Refrigerant Recovery Equipment - Four Components And The Features To Look For

Ever since the Clean Air Act of 1993 has been put into law, releasing the refrigerant liquid into the air has become an illegal activity. The Act was a big accomplishment for the health of the Earth's protective ozone layer. On the other end, it made the job of air conditioning repair much more complex by introducing new, expensive, air conditioning equipment and tools to the job. Practically any serious air conditioning repair or AC service must start with the refrigerant recovery, that is, evacuation of the refrigerant from the system and with subsequent safe storage of the refrigerant. The refrigerant recovery equipment consists of 4 components: Refrigerant recovery machine, Recovery hoses, Pressure gauges, and the Recovery tank. Let's look at these components in more detail, and let's discuss their individual features.

Recovery machine

At the heart of each recovery equipment is the powerful recovery machine. It consists of a compressor that either pulls the refrigerant out of the air conditioning unit, or pushes it out. The useful features of a recovery machines are:

• Pressure control, both on the high end to prevent excessive pressure build up anywhere in the system, causing dangerous explosions or leaks, and on the low end, where low pressure will normally indicate that the refrigerant recovery process has been completed successfully.
• Filter at the entrance of the recovery/reclaim machine, which is a mesh that prevents metal pieces or debris, as well as carbon residue to enter into the compressor and cause damage.
• Twin cylinders for faster recovery. This is not a must-have, but it will speed up the recovery machine.
• Sub cooling of the refrigerant. This, again, is not absolutely necessary, but a sub-cooled refrigerant is denser and more of it will fit into the recovery tank, thus enabling full use of the refrigerant tanks, and faster completion of the job.

Refrigerant recovery hoses

The recovery hoses are the connections between the recovery machine and the air conditioning unit. The recommended size, for typical jobs is 3/8 of an inch. A larger diameter causes too much unnecessary release of the refrigerant into the atmosphere, and a smaller diameter slows down the transfer.

Manifold gauges for measuring of the refrigerant pressures in the system

The pressure gauges are normally built into the recovery machine. However, to check the pressures out independently, a set of manifold gauges comes in handy.

Refrigerant recovery tank

Depending on what type of refrigerant you are using, you can get by with the "DOT 350" compliant refrigerant tank for most refrigerants, including Freons. For the newest, Puron, or R410A refrigerant, look for the "DOT 400" certified tank. The DOT 400 tank will be able to withstand higher pressures necessary with the R410A refrigerant.