Refrigerant Recovery Review

Introduction

A variety of cooling agents or refrigerants are used in the average household. Freon - in air conditioning, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - in aerosolized products, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) - in refrigerators are just a few common examples of refrigerants met daily. While these chemicals have their uses, it has also been proven that they can harm the environment and exhaust the earth's ozone layer when left unchecked or disposed of improperly. Refrigerant recovery is a sector of the environmental industry that works to collect and re-purpose these or other chemicals or to properly dispose of the chemicals in a way that does not harm the environment.

In many countries, the law doesn’t permit the venting of refrigerants. Refrigerants have to be recovered and recycled (if uncontaminated) or recovered and destroyed (if contaminated). In developed countries, most CFCs, HCFCs & HFCs are recovered, and most HVAC/R technicians have/share recovery machines.

Popular Products

Mastercool 63010 50 lb DOT-Approved Recovery Cylinder

Mastercool 98210-A Accu-Charge Electronic Refrigerant Scale

Interstate Pneumatics WRCO2-CL20-20 CO2 Paintball Tank (Empty), 20 oz

Available Options

Interstate Pneumatics WRCO2-CL24-20 CO2 Paintball Tank (Empty), 24 oz

Mastercool 98230 Charging Solenoid Module

Yellow Jacket 68812 Electronic Scale, 220 lbs. (100 kg)

Mastercool 98250 Electronic Tank Heater Blanket 110V

General Tools DS300RC Refrigerant Charging Scale

Interstate Pneumatics WRCO2-TF2 Regulator, Paintball Tank Kit

Why Use?

A refrigerant recovery machine is a device that can be used to remove refrigerant from a cooling system, such as a freezer, refrigerator, or air conditioning system. Several companies manufacture refrigerant recovery machines, and there are a number of applications for these devices. Due to concerns about environmental pollution caused by the release of refrigerants into the environment, many nations require people to have a certification before they can operate a refrigerant recovery machine, demonstrating that they know how to operate the machine safely and correctly.

When any device which uses refrigerant is brought in for service, the refrigerant recovery machine is used to drain the device first, to ensure that refrigerant is not accidentally released during servicing and repairs. Once removed, the refrigerant can be filtered to remove impurities, and pumped back into the device after the cleaning and servicing are over. Refrigerants can also be reclaimed, which involves more extensive processing to purify the refrigerant so that it can be released for sale, and they can also be disposed of in locations which are designed to process refrigerants.

In cases where appliances which contain refrigerant are being disposed of, it is necessary to extract the refrigerant first. A refrigerant recovery machine is used to pull out the refrigerant before the device is broken down so that its components can be recycled and discarded. The extracted refrigerant may be reclaimed or disposed of, depending on policies at the processing site and the type of refrigerant involved. Many nations hold the final custodian of the appliance responsible for extracting the refrigerant, requiring scrap yards and appliance recyclers to maintain records, which indicate that they are handling refrigerant responsibly.

Refrigerant recycling is environmentally important because it reduces the need to produce more refrigerants. Processing facilities are also slowly removing and disposing of harmful refrigerants like Freon by taking the refrigerant out of old appliances. Proper disposal is critical for older refrigerants, which have been linked with damage to the Earth's atmosphere, and for modern refrigerants, which are considered safe, recycling still saves money and reduces stress on the environment.

The basic design of a refrigerant recovery machine is designed to create a vacuum, which is used to suck the refrigerant out of the system, with good machines having recovery rates over 90%. If the refrigerant is going to be pumped back into the system after servicing, the refrigerant recovery machine recreates the vacuum in the system so that the refrigerant will be sucked back in, and the system is resealed.