Refrigerant recovery without a machine

[event3horizon]

Gentleman, I made a youtube video on this topic. I would like to hear if you have any thoughts or suggestions. It was an interesting experiment. Please go easy on me as I am just a hobbyist. Thanks, lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbtu1RbUiYk

[Cusser]

I have done similar with both R-12 and later with R134a (still have one vehicle on R-12).

I have used my vacuum pump and a small canister no longer needed by my workplace to recover R-12. Nowadays, I'd have to buy dry ice to do this (some grocery stores), I'd use surplus dry ice from work back then, and use waste alcohol from the lab. Something like this:



Here's what I'd do. I installed an AC fitting to my canister. I pulled vacuum on the canister to remove any remaining refrigerant or air, then close its valve. I'd put the canister in the freezer. Then I'd put the canister in a dry ice-alcohol bath, attach the canister to the vehicle AC, open the canister's valve, and its vacuum would start to pull over refrigerant. As refrigerant arrived into the cold canister, it condensed into liquid refrigerant, so still was under vacuum, so more refrigerant came over, etc. When complete, I'd shut the canister valve; when filling, I'd just fill from the canister. I'd weigh the canister before and after so I'd know how much refrigerant was recovered.

[event3horizon]

Interesting. So dry ice is much colder than water ice I read? I guess that is what does the trick to pull it all out. Thanks for sharing your experience on this.

[Cusser]

Interesting. So dry ice is much colder than water ice I read? I guess that is what does the trick to pull it all out. Thanks for sharing your experience on this.

I used dry ice and waste alcohol solvent to get the canister cold.

If you use water and ice, use salt water.

[msrichmond]

Interesting. So dry ice is much colder than water ice I read? I guess that is what does the trick to pull it all out. Thanks for sharing your experience on this.

...

If you use water and ice, use salt water.

I eagerly await the YouTube video of someone doing this and yielding ice cream as a byproduct.