THE UNIT WAS OUT OF GAS, OR SO I THOUGHT....

Boy this one threw me off a bit, I was called on the office ac not working and I thought it was out of gas......
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00:00 SPONSOR CARD
00:31 SCHEMATIC EXPLANATION
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14:39 INTERESTING PREDICAMENT
22:25 PRESSURE TEST
27:11 METERING DEVICE EXPLANATION
28:50 CLOSING WORDS

[@andrewmartinez5287]

R-22 is such a good refrigerant they made the jug green to represent money

[@stormeagle28]

I just wanted to say, it's extremly nice that you share your screw-ups too and let everybody learn from. When I'm working on such things, I get very suspicious if I'm doing a measurement and I get "nothing" as a result. Even on electric circuits, getting a wrong voltage feels better than getting exactly 0V, because it tells you at least that your measurement is working (and you have to check the function of your meter anyway). On refrigeration circuits I feel good when I'm reading a little bit above "nothing", maybe 2..3psi. If I'm reading zero, I start to do something like pressing Schraders to confirm this, because it makes me dubious about my measurement.

[@smarthome2660]

I am glad to see I am not the only one who starts with voltages checks. Enjoyed watching this. One time my boss went with me on a residential service call and after the gauges were on and I checked the super heat he asked for my diagnosis. I said a coil is blocked. He went into the attic only to find that coil was super clean. He said that the unit needed refrigerant. I disagreed and he asked why. I said A coil is blocked, I never sail the evaporator coil was. I asked him to move three feet to his left and look behind the condenser coil. There was a clothes dryer vent directly behind the unit and we found the back of the condenser coil was completely blocked with lint. I am unsure if this was a test or if he had tried to fix this before me and failed. Once we cleared all of the lint, the system worked perfectly. Q&A for yall: what is the largest copper line any of you have brazed? For me it was 1 5/8" & not fun as it was also my first forearm burn, the size of an egg.

[@reynaldos1chorizo]

every single video i watch i learn something new. I always check schrader pin because when I first started, I thought a system was flat because I was getting no pressure, and I quoted for a league search. Turned out that the system was good, and my low loss fittings on my hoses were garbage. also, splitting the coil is something i have only done once. I will definitely be looking closer at the 4ton an higher units for split coils.

[@saubervonHerzen]

"What we have is a legend right here...."..yes we do.....that's exactly how I feel every time I watch one of your videos........

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

Thanks for the nice words bud!!

[@alskee2010]

If I think a unit is out of gas I'll depress the Schrader before putting gauges on it, if it squirts gauges go on. Keep up the good work, awesome videos as always.

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

I will too but a cormax Schrader is almost impossible to depress by hand... the spring is so big its very difficult

[@steve19841117]

@@HVACRVIDEOS i was curious that why Carrier just keep using the coremax . it is so stupid. and i don't have the tool to replace the core everytime i just add a JB tee in to it if i find the leak from it. good video as always thanks

[@skumbriev1ch]

Heh these cormaxes has given me so many similar troubles! And yes for manually checking for liquid in the liquid line!

[@jalixvarietytv7849]

You’re absolutely right. That’s what I do first before putting on the gauge manifold’s hose to be sure there is pressure before putting on gas or adding refrigerant.

[@moonlightacmaintenance3232]

That’s probably how those got bent.

[@mtucker3401]

I’ve been here and done this! I personally, would have sold them new refrigerant because I don’t trust myself venting out the nitrogen properly. And you never know what kind of contaminants are mixed in with the refrigerant. I do like how you look out for your customers to try to save them money, as long as it doesn’t affect the system. And I love the new way of you doing your videos. I know it’s more work, but it is a much better way of explaining your thought process and what is happening. Keep up the great work!

[@chriscermak3188]

That first couple minutes of you telling the sequence of operations was awesome!!

