New R134a Refrigerant Recovery Machine System Setup and Overview (Mastercool 69000 & 69500)
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- čas přidán 26. 06. 2024
- In this third video of the air conditioning series we do a DOUBLE unbox and review the setup and costs overview for a two piece brand new R134a refrigerant recovery machine system. The particular brand and model shown is the prosumer / entry level 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. Combining the two products together gives us a midrange tier of gear for multi-vehicle AC repair needs. 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:
- Unboxing
- Basic overview of the recovery machine and Recovery-mate accessory controls
- Hookup of hoses between recovery cylinder, vacuum pump and recovery machine
- Hookup of R134a service port couplers and vacuum pump ball valve
- Approximate costs of the recovery system components in my build described here
- Evacuating atmospheric moisture (air) from the system prior to use via vacuum pump
- Performing a vacuum test on the system to detect any manufacturing defect leaks
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/3AnFWW and amzn.to/3qEL5N4
For the Mastercool 69500 refrigerant RecoveryMate accessory: ebay.us/y3n678 and amzn.to/3lUfnYH
Mastercool 82635 1/2" ACME F to 1/4" MFL adapter: ebay.us/eMsRwC or amzn.to/3mW3any
Mastercool 82934-E low side coupler: ebay.us/ZUzv5K or amzn.to/2Lguwai
Mastercool 82834-E high side coupler: ebay.us/5zenaf or amzn.to/2Itm5Ya
And if I've saved you some $$ here, consider some coins for the coffee tip-jar! ko-fi.com/drshock
Chapters
0:00 - Product overview
0:11 - Recovery Machine 69000 Unboxing
2:57 - RecoveryMate 69500 Unboxing
6:29 - Cabling and Setup
13:33 - Cost Overview
13:45 - Vacuum Test
20:08 - Test Results & Recommendations
#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
Sir, you are the 1st man here on YT that ever vacuumed hoses and equipment. Congratulations! (others just vent random amounts of refrigerant into the atmosphere and even dare giving out that as an advice)
Excellent fully detailed explanation. Thank you
With a regular set of manifold guages recover the refrigerant slowly as a gas and you will get an miniscule amount of oil.
Start your recovery from the low side of the system while throttling it, with the blue valve on the recovery machine. After pressure drops below the saturated temperature on the high side, finish up the recovery from both high and low sides and fully open the blue valve on the recovery machine. If possible rotate the vehicle compressor by hand in the normal direction of rotation towards the end. Do not use the engine to rotate the compressor.
This method also helps to diagnose the system. If the high side pressure doesn't drop, it indicates a problem with the metering device. In this case you may need to recover liquid from the high side. Be sure to use the throttling method above. The oil is heavier than the refrigerant so slower recovery will generally recover less oil. Letting the system sit for a few hours can help.
Excellent video yes you’re good at it
Freaking awesome amazing video! I’m a subscriber thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Very thorough.
Nice video very usefull ✊🏽
I would also recommend a valve stem kit with multi sizes, Thanks for the video.
@2:30 "R134a is cheap, go virgin every time" may need a revision. Just purchased a 30# cylinder of virgin R134a in FL for over $500... tough times in April 2022.
Tips from a refrigerator guy here : put your recovery hose as far as you can from the bottom of the compressor, (no problem with automotive couplers) heat the compressor with a heat gun (low heat, 10min) to separate oil from the fluid. Never saw this device but mastercool is a pretty solid brand tho
Je les commentaires en français j'aime bien cet article
Super useful!! I’ve been curious about this kind of setup for use on both my 77 c10 and 91 gmc dually. I’d definitely rather a system like this over paying a shop. Will the pieces that connect to the vehicle attach to the old r12 high/low sides or will I need to purchase adapters?
Thanks. I definitely wanted to stop _outsourcing_ these kinds of repairs to shops and handle them myself. The most difficult barrier of getting into DIY automotive air conditioning is having the right tools and training for handling the refrigerants. The high tooling cost, and the regulations and training involved, are why it's typically uncommon to DIY. But as I'm hoping to show in this video series it's definitely within the reach of a prosumer DIYer. It's definitely not for the average shadetree, but if you've done your own engine rebuilding or transmission rebuilding already, then learning how to do AC work is a complementary skillset.
