I hope utube consider how to revalue your experience knowledge Really it was honest and useful demonstration.. I really appreciate it helped me alot Thank you very very much
I like your video the most, using gauges, seeing it real time what's happening. Never know, what if machine roars, but ain't pulling no vacuum, or pulls far insufficient vacuum, this way you know!
The band is a protective edge for the steel bracket on top of the tank. Add a recovery unit to your scale, and you have the equivalent to a $6000 A/C machine.
Thanks. I figured that plastic band went there as it was the right length but it doesn't stay on the steel handle for carrying upright so I don't use it. I'm sure it's preferable when you have the cylinder upside down though. Yeah, I have a playlist series I'm doing starting with this one including a Mastercool 69500 and 69000 as well as the 98210A.
It’s actually filled with nitrogen so I’m pretty sure you can just open the valves and let it out into the air. That’s not illegal. And then pull a vacuum on the tank
Yep, it's _N2_ as I mentioned in the video, perfectly safe to vent from the new _empty_ recovery cylinder as ~78% of planet Earths atmosphere we all breathe is actually N2. ;-) The reason it's *not* a best practice to vent the N2 first, then vacuum second, is the new recovery cylinder is bare unpainted steel on the inside. This bare steel surface can flash rust with even a momentary exposure to atmospheric humidity. So best practice is instead to vacuum the residual N2 out before the cylinder is fully emptied by venting.
Great video, let me see if I understood for the purposes I watched; If I get this tank, after this set up, can I recover the freon on my car AC system? I do not intent to use whatever recovered but dispose of it taking it to a shop or whatever the method should be. I intent to drain my car AC system so I can replace the core and other AC components then I will be recharging it fresh with cans of 134a until capacity. Right now I have the manifold and hoses, the pump from harbor freight, cans of flushing ac system and cans of 134a; I can not take the car to a shop; engine is being overhauled, but while it is outside its bay I had the idea to replace the core, regulator valve, drier element and seals on the system; before turning the car off AC was not present; blower works but blows hot air. Like I said, I do not need the freon recycled; I do not care using again what comes out of the system; I will recharge it with new 134a. Please advise and thank you in advance for your input.
So these empty cylinders are used in conjunction with an R134a recovery machine. If you have the full setup, either what I've demoed in this playlist series or something similar from other vendors, you will be able to recover the R134a refrigerant to do such repairs yes. Watch thru the full playlist to get the full jist of all the tools needed.
@@DrShock so could not use this cylinder to dump the freon on it just using the vacuum machine from harbor freight correct? if the is the case i am screwed because I do not want to expend $500.00+ on tools I will only use one time; considering already bought the vacuum and the manifolds gauges
No, a vacuum pump is needed to check for leaks as well as to evacuate any atmospheric moisture intrusion into the AC system. But it alone won't be enough to recover refrigerant by itself, there's a bit more plumbing needed as you have refrigerant vapor, liquid refrigerant, and refrigerant oil all needing to be recovered first. That's where the recovery machines come in. For a one time job, I'd just pay a local AC shop to do an evac for you.
@@DrShock yes but that would be when the car runs again; then all the comfort of doing the replacements now is gone! too bad nobody rents those machines for the do it yourself.
I took my truck into a local mechanic to evacuate the r34 freon they charged me $ 140.00 to recharge it after I put a new compressor on. I had no idea it would cost that much but next time I'm just going to recharge it myself and let the shop keep the freon its much less expensive that way only $25.00 and I already have the evacuate pump and gages.
Thanks for sharing this video. Look forward to your Mastercool 69500 video. Just purchased a Mastercool 69372 (machine only) that includes a filter drier so not sure if adding a 69500 would be redundant.
The _weight_ of the tank itself has to be added back to the calculated _capacity_ the tank is capable of safely holding. Check out the math calculation I walked thru again, but after you figure out the internal capacity you then have to add the actual weight of the actual steel the tank is constructed of back in so that you know what you're looking for on the scale.