[@mikecastillo5941]

People can give there opinions but it’s different when you are in the moment and working. Nice to see you think your way through that. Like you said I wish you would’ve kept the camera rolling through the frustration. Would of made me feel better when I do it 😂

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 10/11/21 @ 5:PM (pacific) come over and check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5ebc4Obrb6JnqM

[@ronhaefner7833]

I noticed the rapid rise right away. Look. Its so easy to armchair quarterback these things and your straight forward reflection is commendable. I have made this same mistake. Especially in the old days (1970 s...did I just date myself?) Had a system that wouldn't take gas. Bugged me for a while till the realization set in. GREAT video. I would apprentice under you in a heartbeat!

[@jaysonhines1]

I watched this video at just the right time. Thanks for the tip on the Sumner 2124 lift. Never would have thought of using it like that outside of a building. (13:37)

[@idontneedaname85]

I love how you braze. Bigger the gob the better the job!

[@stevemcknelly5036]

Man, you scienced the hell out of that Nitrogen. I like it! :)

[@Briantheitguy2]

I would have felt guilty about putting nitrogen in the system, and would have paid for replacement if needed, also, I've never seen anyone purge nitrogen like that before, nice job!

[@shelvins1841]

This is what I was thinking also. This is one reason I'm hesitant about calling people to do work for me. I've been in situations where a tech would damage something by mistake but I would have to pay for it. I learned to do a lot of things myself over the years because of this though haha

[@philippagliarulo1853]

There was a restriction in the metering device before he put nitrogen in the system. What he did was not the reason for the repair. Really he just got lucky that he had to recover the charge already anyways haha

[@manschool4992]

Thank you for the first 5 minutes of explaining the sequence of operation with the wiring. My field supervisor just did the same thing on the phone with me on Friday to diagnose a blown transformer that I possible grounded out during routing visual inspection/filter change on Thursday. It was on the exact same WeatherMaster unit. I'm new to HVACR and find all your videos to be so informative. Thanks Chris!

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

I will be going live on KZbin this evening 10/11/21 @ 5:PM (pacific) to discuss my recent uploads and answer questions from KZbin comments, emails and the Livechat, come over and check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5ebc4Obrb6JnqM

[@HumanRightsRevolutin]

Your best teaching video so far Chris thank you so much. We all love you brother

[@sterlingarcher46]

Old school techs , before all the regulations hit , they used to vent non condensables the way you did . As far as the billing and all that , in all honesty if it was me I would kick myself for not checking that the schrader was correctly depressed , like taking my gauges off and depressing the core with a screwdriver or something . I got fooled by a core not depressing before and now I'm very careful and apprehensive with trusting schraders . That being said we usually have to learn these things the hard way innit .

[@georgekolos5255]

Thousands of pounds for just one rack system alone if work needed to be done on high side and system could not be isolated was standard daily practice. A pallet full of 30# R22 jugs or a dozen are so 100# refillable cylinders to to re- charge only one unit! --The good old days when a 30# jug of r12 cost

[@gas_man1565]

thx Chris, this is a learning experience for us. and i will now check the schraders now.

[@jericosha2842]

I don't do commercial, so these step by step walkthroughs are AWESOME. Thanks man!

[@jalixvarietytv7849]

I love your videos. That happens to me also when I just put in the gauge’s hose without noticing the Schrader valve tip bent thereby concluded that the unit is out of gas. Experiences teach us a lot. More power to you💪

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 10/11/21 @ 5:PM (pacific) come over and check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5ebc4Obrb6JnqM

[@ngreed]

Thanks for the flow explanation in the beginning of the video. I like the new style when you stop to add detail when it is necessary, it helps those that are not in the industry understand what is going on. I have to agree with that company, I think I would continue to repair the equipment after you mentioned all the crap they have to go thru to replace a unit, will open up several cans or worms for sure. Thanks for continuing to make these video's!

[@jlurenzjr]

This one was great. This reminds us to not assume the simple basic things are ok like a schrader valve. This shows anything is possible because both valves were bad. This would of messed me up too. Great teaching video. Thank you!

[@prophetfgsm]

I had to do that recocering r123 out of a low pressure chiller. Those run in a vaccum so when they have a leak they suck in air. A couple minutes into the recovery we popped the high pressure on the recovery machine, we had to periodically bleed off the top of the tank to save 1200lbs of gas at a couple G$/100lbs.