The setup I show in this video is capable of handling any automotive, or residential for that matter, refrigerant types so yeah it can do R12. *But* to do R12 you would definitely need the section 609 EPA training and certification to purchase *any* refrigerant (unlike R134a which is only a greenhouse gas, R12 actually destroys the ozone layer of our planet due to its chlorine molecules).
The R134a equipment comes in 1/2" ACME thread but R12 is in 1/4" flared thread. Your best bet might be to use an old R12 gauge sets hoses with this kind of equipment for the vehicle side connections, and brass adapters to handle the differences at the equipment side.
that's a super fancy setup. I was just going to solder a couple service valves to a refrigerator compressor and use that. when the pressure drops below zero just rip the extension cord out of the wall.
Thank you for making this video! It was really the best one I could find on CZcams covering a full setup for a car. I did have one question, it seems that you could get away with a much cheaper system if you're not reusing the refrigerant and you're just reclaiming it. Since I saw you said somewhere that you don't reuse the refrigerant anyway, I was just wondering if you could elaborate on your reasoning for going with this more expensive setup? Trying to decide what setup I want to go with myself and since I won't be doing this very often I'm considering a cheapo VEVOR system.
Thanks. This Mastercool unit was the least expensive option from an _American_ company. And it being a long established American company there are repair parts and service options available. That is something that I consider worth the extra cost, as you can get parts or effect repairs in the future if needed.
Great video!! Do you have a part number for the hose set you used? I don't see it in the description...or did it come with the 69000 or 69500??
The 69000 came with no accessories as you saw in the video, the hose set came out of the 69500 box (and it included the vacuum pump valve). All I had to purchase separately were the two R134a couplers I showed.
Hi Doc, I am new to Diesel and the channel. I found you in my research on the 6.5 diesel. I am thinking of buying a 1996 GMC C3500 ambulance from a small municipality. It's got 115,000 miles and is stated to have been very well maintained. I would need to drive it cross country and I would like your advice on the preparation of the vehicle for the journey. I really enjoy your videos and have learned a lot.
Sounds like a very interesting find, may have dual alternators on top of dual batteries installed then as many ambulances had that option. This is a really difficult question, because it's about predicting what may fail cross country on a 15 year old government used vehicle that we don't know anything about that has never been driven other than short trips it's whole life likely. ;-)
But if it were me, I'd start with asking if the maintenance documentation is available, since it was government maintained there may be such records (likely only basic stuff like filters and lubrication services but that's still useful to build confidence). You'll want to see if there have been repairs in the last few years with the transmission, cooling system or engine no matter how minor (some repairs may give you pause on taking such a journey). Ask when the batteries were last replaced. You'll want to see when the PMD was last replaced as that is a common failure component on 96+ 6.5L vehicles (and regardless of when it was replaced you'll want to throw a remote mount on and have a spare one and tools to install before such a trip). Bring a spare serpentine belt, and the tools to swap it, along with extra Dexcool coolant. You'll want to hook up a scan tool and check for any DTC codes before buying too. Lastly, if it were me, after buying I'd spend a day/nite in the area driving around getting a feel for whether the vehicle felt in shape to make such a journey (no hard starting, no stalling, gauges working, good highway transmission response, no major coolant leaks, no major oil leaks, etc). Leave on a weekday, not a weekend so road assistance is available if needed. GL. ;-)
@@DrShock Thanks Doc, you have confirmed my thoughts on what to check. In addition, I plan on an oil and coolant change new fuel filter both thermostats new radiator hoses, and maybe purchase a new lift pump to take along. Oh, one more thing I see that it has a PMD relocation upgrade mounted on top of the intake manifold but I will take a spare.
Back when R134a wasn't a rare element being withheld in Chyna....
What vacuum pump are you using, thanks. Also what was your total set price thanks again 😁
I kept a 2.5CFM Harbor Freight vacuum I had, works just fine. My AC work volume is low (maybe 10 vehicles / year tops). The prices change all the time, but when I made the video you can find that at 13:33 index
Hvacr guy here, i've never seen this kind of oil separator with a recovery unit. If you make sure to recover at slowly rate in the beginning, the oil will stay inside the installation.
