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[Turk]

Kwik-Fleece used to not charge if it failed the pressure check, but they do not use the UV dye.
Had mine done there and it was fine...for a day.  :-?
Following day it was not working.
Took it to a local A/C specialist that used the dye and when checked the condensor rad was glowing green. It had become porous. It was not leaking enough to fail the pressure test but the refrigeration gas had leaked out within a few hours. Replaced the rad with the one from my spare Elite and returned to the A/C specialist for a check and re-gas. All sorted and it's been fine for the last two years.

Not sure if the fact that Kwik-Fleece do not use the dye is totally legal. There's a hefty fine for knowingly releasing refrigeration gas to the atmosphere. £30k rings a bell.
Asked Kwik-Fleece for a refund and was told no as it was working when I left. I advised that their method had allowed a leaking A/C system to be recharged. The manager overheard and was suddenly very helpfull and only to happy to refund.
If the A/C system is working and you feel it just needs fresh refrigerant then there is nothing wrong with Kwik-Fleece, but if the A/C is not working at all, I would leave it to an A/C specialist.

[Rebel]

Good advice, thanks allot!

[Entwood]

Local  air con specialists are doing a "free check" and/or a regas for £39.99 (inc VAT)

Took mine in as it didn't seem to be as good as it used to be, they pressure checked it, scanned with a light/goggles and said it all seemed OK.  

I opted for a regas, they sucked out all the old stuff and found it only had 1/2 the amount of gas in that it should have (by weight) !! Did a full vaccuum (25 minutes) and regassed it.  

Their opinion is it was badly filled, as a leak would lose ALL the gas, not just half, the stuff they took out had the dye in it and no dye was seen on my system.

Now works fine .. well worth the £40  

[KillerWatt]

£40 for a Halfords DIY kit, or £40 for someone who knows what they are doing.....the choice is yours.

[pauldmackay]

Always better getting and Air-con Specialist to do this.  

The omega takes 950g (+- 50g)of R134a, any air con system should always be drained, vacumed for a very minimum of 30 mins, refilled with the correct oil, noting the air con compressors on Omegas use a far thicker oil than than the normal stuff, put in the dye and then the correct weight R134a.

Then once the above is done normally the operating pressure of the system would be checked, the level of cooling and the correct operation of engine fans.

If all the above is done every 2 years you will have many years of trouble free air-con.

You can't check how much gas is already in the system using a can, and that includes the one with a pressure gauge, as the pressure is always changing.  

The cans are good to maybe bring life back into a system in an emergency but they don't in any way match what any air-con system need every few years, a good service that's even generally missed by dealers.  

Note most dealers will get a Air-con specialist in to do any work on car air-con system anyway.

It doesn't really come down to cost a can of 400g gas from halfords will cost 40 pounds, air-con specialist will be around 40-50 pounds, it comes down to convenience and how long you intend to own the car.

Generally the omega air-con system will be trouble free if serviced every 2 years. It's better to service and keep it running than to repair a broken system as it will normally be costly and why people normally don't bother.

[sassanach]

i drain,vacumn and refill mine every year.sweating is for mortals (also helps if you have your own kit )