That's a hassle that it comes with different connections than I assume is standard and also I was under the impression that recovery machines pulled vacuum as well so you didn't need a separate vacuum if you had one of those am I wrong I assume it has some kind of vacuum pump is it just not as strong
All the connections are industry standard, but vary by the intended type of refrigerant by design. There are also standards for the size ports on the cylinders vs the attaching equipment, which have to work across all refrigerant types. On vacuum, I believe you're thinking of the far more expensive recharging stations. The lower cost recovery machines are not capable of charging, only removing, refrigerant. So they do not provide a separate vacuum function to test the repair. They provide a port for attaching an external vacuum pump for this purpose instead, as I show in other videos of this playlist - ua-cam.com/video/oIRKmR2Xgds/v-deo.html The recovery machine does have the ability to _vacuum_ out the refrigerant, but that's it. It cannot test that your repair is holding vacuum.
Its not for new refrigerant. It's for _recovering_ used refrigerant before attempting repairs. Both federal and state law requires preventing the venting of refrigerant into the atmosphere before attempting any repairs on the AC system. You can then take these tanks to an EPA refrigerant recycling center when full and they will empty them for you.
That's a great question. If you follow my playlist a later video goes over this, but the answer is a vacuum pump. You have to pull a vacuum on the equipment itself, to remove atmospheric moisture (aka air) from the lines that will get hooked up to the vehicle. Otherwise that air will then contaminate the refrigerant stored in the cylinder during recovery. The valves on the end connectors of the equipment hoses will hold that vacuum until you're ready to do the evac with the recovery machine. The process concern applies to recharging the vehicle as well. Besides the vacuum pulled on the vehicles system, your equipment also has to be purged of atmospheric air again, in order to not contaminate the vehicle system on recharging with air present within your equipment.
I bought this recovery tank in 2016 and never used it. I'm in the process of draining the nitrogen out and doing a recovery. Do I still need to get my recovery tank retested before I use it?
Once the nitrogen charge is vented, atmospheric moisture will immediately enter the cylinder. So the manufacturer recommended procedure is what I show, in order to prevent that from ever happening. That way you never get a single dot of interior bare steel surface corrosion. You can certainly pull a vacuum afterwards too, but doing it while he nitrogen is still there is the preferred approach.
Neither. R-134a uses an AC industry 1/2" ACME threaded fitting. ACME is a flared end type design. The adapters that may be needed for some hoses are 1/4" MFL (male flared line) that I showed a 3:42.
Because you run the risk of atmospheric (moisture laden) air getting sucked in. You want to just vent out the dry air / nitrogen charge from the factory to a point where it won't tax the vacuum pump unnecessarily. Go too far, and you end up having to pull a longer vacuum to get rid of the moisture contamination you let in. Why the moisture concern? Because the vehicles R134a component internals are extremely vulnerable to moisture and will corrode quickly. It's what usually kills a compressor in short order when folks don't take the precautions necessary. For the recovery cylinder we're concerned with it for two reasons. One, so we can sell the full contents to a recovery facility when the cylinder is full (most won't take contaminated refrigerant). And two, if we happen to just be doing this on our own personal vehicles, to keep it from being contaminated for reuse.
Starting the vacuum pump before the tank is fully empty of nitrogen is good practice if you don't have a micron vacuum gauge. If using a micron gauge while pulling the vacuum, it probably doesn't matter if you let a bit of air into the tank since the micron gauge will tell you whether you still have moisture in the tank.
This area of repair is an EPA regulated one, but the video is aimed at those new to it. Releasing refrigerants into the atmosphere is prohibited by statute, and carries heavy fines. Novices may not be clear that N2 (i.e., Nitrogen) is *not* a regulated gas, and is in fact the majority composition of this planet's atmosphere (i.e., totally safe to vent). Had I not said that, I would get multiple comments that I did not make that clear. ;-)
@@DrShock well, but after pulling the vacuum in the tank, is it not better to fill it with few PSI of refrigerant, to avoid potential contamination over time?
