Freon recovery for the DIYer
- Thread starter alia176
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Mauser
Supporting Vendor
I have tried pulling a vacuum on an empty 30 pound refrigerant bottle then hooking it to the system and open everything up to empty the system. It pulled a lot out, but not everything.
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- #3
Then did you use the car's own suction on the low port to suck that freon back into the a/c system?
Mauser
Supporting Vendor
No. Unless it is r12 it isn't worth it since you can buy new stuff for 5 bucks a can at walmart.
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- #5
Gotcha. So, after you fill up the recovery tank, just take it to an a/c shop for disposal.
Mauser
Supporting Vendor
Probably a good idea. I still have one in the garage attic.
they do charge quite a lot for recovered actual Freon nowadays. Maybe you can even make a few bucks off it. However, if you system is set up for Freon, you'll want to use that or something similar if you intend to fill it back up. So that may cost a bit in turn if you don't have enough. There are some cheaper Freon equivalents that do seem to work OK, though. I'm remembering one maybe called Hotshot or something like that, not sure. If you put 134 straight into a Freon system it won't work very well, though.
Just go to a shop that does a/c and have them pull it out for you - hopefully getting credit for it for when you want it put back in.
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- #9
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- #11
I'm doing things and I have all equipment except the recovery stuff. No, I won't pay a shop to do something that I can do easily and on my own convenience
. This is a DIY site, hence the question!
Come to think of it, vacuuming out the gas from the system does not seem too difficult, although it seems like you are bound to lose some. But I'm not quite sure how you can push it back in without having a secondary reservoir full of it, or diluting it some with some other gas.
Yep, i feel you.
But if you cannot vacuum the system properly, its not going to cool properly.
But if you cannot vacuum the system properly, its not going to cool properly.
I'm doing things and I have all equipment except the recovery stuff. No, I won't pay a shop to do something that I can do easily and on my own convenience
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- #14
I can vacuum properly with my Robinaire vac pump and it's must do for boiling off moisture.
For me, it's easier to have my local shop pull it out for me, then I do the work I need to do, and then they put it back in. I don't do it often enough to justify the expensive equipment and trying to do it on the cheap is more of a hassle than it's worth.
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- #16
Says the guy who built an awesome shop DIY style. Surely, you don't build shops frequently, yes?
No, but I do other things with the tools I have that I built the shop with.
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- #18
Point taken.
Most things I do myself. Note that I did say I did the a/c work itself aside from pulling the charge and putting it back in.
I also take it to the shop for the alignment and tire/wheel balancing as well as mounting tires on good rims. I can get pretty close on alignment or balance by hand - at least enough to drive it to the shop, but it's worth it to me to have them put it on their fancy alignment rack and get things set precisely. Similarly, I can get a tire on and off a rim if necessary, but they can do it in a few minutes without scratching up the rim on their fancy machine.
I also take it to the shop for the alignment and tire/wheel balancing as well as mounting tires on good rims. I can get pretty close on alignment or balance by hand - at least enough to drive it to the shop, but it's worth it to me to have them put it on their fancy alignment rack and get things set precisely. Similarly, I can get a tire on and off a rim if necessary, but they can do it in a few minutes without scratching up the rim on their fancy machine.
well, I have vacuum pumps, I have tanks, I have hoses, I have gauges, and am more DIY than most (outside of MUD) and I have dealt with my 134 systems several times, but I think I may need to draw the line at trying to recover and especially reinject Freon in myself with the tools I have. I don't know that I can do that well. I may look into it but that does not seem promising TBH.