[@jonathanschulz5841]

We have done that venting on recovery cylinders. We have a few facilities that have big leaks the customers don’t want to fix and their old units. On site engineers just dump 22 in. Found out they never purged their gauges and it eventually bit them. Only works for air like noncondensables. Can’t do that with moisture or fractionizarion. That won’t work with blends either. Awesome vid Chris, thanks for cutting up that evap header for us to see!

[@sidecar9568]

Read a few of the posts. I agreed with just putting virgin R22 in, just to avoid any other issues for this unit. If I had no pressure on either gauge, I would have reseated my blue tooth gauges and checked by depressing schrader core with screw driver tip. We are under the gun most of the time and try to make good decisions and do our best. We don’t have to worry about 100* temps here (Wisconsin). I like watching these to see what tools other techs are using and picking up different techniques other tech have. Thanks keep it going. I’ll invite you to a roof here when it’s -20* for a no heat call.

[@markcarpenter3600]

Air is lighter than R-22 so it will separate and float above the R-22 like oil and water. The bucket idea was genius, I usually let it sit over night in a temperature controlled room. If you crack the valve you will hear the whistle sound change as the R-22 comes up. You can also hear this when bleeding air out of a hose. If the pressure temperature relationship matches the refrigerant it is good to go.

[@djmcknight2259]

I really appreciate that you are brave enough to post mistakes. Next time check wich pressure switch is open first and all this will be avoided. But now I know how to get nitrogen out of refrigerant.

[@madeofscars9355]

What a mental rollercoaster that job would have been, all I was thinking when you were replacing that EVAP was its already recently had a new compressor and now a new evaporator the condenser looks like shit so they may as well just load the parts cannon whilst it was apart and thrown a new condenser at it too 😐 it really makes you wonder how they see it justifiable to keep chucking parts at old degraded and worn out equipment.

[@PantherSerpahin]

SO many places are based upon 1-3-6 month budgets versus 2-3-5 year budgets that give them the ability to spend a little more now to save a big amount later.

[@26thanasis]

I’ve gotten fooled with the schrader valve before! Boss wasn’t to happy but it is what it is! I don’t think you were wrong if you had to change the refrigerant. Awesome video, thank you!

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

I will discuss this on my livestream this evening 10/11/21 @ 5:PM (pacific) come over and check it out kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5ebc4Obrb6JnqM

[@Happyoldfashionfamily]

Glad I'm not the only one that has that Schrade problem.

[@terrygrant8126]

That was Great!....I try to save the customer money as well....at least when I am able to....Thanks for the teaching friend!

[@happys104092243]

I been waiting for this video. I have the same unit on the top of the shop. It's been having problems running on ac.

[@a11ten071]

Appreciate the ride along, TNX!

[@mallow399]

Awesome job man! I replaced the metering devices and liquid header on a similar unit. What a pain in the ass, i should have just quoted a new evap lol.

[@jussikuusela7345]

6:51 I had that happen when I tried to add air in my car tires a few weeks ago... I knew there was air in them, but on one of them the gauge didn't pick up any pressure... then a slight touch of the trigger shot the pressure way up. First I was like WTF... And that happened at another station too, it appears the pin on that valve is a bit too short, whatever, but the depressor does not quite engage it without using high force. I did get them all topped up but that one required some sweet words and coercion.

[@mzdriss]

its a very old system rescuing old R22 refrigereant i an outstanding decision. The PT chart bucket method to rescue R22 is valid given the resources at hand in my opinion. I would have done the same thing and test it out. If the system works which seems like it did then i would keep else i consider replacing. About the Shrader issue it is the previous technicians responsibility, i have to clean up others mess more often than not in particular wiring and rubouts.

[@jahmelbarrett6372]

Watching your videos is definitely making me a better tech…keep up the good work.

[@gbinman]

I am not in the business but have watched many of your videos. This was the first time that you mentioned the red tape involved with installing a new unit. It changed my previous opinion that they were just kicking the problem down the road. All that red tape has costs included besides dealing all the "problems" that the inspections add to the cost. In a similar vein, my appliance guy told me I should keep my ancient clothes washer and dryer going as long as I could because the modern versions have much higher repair costs.