Well by following the prep procedure I show here, you end up replacing the N2 with a vacuum. Both N2 and a full vacuum protect against corrosion of the untreated steel of the cylinders interior walls. Once you do the first vehicle AC repair with the new cylinder, you'll be starting the process of displacing the vacuum with recovered refrigerant (e.g., R134a). Using these manual recovery cylinders, you wouldn't reuse the refrigerant anyway (the contamination state of the vehicle owner's system will be unknown). So these are just for recovery, and once _full_ you take the cylinder to an EPA reclamation center where they empty the tank of refrigerant and give it back to you. Depending on the refrigerant type, they may even compensate you for the recovered contents (e.g., if its R12).
There is equipment out there that will recover, filter and clean the refrigerant, and then recharge. You would find that in your typical dedicated AC repair shop. But for someone who just does AC work occasionally, that's too expensive (often costing more than the vehicles being serviced are worth). I use a recovery only machine setup that doesn't handle that refrigerant reuse functionality, and then recharge after repairs from a virgin R134a cylinder instead, using the typical gauge set low side feed method.
Yeah, unfortunately what you have to contend with in online retail purchasing. Amazon will hands down beat any price on this kind of gear, but it's not a fast moving item. So inventory can sit for a _long time_ in their warehouses. Beats what the local shops will charge you though.
Thank You Sir! I just received this same exact tank today . I appreciate you taking the time to show the steps to ready the tank for first use!!
Thanks for the detailed preparation for your recovery tank.
Thx my friend, I’m starting to study the EPA 608 book . Great information.
Thx my friend. I’m studying for the EPA 608, great help
I hope utube consider how to revalue your experience knowledge Really it was honest and useful demonstration.. I really appreciate it helped me alot
Thank you very very much
I like your video the most, using gauges, seeing it real time what's happening. Never know, what if machine roars, but ain't pulling no vacuum, or pulls far insufficient vacuum, this way you know!
The band is a protective edge for the steel bracket on top of the tank. Add a recovery unit to your scale, and you have the equivalent to a $6000 A/C machine.
Thanks. I figured that plastic band went there as it was the right length but it doesn't stay on the steel handle for carrying upright so I don't use it. I'm sure it's preferable when you have the cylinder upside down though. Yeah, I have a playlist series I'm doing starting with this one including a Mastercool 69500 and 69000 as well as the 98210A.
Excellent video. Super informative. Thank you.
Great videos keep up the great work. Hope your channel takes off for you
Great video, especially the calculation s at the end. Thank you.
Thanks. Very instructive video
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas, sir!
Merry Christmas
It’s actually filled with nitrogen so I’m pretty sure you can just open the valves and let it out into the air. That’s not illegal. And then pull a vacuum on the tank
Yep, it's _N2_ as I mentioned in the video, perfectly safe to vent from the new _empty_ recovery cylinder as ~78% of planet Earths atmosphere we all breathe is actually N2. ;-)
The reason it's *not* a best practice to vent the N2 first, then vacuum second, is the new recovery cylinder is bare unpainted steel on the inside. This bare steel surface can flash rust with even a momentary exposure to atmospheric humidity. So best practice is instead to vacuum the residual N2 out before the cylinder is fully emptied by venting.
OK I’m just learning really. Definitely no expert. Thanks for the video
Great video, let me see if I understood for the purposes I watched; If I get this tank, after this set up, can I recover the freon on my car AC system? I do not intent to use whatever recovered but dispose of it taking it to a shop or whatever the method should be. I intent to drain my car AC system so I can replace the core and other AC components then I will be recharging it fresh with cans of 134a until capacity. Right now I have the manifold and hoses, the pump from harbor freight, cans of flushing ac system and cans of 134a; I can not take the car to a shop; engine is being overhauled, but while it is outside its bay I had the idea to replace the core, regulator valve, drier element and seals on the system; before turning the car off AC was not present; blower works but blows hot air. Like I said, I do not need the freon recycled; I do not care using again what comes out of the system; I will recharge it with new 134a. Please advise and thank you in advance for your input.
So these empty cylinders are used in conjunction with an R134a recovery machine. If you have the full setup, either what I've demoed in this playlist series or something similar from other vendors, you will be able to recover the R134a refrigerant to do such repairs yes. Watch thru the full playlist to get the full jist of all the tools needed.
