Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

Im getting ready to replace a busted low pressure hose.
Is it standard practice to get the freon recovered prior to work when there is a large leak?
Figuring that the freon has already leaked out seems like kind of pointless to get freon recovered, although i guess there may be a little freon left in somewhere?
I will be evacuating the system with a vacuum pump after install.

If there is zero pressure in the system, there is nothing to recover. I would go ahead with replacing the leaking hose, as well as the receiver/dryer or accumulator. Then evacuate and recharge according to the refrigerant specification on the under-hood decal.

Thanks, I was planning to read the pressure before starting the procedure, but was not sure the reading would be accurate given the compressor is not coming on due to low pressure.

If the LP hose has a major leak, I'm pretty sure there won't be any refrigerant left in the system. But to be safe, wear protective goggles anyway in case refrigerant rushes out under pressure. You definitely don't want any liquid refrigerant in your eyes.
Let us know how it goes.

It when well, there was no pressure in either side so I skipped the Freon recovery. When I stuck the vac pump on it, it didn't seem like any freon was coming out. Hardest part of the job was swapping the drier bag, had to rip apart the whole front end and removed bumper and radiator to get to it.

When evacuating using a vacuum pump, you won't see much of anything coming out except for maybe a little oil. The refrigerant is long gone by that time. The idea is for the vacuum pump to lower the boiling point of any moisture in the system and to remove it by boiling it off.

If after evacuating the system for about an hour and observing that the vacuum holds, you can go ahead and recharge it by weight according to the data given on the under-hood decal.

Yes, some receiver/dryers integral with the condenser can be a real bear to access.

Did you recharge it and is it cooling well now?

Yes, it's fixed