[@jasonjohnsonHVAC]

Lets get some HVACR VIDEOS on a Sunday morning

[@michaelproust7891]

Thanks for the clear information.

[@gordonrockafellow1211]

Any time I even suspect a low charge before I even touch the service valves I run an electronic leak test on them. I want to be sure they are not the source of the leak because opening the valves you may create a new leak or stop an previous leak.

[@nichobrooks]

almost always, always use virgin (new refrigerant) you did a good job, I always find those core max depressors bent or leaning.

[@molabearair]

Years ago when I had high head pressure, I did the same thing to blead off air out of the refrigerant.

[@kyleb1043]

Literally did the same thing the other day but by the stroke of luck figured it out right before the nitro dump

[@Arides2010]

We had some issue with schradercores and a certain kind of quickconnect fittig. The way you use the quickconnect you have to actuate a valve on the quickconnect itself to open the schrader. Some genius made the valve plunger LONGER than the travel distance of the schradercore which would lead to you bending the living daylight out of the schradercore, wrecking it in the process.

[@Vicus_of_Utrecht]

But of course lol

[@MegaDysart]

It's the same on automotive stuff, you don't run the valve on the quick connects open all the way because it'll over depress the schraders.

[@hughholt121]

Lots of extra precautions in an earthquake zone . You did the right thing by a customer and I am sure you will credit him for some Freon 22. Good video.

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

I was able to re use all the refrigerant so I didn't have to charge him for any of it

[@frankduarte7109]

On those coremax fittings how do you pull a vacuum since you can’t remove the scraper core what do you attract to it to depress the core

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

Your best bet is to use a core depressor I happen to use the appion core depressor

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

trutechtools.com/appion-cct14-core-control-tool.html

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

The link I sent is for trutechtools if you end up purchasing one do me a favor and use my offer code (bigpicture) one word at checkout to get a discount and in turn I get a commission

[@jordanhenshaw]

I probably would have ate the refrigerant cost, but that agreeableness and conflict avoidance is partly why my handyman company died many years ago.

[@AG-tg9in]

Before we start let’s just say I hate the fact CA is STILL doing ac lol. Salt Lake City has started heating season since Monday. Can’t say why but I’ve always leaned towards refrigeration. Those heating seasons when they come at you. Your still thinking “ahhh shwwwt what’s the sequence of operations?” Lol GREAT VIDEO CHRIS AS ALWAYS 👍. Let’s talk about them Water boilers & them gummies let’s get to work haha

[@nma851]

I would have done the same. You said it best that it wasn’t your fault the shraders were shot. I’ve seen it far too many times myself. Now I may have pushed them manually just to see if anything spit out but otherwise no issues with me charging em under these circumstances! BTW - I get the same nonsense with the alternatives…..

[@Setanyahu]

15:03 the valve pin bent to side just push it to center all good to go. i know because this also happen to me.

[@AKStorm49]

Dealing with old units with new edicts... my apologies, policies, is damn difficult. Up in Alaska, it's damn difficult to replace equipment between shipping to the state followed by shipment to the location so we end up doing "repairs" and that's before the politics get involved. I'm sorry to hear about your predicaments.

[@ZeroStatic]

Thanks for another great video Chris.

[@boby115]

Those coremax schraders are notorious for bent stems, I am sure you'll be looking next time before you put the gauges on( I personally try to look at all schrader stems, it's just a good habit before putting on gauges). I probably would have met the customer halfway on the new refrigerant because it did have a full charge and the nitrogen was kind of a screw-up. Chris you still go the extra mile on some of the older equipment but there does come a time when you start throwing good money on top of bad. You did a great job, the only thing different I would have done would be new refrigerant and 4 oz to 8 oz of AC renew for the lost oil. I just happen to love that AC renew, is it just me (?).

[@crazyedo9979]

If you are planing there will be chips😁 In my opinion you did a good job. Sometimes I'm in a similar situation and had to decide what kind of failure diagnostic strategy I use to find a fault. If my choice was suboptimal there will be a little bit more chips on the floor😁 There is a tomorrow everytime.

[@johnwalker890]

Good Job Chris.