@@DrShock so could not use this cylinder to dump the freon on it just using the vacuum machine from harbor freight correct? if the is the case i am screwed because I do not want to expend $500.00+ on tools I will only use one time; considering already bought the vacuum and the manifolds gauges
No, a vacuum pump is needed to check for leaks as well as to evacuate any atmospheric moisture intrusion into the AC system. But it alone won't be enough to recover refrigerant by itself, there's a bit more plumbing needed as you have refrigerant vapor, liquid refrigerant, and refrigerant oil all needing to be recovered first. That's where the recovery machines come in.
For a one time job, I'd just pay a local AC shop to do an evac for you.
@@DrShock yes but that would be when the car runs again; then all the comfort of doing the replacements now is gone! too bad nobody rents those machines for the do it yourself.
I took my truck into a local mechanic to evacuate the r34 freon they charged me $ 140.00 to recharge it after I put a new compressor on. I had no idea it would cost that much but next time I'm just going to recharge it myself and let the shop keep the freon its much less expensive that way only $25.00 and I already have the evacuate pump and gages.
Skip to 9:32 if you already know how to hook up gauges.
On that tare weight, the extra .05 lbs is those two adapters you installed ;)
Doh, should have thought of that. Thanx.
Thanks for sharing this video. Look forward to your Mastercool 69500 video. Just purchased a Mastercool 69372 (machine only) that includes a filter drier so not sure if adding a 69500 would be redundant.
Thanks, posted that 69500 unboxing today
How the maximum capacity is 40 lb if the tank stamped 30 lb capacity 80% of 30 lb is 24 lb ?
The _weight_ of the tank itself has to be added back to the calculated _capacity_ the tank is capable of safely holding. Check out the math calculation I walked thru again, but after you figure out the internal capacity you then have to add the actual weight of the actual steel the tank is constructed of back in so that you know what you're looking for on the scale.
That's a hassle that it comes with different connections than I assume is standard and also I was under the impression that recovery machines pulled vacuum as well so you didn't need a separate vacuum if you had one of those am I wrong I assume it has some kind of vacuum pump is it just not as strong
All the connections are industry standard, but vary by the intended type of refrigerant by design. There are also standards for the size ports on the cylinders vs the attaching equipment, which have to work across all refrigerant types.
On vacuum, I believe you're thinking of the far more expensive recharging stations. The lower cost recovery machines are not capable of charging, only removing, refrigerant. So they do not provide a separate vacuum function to test the repair. They provide a port for attaching an external vacuum pump for this purpose instead, as I show in other videos of this playlist - ua-cam.com/video/oIRKmR2Xgds/v-deo.html
The recovery machine does have the ability to _vacuum_ out the refrigerant, but that's it. It cannot test that your repair is holding vacuum.
6:07 - its actually the same exact pressure and you would also need to use a micron cage to pull the vaccuum down to 150
This is an informative video, but what is the purpose of a refillable R134a tank? Is there a place where you can buy R134a and fill up your own tank?
Its not for new refrigerant. It's for _recovering_ used refrigerant before attempting repairs. Both federal and state law requires preventing the venting of refrigerant into the atmosphere before attempting any repairs on the AC system.
You can then take these tanks to an EPA refrigerant recycling center when full and they will empty them for you.
When you go to evacuate the system how to you get the air out of the lines before opening the tank?
That's a great question. If you follow my playlist a later video goes over this, but the answer is a vacuum pump. You have to pull a vacuum on the equipment itself, to remove atmospheric moisture (aka air) from the lines that will get hooked up to the vehicle. Otherwise that air will then contaminate the refrigerant stored in the cylinder during recovery. The valves on the end connectors of the equipment hoses will hold that vacuum until you're ready to do the evac with the recovery machine. The process concern applies to recharging the vehicle as well. Besides the vacuum pulled on the vehicles system, your equipment also has to be purged of atmospheric air again, in order to not contaminate the vehicle system on recharging with air present within your equipment.
I bought this recovery tank in 2016 and never used it. I'm in the process of draining the nitrogen out and doing a recovery. Do I still need to get my recovery tank retested before I use it?
