 Honda Civic Type S GT (2012-2017)
2002 Mini Cooper S (2008-2012)
1992 Honda Legend 3.2i (2003-2008)
1990 Honda Concerto (1999-2003)
1985 Honda Accord (1997-1999)
1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
1983 Mini Mayfair (1988-1993)
1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)

Lets ignore the fact that the stuff has leaked out and you don't know if it's gradual through a dried out seal or rapid through a hole in the heat exchanger.

Is the system partly full and only needs a top-up or is it completely empty and the dryer is now stuffed?

No lets get down to the money, a re-charge gas cylinder from Halfords is £59.99, and the tool to connect it is £29.99 so you are into the region of £80 to do it yourself. Now the good news is if you just buy the tool and connect it it will tell you if there is any gas left in the system (has a gauge) and will give you a rough estimate of the pressure as you dump the contents of the cylinder into the system.

If you have a trade card you can roughly halve the cost, an if it barely needs a top-up you can do a couple of cars with the one cylinder.

Kwick fit will be doing a vacuum down to empty the system, they might then do a test on nitrogen to prove integrity, and then fill with the correct amount of refrigerant AND lubricant - £49 seems cheap to me.

Heart meds limit the amount of bananas that I am allowed, any chance of beer? Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

sounds good Andy, no beer though.


I recall taking a car to get an aircon check , the year was about 2005, some ridiculous price of £70, to find out my car was leaking, fair enough I thought.

I will never forget getting into the car next morning for work, somehow somewhere within the car was an almighty BANG, I nearly shat myself . . . . .could that be to do with nitrogen in the system? 2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
2007 HSE with HST bodykit in Zermatt Silver 169,700 miles (dec 2016 - May 2022 )
2007 Honda Civic Type S GT (2012-2017)
2002 Mini Cooper S (2008-2012)
1992 Honda Legend 3.2i (2003-2008)
1990 Honda Concerto (1999-2003)
1985 Honda Accord (1997-1999)
1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
1983 Mini Mayfair (1988-1993)
1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)

No idea, definitely not a refrigeration engineer. Yes I have successfully topped up several systems, but success is relative. They worked afterwards and didn't go bang. Emptied a full cylinder into one to find that the aircon radiator had a hole in it - new rad, new dryer, and then professionally refilled as it was cheaper than using top-up cylinders, and would have the right amount of lubricant in.

The refrigerant is compressible, the lubricant I don't think so, get it wrong and you will probably damage the compressor.

My take on it is there are three common failures, 1) radiator failure - it's exposed to all weathers and off-road clumsiness. 2) compressor - usually clutch. 3) morons not using it, drying out the seals and the refrigerant leaks out.
Topping up "solves" item 3 but the damage is done, seals are compromised, so you will be doing it again.

There are of course Refrigeration Engineers on the forum, who I suggest will be less than happy with my DIY air-conditioning, it's a properly regulated trade, but as long as the likes of Halfords sell DIY kits then buffoons like me will have a go.  Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

How about a mobile Air Con specialist.

Given the age of your vehicle,
it could possibly been a knackered condenser,
they're made of alloy and sit just behind the from valance
happily collecting all the water, salt and general crap off the roads over the years.
Personally, I would search out a professional specialist, DAVE.

Local radiator specialist, test and recharge £60. Better let someone who knows about them do it than throwing a can of refrigerant into the system for it to leak out again.
(And that goes against my principles of diy maintenance 😁) Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

ok, thats enough replies I reckon, I know my car pretty well, never had the gas done, had it 5 years, still think it needs a recharge . . . .I will update when I get round to it.  2017 SEAT Ateca 4drive 2.0 xcellence (May 2022 -
2007 HSE with HST bodykit in Zermatt Silver 169,700 miles (dec 2016 - May 2022 )
2007 Honda Civic Type S GT (2012-2017)
2002 Mini Cooper S (2008-2012)
1992 Honda Legend 3.2i (2003-2008)
1990 Honda Concerto (1999-2003)
1985 Honda Accord (1997-1999)
1983 Honda Accord (1993-1997)
1983 Mini Mayfair (1988-1993)
1974 Mini 1000 (1979-1986)