[@fditty276]

Hey, I hate those carrier scraders! I don't change them I replace them! I use the regular ones. All my customers still want R-22! Even tho there are good drop in replacement gases. I've done the bleed off trick also too! I have polished a few turds in my time! I couldn't imagine doing work in your state!

[@calebburns4346]

Hey man it happens sometimes. Doesn't matter how good you are sometimes you over look very simple things. It's funny cause I just had a unit a couple weeks ago that I thought had a bad compressor but turned out my depressors were to far back and I wasn't depressing the shreader. I initially had pressure, but when it turned it looked like no pumping.

[@ant8788]

Omg I just subscribed to your channel and I’m going through so much similar problems you’ve encountered with carrier it’s uncanny. I’m recently going through contractor chatting and with your video ima look into pressure sensors, also I to had a carrier that I thought was flat and yes why does carrier install those core max service ports?, I looked into that “special tool” and it was like 700.00

[@adrianperez5628]

I replace the CoreMax Cores, but I remove the whole center. I install a swivel tee w/ cores on both ports. Then Nylog & Torque everything down. If you need to service after, then you use VCRT’s.

[@JWimpy]

Very informative.

[@RYMK887]

Is your fault my friend! That was I thought

[@Ted_E_Bear]

Awesome video Chris !

[@arthouston7361]

When I have a CLO lockout, I reset the power to see what will happen. Once I find power on X, I check for a call. If I have to, I place a jumper first and then test the system to see if it can run. If I can see evidence of a working compressor (as in having gas in the system to do work, such as a temp dropping on the suction line) then I know if I gauge up and see no pressure, it's those coremax valves again. I carry spares on the truck when I get approval to do the repair. Replacing the evap is a good move, but as you found out, the newer evaps don't fit. We had to hack up a 14 year old TME to fit the new part earlier this year. Carrier never got back to me when I told them about the issue, so I'm sure that they were told to not discuss this screwup. I stopped replacing orifices three years ago, because it does not always fix the problem. It may be a problem of thickened oil pooling in the evap or large plugs of wax after the orifice...I haven't taken one home to do an autopsy. The evaps go to the boss' house and are Company scrap. I will sometimes try heating them with pressure on the suction side and an open liquid line, and if that doesn't work, it's big bucks time. Oh, well. I didn't tell them to not use a nice Sporlan TEV. I already have two units lined up for evaps next cooling season. I just remind myself that I didn't design this junk.

[@jammin345]

Although the logic is plausible, regarding pressure/temp relationships, I would sleep better knowing virgin refrigerant was added, to remove any doubt of trace amounts of non-condensibles. This in essence, makes the customer “whole” again. I do respect this….be humble to see your mistakes, be courageous to admit them, and be wise enough to correct them. 🤜🤛

[@etherealrose2139]

The nitrogen isn't combining with the liquid R22, just the vapor at the top of the tank. Leaving it sit would allow the nitrogen to float on top and then venting vapor out until refrigerant came out would all but guarantee there's little to no nitrogen left.

[@boby115]

Jam min, my thoughts exactly but I'm glad you put it in words, because it's quite obvious you're more articulate than me.📚

[@coreybomhoff7475]

On that filter drier did you bend your rod so you could hit both sides at once?

[@stephenbullock1443]

What percentage of silver you use on the silfose

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

15%

[@thedane6483]

i Like the way you solder, like me. use lots of heat and fosco solder, that makes NO leaks

[@abdullah_q8171]

Perfect fix 👍🏻

[@realestateservicessaleshea99]

Like the blooper bro!👍🏻 🥃🥃🍺🍺🍺🍿🎯

[@N0Sbackfire]

Seeing as I have no experience with HVAC, I do find your videos very interesting and I'm learning alot. General question: You showed that the carrier unit used two single phase contactors between lines 1, 2 and 3. Wouldn't it be more efficient to replace those two contactors with one 3-phase contactor that I've seen so many of the other units have? Or is just not possible/worth it? Thanks for the videos, Chris, and keep up the great work!

