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  1. #1
    newattitude started this thread.
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    Freon issues with one yard has me going ''Huh?''

    So, one yard I use doesn't take whole refrigerators unless they are tagged that the freon has been removed even if everything has been stripped from it and all you're turning in is the shell. Ok, I can maybe understand that. But yet they buy the copper or the copper/aluminum fins from AC's which may still contain freon residue. I even saw one guy turn in a fully equipped dehumidifier which they accepted.



    newattitude was looking like this -----> :confused::confused:


    Lol, anyone else have this issue? I mean, it totally doesn't make sense!


  2. #2
    Dumpster-Dee's Avatar
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    Maybe they figure a fridge with a full "tank" of freon is dangerous and something with just residue isn't ? I didn't know a dehumidifier had freon in it. Learn something new every day.

  3. #3
    newattitude started this thread.
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    Dee, the compressors/pipes/wiring/fan (everything) had been removed from the fridges - it was just the shell.

    Now, I bet if that same shell was removed from the plastic and folded it would go through no problem. It's stuff like this I see that leaves me amazed sometimes! Maybe its just the way it goes through the yard because I have dismantled microwaves and put the different metals through no problem yet they don't accept complete microwaves. Lol, see what I'm getting at?

  4. #4
    newattitude started this thread.
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    lol! If only it were that easy! Unless I want to pay about $90 to have the freon removed and tagged by a professional the only other option is to take them 50 miles further North where there is a yard that will accept them whole and remove the freon there as they have the means to do so.

    This has stopped me from dealing with fridges because of this. But it just boggled my mind that some items are accepted that might have the residue in them vs. items that are not accepted that would have the same amount of residue NOT in them.

  5. #5
    gustavus is offline Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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    Not that simple, the tag has to display the technicians number, he is subject a freon audits. It's a crazy law, how do you account for freon that leaked from a freezer.

    I"m self taught in the repair of appliances and refrigeration when the freon law came into effect I could no longer purchase freon as an unlicensed technician, but there was nothing stopping me from reclaiming and using freon from discarded appliances.

    From other factors that came into play, credit terms were becoming to easy for the home owner to purchase new rather than repair the old. The money was good while it lasted, there is nothing better that repairing a frost free fridge with a bum defrost timer for less that $20.00. If the fridge had a decent insides with canter leaver shelving and he color was green or white I would even take the time to sand and repaint it to the popular Almond.

    Regards
    Gustavus

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    My yard won't take the copper or fins. They also don't pay for appliances containing freon, but they will accept them.

  7. #7
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    Take something to penetrate the line, and place a non wanted piece of cloth over the hole, or even your shoe and let it out. If you let it out as just air coming out, no issues.

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  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by newattitude View Post
    So, one yard I use doesn't take whole refrigerators unless they are tagged that the freon has been removed even if everything has been stripped from it and all you're turning in is the shell. Ok, I can maybe understand that. But yet they buy the copper or the copper/aluminum fins from AC's which may still contain freon residue. I even saw one guy turn in a fully equipped dehumidifier which they accepted.

    newattitude was looking like this -----> :confused::confused:


    Lol, anyone else have this issue? I mean, it totally doesn't make sense!
    It's one of the many "blanket" policies or rules that don't make sense so us common folk have to figure out a way to get around it. IMHO best advice would be, to do like you said, fold it up so it is not as easily recognized. More work but may be better then driving further to turn it in.
    Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesaler
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    "Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."

  10. #9
    gustavus is offline Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kris Kringle View Post
    Questions Gus What happens to the R12 That Everyone has? Use it in other R12 Systems? What Systems would they Be? I Mean there was Millions Of Gallons of R12 What Happen to it? Did it just Dissolve? Did it become used in other Systems? What Systems? In Storage like the Strategic Oil Reserves? I Mean What Happen to it Maybe all of it was Depleted?
    Freon is recovered in a container similar looking to a propane bottle, very expensive to purchase. The container is put onto a scale when its being filled with waste freon so that it's not over filled once the weight it is capible of holding is reached it gets shipped back to DuPont.

    Now what DuPont does with the recovered freon is a mystery, Freon when heated in a flame makes phosgen gas - nerve gas used during WWII.

    If you would like to learn more google this " freon phosgen gas" sorry I'm not able to help more my knowledge is limited, I'm a scraper not a scientist.

    Regards
    Gustavus

  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by GeorgeB View Post
    Take something to penetrate the line, and place a non wanted piece of cloth over the hole, or even your shoe and let it out. If you let it out as just air coming out, no issues.
    I am sorry, but this must be addressed. How does your shoe or a piece of cloth magically turn freon into good breathable air. This entire thread is whacky and I really wish we had an AC pro here to straighten it out.

