How to Recover R-134a Refrigerant from an Automobile using Mastercool 69000 + 69500 Equipment
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- In this forth and final video of the air conditioning series we combine all the previous components introduced for our new R134a refrigerant recovery machine system into an actual recovery operation. The particular brand and model equipment shown is the prosumer / entry level shop gear Mastercool 69000 recovery machine paired with the Mastercool 69500 RecoveryMate accessory which provides Polyalkylene Glycol (PAG) oil separation, R134a refrigerant filtering and drying, and R-134a refrigerant embedded moisture detection. However, the basic procedures and AC information shown would be applicable to most other R-134a refrigerant recovery machines from other brands.
We cover in this video:
- Hookup of R134a service port couplers and vacuum pump ball valve
- Recovery of the R134a refrigerant charge in the vehicle
- Purging the recovery machine or residual R134a refrigerant
- Performing a post-repair vacuum draw down on the vehicle AC system
The eBay and Amazon search links below are paid links, for which I may be compensated and earn a commission, if you choose to buy the parts and tools shown in this video thru them:
If you are looking to purchase your own Mastercool 69000 refrigerant recovery machine: ebay.us/y4FPmX and amzn.to/3qEL5N4
For the Mastercool 69500 refrigerant RecoveryMate accessory: ebay.us/EHrNuo and amzn.to/3lUfnYH
If either of the valve caps are missing: ebay.us/w2RpLw and (high side cap only): amzn.to/3n1Ysph
If you are looking for a nitrogen cylinder regulator, I have had good luck with the imported model BETOOLL one you saw in the video: amzn.to/3tFCieG You have to add a 1/2" ACME hose adapter to it and I used a Mastercool 82634 (with integral Schrader valve) that you can find at amzn.to/2PhuLUh or ebay.us/mV5fnE
And if I've saved you some $$ here, consider some coins for the coffee tip-jar! ko-fi.com/drshock
Chapters
0:00 - Procedure overview
0:30 - Vehicle connections
1:40 - Initiating R134a Recovery
5:05 - PAG oil recovery considerations
7:20 - Recovery machine purging
9:11 - Post-repair vacuum draw down
12:10 - Potential leak considerations
#drshock #autoac #carac
Disclaimer: DrShock, the alias for the human content creator for this CZcams channel, is not responsible for any damages, injuries, losses, or liabilities associated with any repairs, upgrades, or maintenance performed on yours, or any other, vehicle whatsoever. No warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy or completeness of any information provided within this channel. Viewing and using the “as-is" information of this channel is totally at your own risk. Always wear personal protection equipment and follow appropriate vehicle manufacturer service manual guidelines with original manufacturer parts only when performing any repairs, upgrades, or maintenance upon any vehicle. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Ran into your video's and caught my eye to see my same set up. Great videos and really enjoy them. Thank you
I've had that same setup for many years and have never really recovered any oil from as many car's that I have worked on. I have used $3,000 and $4,000 dollar equipment with an oil separator at work and for some reason you do get very little oil out of the system. Got to the point where I couldn't really justify the need of an oil separator. I have worked residential and industrial HVAC systems and I have hardly removed any oil while in recovery. Yeah maybe if the refrigerant blows out under a high pressure you might for sure loose some if not all the oil from the system.
really good vid
Great video! Question- do you usually recover all of the oil or some appreciable percentage will stay in the system? What do you do if you don’t know if the system contained the right amount of oil?
You would never recover _all_ of the PAG oil using this type of vapor recovery system, the very vast majority will remain within the compressor and accumulator. And, if applicable, that's where a healthy dose of the leak detection dye would continue to reside as well. The _total_ amount of PAG oil required in the system will be on the same label that specifies the total amount of R134a refrigerant charge needed. I've only worked on older GM vehicles myself, but the service manuals for those all advise that unless there was a catastrophic and sudden loss of refrigerant (e.g., a severed hose), typical leaks do not result in a significant loss of PAG oil. That all said, if the vehicle history is unknown and there is a concern to warrant it, it's probably better to do a complete flush out/cleaning of the air conditioning system and start over PAG oil and dye charge wise. That process would require additional equipment than the recovery only tools I've shown in this series (usually a device with an integrated container for flushing fluid that can be put under pressure using dry air).