[@FerralVideo]

That wouldn't work. The contactors each control separate devices by switching two of the three phases. This fully opens the circuit, even though there's still a hot leg going to the motor, that energy has nowhere to go. I do three phase work for my job often, and I would personally really prefer true three-phase contactors, but I understand why they went the less expensive route.

[@N0Sbackfire]

@@FerralVideo I see. Thank you for clarifying!

[@159357ahmed]

you are awesome man , always loved your videos

[@themattrixrevolution]

Dang it's like almost 5am here in California when you post this

[@diontranekr6567]

Watching it now at 2 pm

[@zachmudd2335]

Completely ethical in my view. I believe if absolutely necessary you could've charged for new gas as well, but you did the best for this turd. Great job with these videos, much help.

[@ThatBigGuy824]

If you look right here we have a legend. Well yeah, of course you're a legend, that's why we watch your content:) Keep up the great videos!

[@johncruz8974]

My favorite torch tip, rose bud

[@WaffleStaffel]

A little excess heat shouldn't damage the filter drier, they usually just contain molecular sieves. They're zeolite adsorbant beads. They can be "recharged" and dried with heat of a few hundred degrees.

[@Rado88]

So you purged the nitrogen from the unit while it was fully charged with r22??

[@ed6837]

Impossible to find a schrader issue when you working on things STUFF happens. Any of the posters including me have done things much worse. Hindsight is always 20/20 especially if your not the one that made the mistake Good job saving the refrigerant

[@SOURADEEPBISWAS]

The clip of showing fixed orfice metering device was from your one of your old video 🤭

[@REFRITEKREFRIGERACION]

I think we all have done or will do that during our career. I did put nitrogen on top of the charge thinking it was flat, and it was the core depressor valve that was broken. We just have to laugh and move on. Sometimes we like to jump into conclusions because it look so obvious, old unit , leak are common, no pressure= we think it’s flat.

[@leonbogon148]

Holy crap-seismic testing--Sounds like everybody's got there hand in the cookie jar!!

[@Kitchenshare]

I have the same unit and they keep telling me to replace the entire unit because it has a small leak they can’t find. Now I wonder if they never check the Schrader valve. The unit works perfect when it full of gas.

[@markcarpenter3600]

Recently I was pulling the gas out of one with cormax fittings. I only had one depressor so I only connected one hose, but didn't cap the other side. Oops! Recovery machine wouldn't pull into a vacuum. Scratching my head what the heck, the leak can't be that big. Suddenly I realized, sucking air into the system through the other cormax fitting! The large disk seal will lift if the pressure is greater on the outside. Air is lighter than R-22 so it will separate and float above the R-22. If you crack the valve you can hear the whistle change sound as the refrigerant starts to come out. I've let them sit over night in a controlled temperature room I never thought about the bucket idea.

[@matthewgregory8218]

Oh Chris I was you would have come to a Starbucks in Ottawa to fix our ice machine I told them what I learned I told them the condenser could be iced up or réfringent leak it was not making ice at all.

[@philjafo2]

It never occurred to me to purge non condensables like that but I’ve also never accidentally put nitrogen on top of r-22. Easy mistake to make though, I’ve also never seen both valves go bad like that either

[@richardbartlett6932]

We've all done things we'd wish we'd spent just 5 seconds longer thinking it through. My first boss said to me "never assume" That bit of advice bites me time and time again.. However blowing off the nitro and re-using the charge on the job is a personal choice. In this situation considering the customer had already approved new gas on the job I would have recharged with new, taken the old back to the yard and let it sit a while and vent off there . Once happy, that cylinder would go as van stock.. Either way it's no biggie and don't beat yourself up over it.Loved the drier falling off I'm usually swearing my head off by that point :-) . All back up and running = Great job

[@nicholaspaul4850]

Hey chris what is the name of the mat you use to kneel down on? i dont see it in the tool list. Thanks.

[@Georges3DPrinters]

16:36 i think the "Artesian Style non-condensables hand purging" should cost extra!

[@Georges3DPrinters]

Chillers do the same thing with a dedicated purge unit on top of the condenser. So this was an excellent use of your skill and understanding of how refrigerant works. This should be a presentation for hvac school.

