Service manual

Sealed System
5-8
Recovering Refrigerant
Recovering refrigerant is the first step in preventive
maintenance or repair of equipment. Simply put,
recovery means transferring the systems’ refrigerant into
a refillable refrigerant cylinder.
The first step is to have on hand, clean, safe, refillable
cylinders evacuated to 25 microns, and labeled for each
different type of refrigerant you will be working with.
Example; for repairing Electrolux Home Products Inc.
built products you will need one cylinder for R-12, one for
R-22, one for R-134a, and one for R-500 if you work on
dehumidifiers.
Second step is you must have dedicated equipment
for HFC (R-134a) refrigerant. Because of the difference
in the oil and the refrigerant, you can not use the same
equipment on HFC based refrigerants as you use on
CFC based refrigerants.
To recover the refrigerant:
1. Disconnect unit from source of power.
2. Attach an approved self tapping line tap valve to the
process tube. Connect refrigerant recovery system
to tap valve. Turn on recovery system, open the
line tap valve, and allow refrigerant to flow into an
approved tank. (See Figure 5-3 )
3. Allow the recovery pump to run until the system has
reached 13 inches of vacuum.
4. Shut system down and allow to set for two minutes.
If pressure is below (0) pounds per square inch,
disconnect equipment and proceed with repair.
5. If pressure does not stay bellow (0) pounds per
square inch, repeat steps 3 and 4 until all refrigerant
is removed and system remains in a vacuum.
Always make sure equipment is in good condition
and all manufacture instructions are followed to
prevent accidental rupture of a hose, connection
fitting, or a tank, that could cause a serious injury.
Always sit tank on a scale when transferring
refrigerant into the tank. Always check the weight
to see when tank is full, do not over fill the tank.
Figure 5-3. Installation of Recovery Equipment