I would like to be able to recover r134 when redoing my car or trucks refrgerant. I have heard of people using an old fridge comnpressor and a propane tank with appropriate fittings soldered in. Can this refridgerant be re used to re charge the origional vehicle?
Redneck refrigerant recovery
Jun 12, 2012
3 Replies
stryped wrote in news:ddd0357d-802c-4de5-b8f6- snipped-for-privacy@h41g2000yqm.googlegroups.com:
you need to be able to filter it somehow or your just asking for trouble. KB
it is indeed somewhat redneck, but it can be done. I'd braze separate fittings and bolt them to the cylinder rather than fix anything directly though.
depends how contaminated it is. with the rubber hoses on a/c systems, and the rubber seals, there is a constant slow diffusion of moisture and atmospheric gas into the refrigerant circuit. you can remove most of the moisture with a new dryer, but the other stuff is pretty much impossible for even a sophisticated shade tree. it's therefore best not to re-use.
bottom line, it's good to recover, but just take it to a professional recycler and buy new for refills. the small cans you get at woolmort come in handy small sizes that make weighting incremental, and it's cheap. maybe not compared to a pro buying in bulk, but cheap enough for the average joe.
You're just asking for trouble. 134 isn't that expensive. If you have a "fleet" of vehicles and want to save money, buy a "real" re-claiming station.
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