  12. #11
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    There has never been a study that Freon Depletes the Ozone Layer I mean Come on if it Does then How Does Freon Freeze?
    What does its function in the mechanics of the refrigeration process have to do with what it does in the atmosphere?

    Wikipedia article about Frank Sherwood Rowland

    His best-known work is the discovery that chlorofluorocarbons contribute to ozone depletion. Rowland theorized that manmade organic compound gases combine with solar radiation and decompose in the stratosphere, releasing atoms of chlorine and chlorine monoxide that are individually able to destroy large numbers of ozone molecules. Rowland's research, first published in Nature magazine in 1974, initiated a scientific investigation of the problem. The National Academy of Sciences concurred with their findings in 1976, and in 1978 CFC-based aerosols were banned in the United States.
    Wikipedia article about Ozone Depletion

    Verification of observations
    Scientists have been increasingly able to attribute the observed ozone depletion to the increase of man-made (anthropogenic) halogen compounds from CFCs by the use of complex chemistry transport models and their validation against observational data (e.g. SLIMCAT, CLaMS — Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere). These models work by combining satellite measurements of chemical concentrations and meteorological fields with chemical reaction rate constants obtained in lab experiments. They are able to identify not only the key chemical reactions but also the transport processes which bring CFC photolysis products into contact with ozone.

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  14. #12
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    A lot of the machines that reclaim the freon also recycle it.You take the recycled freon and reuse it.I have a machine for both R 12 and 134A.I got my license back in the 90's.As far as running the freon through a piece of cloth.That's illegal.It is still freon.Your not changing what the gas is....

  15. #13
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    I don't much like the smell of freon on my shirt..
    Garbage keyboards > spɹɐoqʎǝʞ ʎɐqǝ

  16. #14
    gustavus is offline Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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    Freon is a tasteless, orderless gas, heavier than air. The smell you get is from a burned out motor, I agree it stinks.

    Regards
    Gustavus

  17. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by parrothead View Post
    I am sorry, but this must be addressed. How does your shoe or a piece of cloth magically turn freon into good breathable air. This entire thread is whacky and I really wish we had an AC pro here to straighten it out.
    Who said it did make it breathable air? I never stated that it does that. I personally can't stand the smell, which is why I normally use a piece of old clothing or something, and drop it right on top and soon as I puncture the line, and let it come out. Makes a wet, slipper mess, but that is about all.

  18. #16
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    For anyone who questions the legality of releasing refrigerant (commonly called freon) into the atmosphere, these are the government EPA regulations in that regard. Pay attention to the section referring to Section 608 under "Fact Sheets" and "Information for Consumers".

    http://www.epa.gov/Ozone/title6/608/
    People may laugh at me, but that's ok. I laugh all the way to the bank.

  19. #17
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    Ok I am done With this Thread Everyone has to do what is best for them.
    Believe it or not, some people actually try to do what's best for everyone....

  20. #18
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    This is what I've learned from my reading : (feel free to correct me if you think I've misinterpreted something ) What we call freon is no longer used...the "refridgerants" used since the mid '90's don't produce CFC's. However it does have elements that still harm the ozone when released and because we never know whether we are dealing with an older model that has freon we have to be more careful. As someone said, freon is oderless. It is also non-toxic to humans unless breathed in...which happens to ignorant people who cut the line and stand over it !! That's one reason we have the forum...to educate each other. But, at the risk of having MDG call me a "tree hugger", I must say that it does have properties that do effect the ozone layer....we all need to limit our release of it into the air...and that's why we're all looking into recovery of some sort....not 'cause we're tree huggers necessarily...but because we don't want to break the law. Or get caught breaking the law, which is highly unlikely in rural ares like mine. And the scrap yards have to go by their state laws. I don't know about the federal laws for them...(read Mick's reference if you want to know specifics) I confess, I still do it, but I cut the line with my head turned and run. Then I don't go back near it for 12 hrs or more. Prob not necessary, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. Another thing that absolves my conscience a little is that I don't get stuff containing refridgerants very often. I have a HVAC friend who would recover it for me ,but he has to pay a FEE when he turns it in...go figure...you know the place that buys it either sells it or reuses it. I've tried to find a place that will buy it, but no luck yet.
    Last edited by Dumpster-Dee; 09-05-2011 at 04:48 PM. Reason: spelling

  21. #19
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    If there is a branch in your area Dee, you might try this company: http://www.raprecfranchise.com/
    Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.
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  23. #20
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    This is a very interesting site Hypo, but I don't have $500, 000 to start a franchise. But, the website is a good read for laws,etc. I bet it's one of these outfits that my HVAC friend has to PAY to turn his refridgerant in. Still doesn't explain why some yards take these appliances and some don't. Mine doesn't care so I gut them, then turn them on their back and fill them with shred.


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