They are bare unpainted steel on the inside, so corrosion is the primary concern with them.
Why not just open the tank let it empty then connect the yellow line too the vacuum.
Once the nitrogen charge is vented, atmospheric moisture will immediately enter the cylinder. So the manufacturer recommended procedure is what I show, in order to prevent that from ever happening. That way you never get a single dot of interior bare steel surface corrosion.
You can certainly pull a vacuum afterwards too, but doing it while he nitrogen is still there is the preferred approach.
Hi Dr Shock...can the nitrogen be used for flushing an AC line?
I've only used it when looking for leaks that do not lend themselves to dye.
@@DrShock thanks for the tip. :)
what is this size of fitting called? 3/8" MNPT or 1/2" MNPT?
Neither. R-134a uses an AC industry 1/2" ACME threaded fitting. ACME is a flared end type design.
The adapters that may be needed for some hoses are 1/4" MFL (male flared line) that I showed a 3:42.
Why stop at 5 psi instead of letting it get all the way down to zero psi?
Because you run the risk of atmospheric (moisture laden) air getting sucked in. You want to just vent out the dry air / nitrogen charge from the factory to a point where it won't tax the vacuum pump unnecessarily. Go too far, and you end up having to pull a longer vacuum to get rid of the moisture contamination you let in.
Why the moisture concern? Because the vehicles R134a component internals are extremely vulnerable to moisture and will corrode quickly. It's what usually kills a compressor in short order when folks don't take the precautions necessary. For the recovery cylinder we're concerned with it for two reasons. One, so we can sell the full contents to a recovery facility when the cylinder is full (most won't take contaminated refrigerant). And two, if we happen to just be doing this on our own personal vehicles, to keep it from being contaminated for reuse.
@@DrShock wow, i never knew that. thank you!
Starting the vacuum pump before the tank is fully empty of nitrogen is good practice if you don't have a micron vacuum gauge. If using a micron gauge while pulling the vacuum, it probably doesn't matter if you let a bit of air into the tank since the micron gauge will tell you whether you still have moisture in the tank.
Why did you feel the need to specify it is OK to vent N2 to the atmosphere 😂
This area of repair is an EPA regulated one, but the video is aimed at those new to it. Releasing refrigerants into the atmosphere is prohibited by statute, and carries heavy fines. Novices may not be clear that N2 (i.e., Nitrogen) is *not* a regulated gas, and is in fact the majority composition of this planet's atmosphere (i.e., totally safe to vent).
Had I not said that, I would get multiple comments that I did not make that clear. ;-)
@@DrShock well, but after pulling the vacuum in the tank, is it not better to fill it with few PSI of refrigerant, to avoid potential contamination over time?
Well by following the prep procedure I show here, you end up replacing the N2 with a vacuum. Both N2 and a full vacuum protect against corrosion of the untreated steel of the cylinders interior walls. Once you do the first vehicle AC repair with the new cylinder, you'll be starting the process of displacing the vacuum with recovered refrigerant (e.g., R134a). Using these manual recovery cylinders, you wouldn't reuse the refrigerant anyway (the contamination state of the vehicle owner's system will be unknown). So these are just for recovery, and once _full_ you take the cylinder to an EPA reclamation center where they empty the tank of refrigerant and give it back to you. Depending on the refrigerant type, they may even compensate you for the recovered contents (e.g., if its R12).
@@DrShock oh I see, I thought the refrigerant would be reused! This explains it.
There is equipment out there that will recover, filter and clean the refrigerant, and then recharge. You would find that in your typical dedicated AC repair shop. But for someone who just does AC work occasionally, that's too expensive (often costing more than the vehicles being serviced are worth). I use a recovery only machine setup that doesn't handle that refrigerant reuse functionality, and then recharge after repairs from a virgin R134a cylinder instead, using the typical gauge set low side feed method.
A new tank with only half shelf life left.
Yeah, unfortunately what you have to contend with in online retail purchasing. Amazon will hands down beat any price on this kind of gear, but it's not a fast moving item. So inventory can sit for a _long time_ in their warehouses. Beats what the local shops will charge you though.