Very nice video sir, one question though, is there a part number for the oil separator in that 69500? I tried zooming in on the label but can’t quite make out the words. Im considering making my own setup for recovery, and oil separation is my last hurdle to figure out. Thank you in advance!
Thanks. The Mastercool folks used an Airmender brand oil separator. I don't see any model number info on it. It just lists the compatible refrigerants.
What is the price difference between your setup and a full recovery setup in a self contained unit?
It's going to depend on where you buy, but if buying new and limiting your choices to eBay and Amazon, in my experience it saved me about $130 or so. This is definitely one of those your mileage may vary kind of topics. If someone wanted a more compact setup, for about the same cost, I'd suggest the Mastercool 69100. This was my backup choice but I didn't want the cylinder float electronics it required. You'll still have to add the scale and vacuum pump cost either way though. Possibly couplers too.
Does the 69000 come with the cable for the float switch
No, there is not even a provision for a float switch cable to even be connected with this model. You'll want to look at the 69100 instead for that feature.
I just got mine different model same brand, and i don't really understand the final purging step
Purging should reference the same thing across all recovery machine brands. It is how to capture the residual refrigerant contained in the internal piping of the recovery machine itself. So once the automotive system has been fully recovered, to the extent it can be, then the residual refrigerant inside the recovery machine itself needs to be captured into the cylinder. Then, and only then, are you done with the recovery procedure. Hope that helps.
Do u pull vacumm from the tank everytime u do a service or only that first time because it was new? I'm assuming just that first time correct?
Recovery tank*
I covered that in an earlier video of this same series here - czcams.com/video/Gi0SiJJ6TOQ/video.html where you need to vacuum out a brand new recovery cylinder. This is because they are filled with dry air when shipped from the manufacturer, typically nitrogen, as both a leak test and corrosion inhibitor. You wouldn't vacuum the recovery cylinder anymore afterwards as that would result in the venting of refrigerant recovered from repair jobs into the atmosphere.
Will it still work if you lay it down flat like a book?
Not for the oil separator, that component relies on gravity.
If you were a professional shop doing a lot of air conditioning I would highly recommend some good quality equipment Like Fieldpiece or NAVAC recovery unit
This set up in the video is it good enough for the do it yourself person or backyard mechanic.
For anybody who’s going to do multiple vehicles I highly recommend not getting a cheap eBay vacuum hoses they have a short life when use the bit and the seals that come with them are absolute garbage order some good seals from yellow jacket same with the yellow jacket hoses they cost more but worth it
And many cars now come with POE oil also known as Esther oil in all your hybrid electric compressors and even now in some compresses that are not electric
Do not cross contaminate using the same hoses and gauges and equipment for hybrids and POE oil with vehicles that have PAG oil you have separate equipment and separate gauges.
With this unit what is needed to recycle for recharging the a c
This is a refrigerant recovery machine setup only, Mastercool doesn't spec this type of machine for use in recycle or recharging.
Thank you
Will is a / c mechine work on both 134r and 1234yf
It will handle either of those two refrigerant types, but of course not at the same time. Each refrigerant has different sized couplers/hoses, and should be using a different recovery cylinder.
Will it recycle
No, this is a refrigerant recovery machine setup only.
Did not pull vacuum on the recovery tank, no telling what was in it.
Umm, I most certainly did pull a vacuum on this cylinder in the previous video of this playlist series. You always evac a new cylinder as part of the commissioning process - czcams.com/video/Gi0SiJJ6TOQ/video.html
Glad I spent a whopping $100 to save from all that mess
You spent $100 on what exactly? An evacuation and a recharge? Most shops charge between an hour and a half, to 2 hours to do those two combined. The general rule of thumb for just about all mechanics in $90 an hour. Not to mention if you need any part replaced, leak dye, etc. Not sure I'd feel so confident in paying someone half of what most shops charge. Not to mention, you can now work on you and your families vehicles after buying this equipment.