Laserfiche WebLink
A test which is used by some appliance recyclers to determine type of refrigerant is the <br />pressureltemperature test. The type of refrigerant is determined by measuring the <br />pressure within the system and the external atmospheric temperature. There are charts <br />available which correlate the type of refrigerant to the known pressure and temperature. <br />This method may result in inaccurate readings because of low system pressures. <br />Refrigeration or air conditioning units in the recycling and disposal sectors may have <br />reduced system pressure due to leakages caused during handling or system failure. <br />Note: The pressure/temperature method does not work well in determining whether a <br />certain refrigerant and air conditioning unit contains CFC -12 or HFC -134a <br />because both of these refrigerants operate at similar conditions12. <br />If the refrigerant type is still unknown, call your refrigerant reclaimer or equipment <br />manufacturer for further information. One appliance recycler is storing all unknown <br />refrigerants into a container labeled as "mixed" refrigerants. Although this container <br />would be managed as hazardous wastes, it would keep from contaminating other loads <br />of recyclable refrigerants". <br />2.3 Refrigerant Extraction Methods <br />Tools / Equipment Needed <br />The basic tools and equipment needed for extracting refrigerants are; 1) piercing valve, <br />2) recovery or recycling equipment, and 3) storage containers. <br />The piercing valve is used to puncture the refrigeration coil to allow the transfer of <br />refrigerant from the air conditioning or refrigeration system to the recovery or recycling <br />equipment (see Figure 5). <br />There are two types of equipment that are used to extract refrigerant from appliances; <br />recovery and recycling. The recovery equipment removes the refrigerant from an <br />appliance and transfers it to a storage tank without further processing. Two types of <br />recovery equipment are system -dependent and self-contained. The system dependent <br />recovery equipment requires the assistance of components contained in an appliance to <br />remove the refrigerant from the appliance. The self-contained recovery equipment is <br />capable of removing the refrigerant from an appliance without the assistance of <br />components contained in the appliance. <br />Recycling equipment removes the refrigerant from an appliance and then cleans the <br />refrigerant by oil separation and cycling through one or more filter dryers to remove <br />moisture, acidity, and particulate matter. The refrigerant is then transferred back into <br />the appliance or to a storage tank. Recycling equipment would typically be used by <br />those individuals in the appliance repair sectors because the refrigerant extracted is <br />typically put back into the appliance after repairs or maintenance operations. <br />t <br />7 <br />