@@DrShock thanks for the reply! Would like to see a flush video on your channel as well)
Great videos 👍do you have a video how to recharge a vehicle with the the recovery tank. Is it basically to the same as using a prefilled tank with one valve, flipping the tank and open the liquid valve?
Thanks. For a small one man outfit like myself where A/C work is only occasional, I just recharge using a virgin R134a cylinder and a gauge set on the low side (vapor side). This particular machine is not designed to recharge, only recover. You never know what a customer has in their lines, so best not to reuse whatever is recovered anyway. You can turn the refrigerant into a local recycling center when the recovery cylinder is full (where I am they give you back your empty cylinder).
Is there a need for a stand alone vacuum pump as if the recovery machine has a vacuum purge function?
The recovery machines purge is just for its own internal piping. You'll still need a vacuum pump to check for leaks on the vehicle's system.
I bought the 69110 recovery machine. It has an oil separator. If I am not going to reuse the 134a, do I need to really get a 69500 recoverymate? From what I am reading in the questions and your reply, you don't recommend reusing the freon pulled out and through the recoverymate.
If I put a filter on the inlet, would that be as good as the recoverymate?
Thanks...
If you are working on your own vehicles, like in a fleet maintenance setting, then you know the history and with a filter, dryer and oil separator you could reuse the refrigerant.
I often work on other folks vehicles, so I don't know what kind of contaminants they have in their system. In such situations you really have to recover it and when the cylinder is full, take it to a local EPA reclamation center for disposal. Filling from a virgin refrigerant cylinder after the repairs are complete and verified.
I am watching your videos, very informative, I have a brother who is an AC tech, I am not, but I work as electro mechanical engineering, for $1614.00 all these can be acquired in Amazon, then be paid on 12 months equal payments which it is not bad for what you get, the question is; it is worth it for just one car or 2 cars? makes me wanting to take the course then get certified, only $20.00 then go do some work to pay for the equipment, LOL, in any case, your videos here makes it easier to understand what to do and how to operate the system; it has some bad reviews but I think some folks are confused as this is NOT a shop recovering system only for the home mechanic and not intended to be used industrial setting no matter what the vendor says; here it seems it does its job and since I already have the vacuum, same one you show here, then why not?
Thanks. It's not worth it for just one vehicle, and questionable for only two as well. More than that though, I would say the tools can pay for themselves within a few repair projects in labor costs alone.
As for the reviews on Mastercool, recovery equipment is definitely intended for professional shop use only, rather than at home. The units have to be properly maintained to avoid problems. But as I've shown these entry level recovery units can be a prosumer grade tool for casual use as well.
Any updates on the new 1234yf refrigerant? Just spent two arms and a leg. Looking for future repairs as these companies suck with notorious failures
Same procedures and recovery equipment can be used, but only with different size couplers than R134A as the vehicle port fittings are different sizes with R1234yf (aka HFO-1234yf). Separate refrigerant storage cylinder needed too of course. Also R1234yf is mildly flammable, so added safety procedures there oo.
Have you used the valve #3 access port on the 69500? Is that used for oil and dye injection when recharging the system? What procedure would you use to do this without introducing contaminants. I see no explanation in the instructions.
Yeah, Mastercool didn't explain that port. But that V3 port is along the high pressure side, so I wouldn't expect to use it for automotive applications. When I need to do a dye or oil addition, I use an inline refillable dye/oil injector attached on the low pressure side. A CPS Products TLJ4. I went with the CPS version here because their instruction manual was very well done compared to Mastercool's version.
One of these days I'll put a video together using the CPS to add ACDelco R134a tracer dye.
@@DrShock can't it be used to liquid charge an automotive system? You recover and evacuate, then use the same setup to pump the refrigerant in. Use the recovery unit to add pressure to the vapor side of the tank forcing liquid out the liquid side into the non running vehicle.
