Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

I have a few questions regarding refrigerant after it’s been added to a recovery cylinder.

Question 1: Is it immediately reusable? – Let’s say I have a Honda CR-V with a bad compressor clutch. The compressor itself is probably still okay, but I “might as well” myself into replacing it with an upgraded compressor to avoid future problems. I evacuate the refrigerant/oil suspension into a brand- new recovery cylinder. Sure enough, the post-evacuation flush reveals no metal bits or other contaminants. So what’s in the cylinder is exactly what was removed, except that it’s had an extra trip through the recovery machine’s filter. Shouldn’t that be reusable as-is, and do techs commonly refill from a recovery cylinder? Or does the refrigerant somehow become Kryptonite when it’s evacuated?

Question 2: What’s the disposal process? – When the recovery cylinder is 80 percent full, it’s time to take it to a reclamation center. But how does that work? Do they empty my cylinder while I wait and then give it back to me, or do they give me a different tank? The reason I ask, is that I can envision turning in a $200 MasterCool cylinder and getting a $75 Brand X tank in return.

And, finally Question 3: Do the reclamation centers pay anything for the refrigerant we’re providing them? In the case of r-1234yf, 50 pounds would amount to quite a gift!

Thanks in advance, and sorry about the length. I’m just trying to understand how things are done and what to expect.

ttiwkram wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 11:25 am I have a few questions regarding refrigerant after it’s been added to a recovery cylinder.

Question 1: Is it immediately reusable? – Let’s say I have a Honda CR-V with a bad compressor clutch. The compressor itself is probably still okay, but I “might as well” myself into replacing it with an upgraded compressor to avoid future problems. I evacuate the refrigerant/oil suspension into a brand- new recovery cylinder. Sure enough, the post-evacuation flush reveals no metal bits or other contaminants. So what’s in the cylinder is exactly what was removed, except that it’s had an extra trip through the recovery machine’s filter. Shouldn’t that be reusable as-is, and do techs commonly refill from a recovery cylinder? Or does the refrigerant somehow become Kryptonite when it’s evacuated?

This is my experience, twice.

I've have a 1988 Mazda B2200 truck since 1994, and it's still R-12. Twice I have recovered my R-12, and I then used that recovered R-12 to fill the system after the repair. I believe the last time I did this - using a brand-new compressor from ackits.com, the board sponsor, was in 2014 and the system is still fine. Remember, oil and particles do not come over in the recovery process, and in your case your compressor didn't even seize up.

Also note that on some vehicles the AC clutch can be R&R'd without even unbolting the compressor from its mounts, depends on how much room you have. AC clutch bearings are oftentimes readily replaceable, and on my 1998 Frontier with a slipping/intermittent clutch I fixed that by simply removing a spacer/shim, didn't even have to take the compressor drive belt off for that repair. And I think some AC clutches still have replaceable electric coils.

I don't own a professional RRR (Recovering/Recycling/Recharging) machine. That said, this is a brief overview of my understanding of how such a machine works.

By hooking up the red and blue service hoses to the vehicle, a technician can recover, recycle, evacuate, and recharge (from the on-board recovery tank) an MVAC system. Many machines can handle one or more of these operations automatically once the machine is set up as desired.

The refrigerant being recovered must be pure. No refrigerant blends, combustible gases, sealers, or other substances should be introduced into an RRR machine or damage to the machine will result. Nowadays, many RRR machines have an integral refrigerant identifier so that a technician can determine whether the refrigerant in a system is untainted before recovery begins.

As recovery starts, the machine channels the refrigerant through a series of filters and a desiccant that removes any air, moisture, oil, and particulates before the clean refrigerant is pumped into the recovery tank.

The refrigerant in the recovery tank is now considered to be recycled and can be used for future recharges.

As far as I know, the only time refrigerant must be sent to a reclamation facility is if it's contaminated in some way—that is, when two or more refrigerants are blended, when unauthorized refrigerants are used, or when foreign substances like sealer are present. Ordinarily, this wouldn't happen in a professional MVAC shop because the refrigerant is scanned and identified as contaminated or not beforehand.

Outstanding! Thanks.

When I had the dealership, we turned over our recovered refrigerant to a vendor. We always used refrigerant from a new container to charge systems.

Who knows what mystery gas came out of those systems. We did check them for sealer before recovering systems and if it has sealer, we told the customer first and recovered that refrigerant into a dedicated bottle based upon the type of refrigerant that was supposed to be inside. R12 vs R134. There was a surcharge because if the sealer ruined the portable machine, then we had enough of a revenue stream to pay for the portable machine. I think that machine's drier unit caught a lot of the sealer as we replaced the drier on the machine left and right.

We had a refrigerant identifier and a sealer identifier in our shop. We never reclaimed anything that was not 100% refrigerant. There is no need to waste a customer's refrigerant if it is clean and pure. Not many companies pay the cost of those types of equipment. Turned away many jobs after the initial inspection due to HC's or sealers present.