Freon Removal

What does it cost to remove Freon in house? What are some variables in determining how long it takes to remove it?

Originally Posted by gustavus

REFRIGERANT PURITY

The single largest concern we face time and again with our suppliers is the concern for the quality of their refrigerant. While a one ton container of R-12 will be worth a considerable amount, the same container mixed with a few pounds of another refrigerant is suddenly a liability (requiring incineration) instead of an asset.

so is there no market for recovered refrigerant? or can it be reused somewhere or in personal systems? this is a growing concern before i attempt an endeavor like this. thanks, bro

each recovery tank? How many tanks would ya need?

Originally Posted by Ewasted

each recovery tank? How many tanks would ya need?

it sounds like one for each type of refrigerant and possibly more than one of each depending on its capacity. cant put 100 pounds of freon in a 50psi tank

Originally Posted by ScrapperNJ26

FJ,
What about the new stuff 410? Or is that too new of a product for reclamation?

It is recovered the same as any other refrigerant type, just make sure you keep it in it's own container and don't mix it with the other stuff.

ONE CONTAINER per FREON TYPE

Never fill your containers more than 80% (by weight, not psi) A 50lb recovery tank should have no more than 40lbs total of freon in it.

Make sure you swap your filters, AND tanks (and possibly your hoses) between each refrigerant type. This is where properly recovering refrigerants gets expensive, you need essentially a set up for each individual type of refrigerant you'll be working with.

1 - Recovery machine (good one is about $700 but prices range from cheaper to more expensive as well) I like the stinger

2 - Hoses. A set of these should go around $50.

3 - A manifold. To check your pressures when evacuating. Generally about $60

4 - Filters for each freon type, $15 or so. You'll have to replace these and your hoses every once in a while so plan to consider these your 'wear and tear'

5 - Piercing valves. Just a few bucks each, but prepare to buy new tips for them, these are wear and tear items as well.

6 - Tanks. depending on the size of your tanks, prices will be anywhere from $100 to $250 each.

7 - Scale. You'll need a RELIABLE quality scale to weigh your tanks WHILE evacuating. You never want to exceed 80% allowed weight in your containers, any more than 80% and the tanks could EXPLODE.

8 - And of course, your CERTS.

Depending on the temperature difference in your environment and your tanks, recovering an appliance (with 2lbs or less in it) can take anywhere from a minute to 15-20 minutes. When it's cold out, expect it to take closer to the 15-20 minutes.

Trick of the trade - In the summer, drop your recovery tank inside a bucket of ice or ice water, the cooler tank will allow you to recover much faster than if both your tank AND the unit you're recovering are the same temperature and warm.

Originally Posted by gustavus

REFRIGERANT PURITY

The single largest concern we face time and again with our suppliers is the concern for the quality of their refrigerant. While a one ton container of R-12 will be worth a considerable amount, the same container mixed with a few pounds of another refrigerant is suddenly a liability (requiring incineration) instead of an asset.

Not true. It depends on who you're working with.

The company we work with welcome mixed refrigerants (although we don't mix them, if it does happen in the rare case it's not a big deal at all) as they have the equipment to test, handle and separate mixed gases. However, you are partially correct because most places don't have this and will in fact charge you several dollars per pound if you bring in mixed gas.

Don't forget about the new 22B freon that is coming onto the market.

Another quick way to evacuate a system is the hook your hose up to the High side and evacuate the freon till the pressure equalizes in the cold reclaim tank. Then continue the evacuation from the low side till the system is empty.

If you test your recovering freon for acid and it tests negative I generaly use a dryer in line with the charging hose and reuse the freon that test negative.

I will add this, if an individual came to me and said I have a reclaim tank that is full and wanted to sell it to me I would not buy it and use it. I only use what I know where it came from. Too much liability involved.

Then you also have tecks that do not pay attention to the equipment and the type of freon that was used. I am currently in the process of changing out a compressor on a system because a service teck charged an R22 system with 410 and didn't realize what he had done, he evacuated the system of the 410 but did not flush the syste out so now I have a compressor to change out because of a stupid mistake from a non caring teck that is known around here for doing bad work.