I recall that Mastercool does document that high side liquid recharge hookup and procedure, but I personally don't use that approach for automotive. I only use the vapor side to do a recharge, utilizing the typical approach of having the vehicles compressor with the engine on to draw in the new charge while I monitor both the scale and low pressure gauge first hand. It just may be that I'm guilty of being old skool. ;-)
which mastercool recovery unit would have the dryer and oil separator within it? Id rather spend the extra to avoid the extra hook up and case if possible Also....can you cover how to recharge the system afterwards please? would additional equipment be necessary to recharge the system?
For an all in one recovery machine solution, you might look at the Mastercool 69100 model instead. That would have the oil separator and filter dryer built in.
You would not use a recovery machine to do a recharge, they are really only designed to recover the refrigerant. You would then typically take the recovered refrigerant to an EPA certified reclamation center where it would then be recycled. Where I am they will take it out of your cylinder, and then return your cylinder back to you empty.
For myself, I recharge just using a 30lb virgin R-134a refrigerant cylinder (the disposable type), and a gauge set. I do not reuse recovered refrigerant in repairs I do. The equipment for filtering it is just to be sure it's going to be acceptable at the reclamation center when the time comes.
Can I recover the freon just like your doing and recharge with the same freon?
This particular Mastercool unit I showed in this vid is a recovery machine only, it does not do a recharge function. You typically would not want to reuse R134a, as you don't know what the history of the customer's system is contaminates wise. But if it's for yourself you could put it back in just using a gauge set on the low (vapor) side only.
@@DrShock cool! I'm an ac TECH but always had the robinair 34788 machine for 10 years. It finally broke . So I bought a machine like yours. And I'm thinking I can empty a system do a discharge hose replacement and recharge the same stuff in same car.
What vacuum pump are you using?
Harbor Freight 2.5CFM model. Nothing special needed for a vacuum pump with this setup other than it to be reliable.
What was the point of the yellow hose?
Yellow is the typical automotive hose color for the refrigerant cylinder. Either recovery, or supply. Black is typically the automotive hose color for a vacuum pump connection.
Man, what a bummer. Great vids, been following your steps with the tank set up and all to do my car’s ac but I realized I have everything except the recovery machine and holy s*** they are expensive. Welp, f***. Not sure if I should just sell all my other tools or just drip the $450 on the machine.
For nearly any AC repair that might include replacing a major component, this kind of gear would pay for itself in the first job or at most the 2nd. Just food for thought.
I am thinking about getting this setup. Is there any reason this would not work on my houses ac system. I would be mainly using it for automotive but would like to be able to work on my house system too. I know I would need the correct Schrader connectors for the r22 system. It looks like the compressor will handle any type of refrigerant. Also how are you planning on adding oil and die with this system?
Thanks
The manufacturer rates the components I've shown here for many different refrigerants yes. Obviously the recovery cylinder has to be dedicated to only one particular type at a time, and technically you're supposed to buy the one color coded for R22 (light green) vs R134a (baby blue) for when it comes time to bring the recovered refrigerant to a recovery facility. As for pag oil and tracer dye, yes I have an accessory for injecting that separately. The dye charge stays in the system so you don't have to worry about adding that unless you make a large component replacement, such as the compressor.
@@DrShock thanks for your help. I am an automotive tech. My residential r22 pump just failed and plan on tackling job myself. Mastercool actually sells the 69300 pump in a kit with tanks for r134 and r1234yf that I plan to purchase along with the 69500 accessory kit. I will also be doing an r12 on my old Mercedes. I understand all gasses must be kept separate. Any other advise or must have tools. I have a quality vacuum pump, hand held dye/oil injector, and Schrader valve tools. Thanks for your informative video.
@@mattbentley8958 About the only other advice I could share given your background is that there's a playlist, in addition to this vid, with each of these components unboxed I put together. You might find that useful for more details around the 69500 before you pull the trigger on it.
I need help to solve some doubts I see you Setup and I'm willing to get something like this but I also saw they have a now a 96100 kit and wonder if this new kit is a all in one unit. Or is just better to get the setup that you have done.
