Air Conditioning Top-up Can – A Quick Fix?

You could buy a DIY can of refrigerant gas and inject it into your cars Aircon system yourself, to try and get a cheap fix solution, but this is very much a false economy that could end up costing you hundreds of pounds in repair bills, fines and even cost you a prison sentence!

It is important to have the correct weight of refrigerant gas in your cars aircon system, the only way to do this is to recover and weigh the gas in the system before you refill, you can not do this with a top up can. It is well worth pointing out that allowing a refrigerant gas to escape into the atmosphere is now a criminal offence and could result in a heavy fine and even imprisonment! This is an international law, brought in to help protect our planet.

It is also critical to keep oxygen out of your cars air conditioning system, oxygen contains moisture, moisture is a killer for your cars aircon system, it will lead to increased fuel consumption and lower system performance through contamination and chemical change of the refrigeration gas, basically, it will turn the gas acidic which will cause premature component failure of your cars air conditioning system, this will be expensive, well into the hundreds for a new compressor, plus labour and then a re-gas.

Another problem with the cheap fix can is lack of training / health and safety issues. Refrigerant gas is lethal, stored under very high pressure, if you make a mistake whilst trying to top up your system, you could end up with serious injuries, such as blindness or loss of use of your fingers, if the gas escapes under high pressure, it could freeze your hand before you had the chance to move to safety.

There are more problems with top up cans, but by now you will have got the picture!