That Mastercool 96100 setup was another I looked into at the time. It's very comparable to what I showed in this playlist series. The 96100 does include a type of recovery cylinder with the internal level/float for automatic cut off that plugs into the recovery machine (yellow cable), but other than that it's the same features wise. I went the route I did based solely on lowest cost for Mastercool branded equipment. I could easily recommend the 96100 too, though it will cost a bit more.
How do we recharge the system though?
Once the repair is completed, and the system fully vacuumed of atmospheric moisture, you would just swap in your 30lb virgin R134A cylinder and gauge set and charge to the specification on the vehicles recharge label. You'll need a scale with the cylinder to determine this of course. Maybe this other video at 9:54 time index will help clarify these steps - czcams.com/video/v_saFG7gnaI/video.html
Can you reuse recovered or should we be using new bottles?
I keep a 30lb virgin disposable cylinder for R134a recharges after repairs. This particular setup I went over in this vid is really meant just for refrigerant recovery ops.
@@DrShock In which case, especially, it seems as though the separate oil recovery (or not!) is redundant. How do you dispose of the recovered R134a? I gather that the recovery tanks are only DOT-certified for 5 years from the date of manufacture so do you have to hand-carry them to a disposal facility after 5 years, or what? Presumably, the same is also true for the "virgin" R134a tank. I think you had residual air in your hoses before starting recovery so the recovered R134a is contaminated with air. If you had vacuumed down the hoses before starting recovery you could, presumably, use this recovered R134a to refill.
@@OvertheHills You can either pull a vacuum on the hoses (what I usually do) or purge them of atmospheric moisture with a spritz of refrigerant (allowed by the EPA for this purpose). That process and the oil separator are simply needed to keep the refrigerant acceptable for taking to reclamation facility. Where I am you just take in your cylinder, and they extract out the refrigerant and send you on your way. They will then process the refrigerant for resale. The EPA maintains a list of such locations across the USA here - www.epa.gov/section608/epa-certified-refrigerant-reclaimers
The refrigerant can have other contaminants present though, so reuse is just not advisable. Virgin is cheap, and the best route for a recharge.
@@DrShock I had seen that list of EPA locations but there aren't all that many sites. The closest one to me (in San Diego) is over 100 miles away. Then there's also the 5-year certification on the recovery tank to worry about. Like you, I got the Series 609 certification (out of curiosity more than anything else) and bought a 30 lb tank of R134a. To date, I've only filled A/C systems that have been empty of refrigerant so I've had no need of the recovery equipment. After a garage's repair on one of my cars failed twice (!) I decided to do the job myself which is what led me down this particular rabbit hole. Just recently, I installed A/C on my Bronco II that had never previously had A/C so I was able to use a couple more pounds of R134a. Still, I've got far more R134a than I'm ever likely to need but, much as it's a pain to buy, it seems to be even more difficult to dispose of responsibly. In a perfect world a system would only need to be filled once but, this world being far from perfect, all the R134a ever manufactured is going to end up in the atmosphere sooner or later. It just isn't cost-effective for me to buy refrigerant recovery equipment. It's far cheaper, and far more convenient, to have a garage recover the system if I ever needed one evacuated. Thanks for making your videos. I should make some car maintenance videos myself, but I'm just putzing around. Should I use the blue tube or the brown tube, that's the question? :-) The Bronco II was originally designed for R12, of course, but I was fitting a whole new system with R134a and there's no definitive information, that I could find, as to which orifice tube to use. I ended up using the blue tube and it works, but I have no idea whether it's optimal.
@@OvertheHills The 5 year thing is just a re-certification process. It doesn't cause the cylinder to automatically have to be retired. The place I go to will also perform this, for a fee. And you get another round of years again. It's not unlike when you get your oxygen or acetylene containers. It's not uncommon for me to get cylinders that are over 15 years old from Praxair/Airgas. As long as they continue to pass inspection, they remain in use.
Was good video.but didn't really explain in detail all steps.
Drop a question, happy to try and clarify here.