[@Georges3DPrinters]

20:16 okay, that got me XD

[@Georges3DPrinters]

32:51 okay that's funny but I was just recently trained over a year ago that if I have to recover what I believe to be a system contaminated with non-condensables that I can do pretty much what you just did they do recommend stabilizing it over many hours as the only difference like in your shop with just the tank, but this is a real world situation and I like how you used the water to speed up the process and get the job done in a reasonable amount of time. I do believe that was also in training materials somewhere.

[@Georges3DPrinters]

Yup, just checked my 608 prep manual and info is there. I found it in type 1 recovery requirements area

[@chrismcclinton65]

Have you ever used Staybrite solder? What’s your thoughts on it, I’ve used it on txv’s to keep from overheating with good success even on 410A systems

[@boby115]

Stay Brite 8 is very good on tight joints. The manufacturers don't approve of it because of the low melting temperature. In the event of a house fire they are worried about phosgene gas. There's no way they are going to allow it for A2L & A3 refrigerants.

[@mrgreen9086]

I've been told by my supervisor before that if you see that a unit low on gas or completely flat. Don't add nitrogen on top of the refrigerant you just add refrigerant, and search for leak which confused me because I thought that adding nitrogen on top was standard practice

[@SimplyJack3]

I'm just a normal guy who likes these types of videos. So my question may be dumb, but does the nitrogen ruin the refrigerant?

[@alskee2010]

If there's any mixture in a refer circuit, other than the refrigerant (because blended refrigerants are a thing), all kinds of fuckery starts happening. Jumping pressures, superheat and subcooling readings that make no sense and usually compressor failure.

[@bohanger6315]

Yeah, it ruins the PT characteristics of the refrigerant. I think you could get away with a very small amount but its usually just recovered then reclaimed/recycled or destroyed.

[@etherealrose2139]

It wouldn't ruin it. R22 isn't a blend and the two would be separated. He bled it off so it's all good. If you left it in there, it will throw off compression and expansion properties of the refrigerant causing cooling issues and possible wear from messing with the oil traveling in the system. With a blended refrigerant I'm not sure how it'd work out because the gases can separate so you'd ruin some of the characteristics by trying to bleed vapor. I think a specialized recovery machine would be used at that point to refine it back to a proper refrigerant.

[@HVACTIME]

If myself or one of my tech's did that Id have to take responsibility for new refrigerant. I like the purging idea though!

[@jeremehalteman9369]

Troubleshooting is always a process with infinite factors that can trip us up. Never dwell on mistakes, just keep trucking and figure it out.

[@moonlightacmaintenance3232]

Do you think you plugged metering device was due to oil migration ?

[@DLSDKING]

Its good to know you were able to remove nitrogen. But if you have to discard the contaminated refrigerant how do you do it?

[@coldfinger459sub0]

You recover it into a tank and you turn it back into a parts house that has a refrigerant buyback program or tank swap out program. Depends on what kind of refrigerant is in the tank they sometimes take it back for free or for a nominal small fee. But our 22 is very easy to separate the air or nitrogen out of the refrigerant when you take the tanks back home to your shop there’s a procedure that works very good

[@ed6837]

Around here you turn in contaminated refrigerant they slam you big time

[@pg_usa]

In America the costumers not clean the HVACs only if its broke down? Yearly inspect its cheaper than 3-4 years change complet system...

[@FrNMGuy]

I'm an apartment guy, so I don't have the same issues that yall run into. Is there a tool where you can remove the core max valves and replace them? If that is the case, maybe removing the shrader before diagnostic is a good idea.

[@talleyz]

There is a tool available, though it costs somewhere around $1,000 depending on where it is purchased, and is known to be almost as finicky as the coremax cores themselves.

[@HVACRVIDEOS]

Yes there is a tool and here is a video I made on it kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ_Ccmh-r9icbdE

[@DetectingArizona]

That’s a bad part about those high flow cores. To much side to side play of the plunger. I have a video showing a O ring melted on the core also preventing the plunger from depressing. It happens!

[@ehsnils]

We all work under the assumption that the simple things just works and that the schrader valves just do that and at worst they leak. But there's a movie quote from the movie "Under Siege 2" where it's stated "Assumption is the mother of all F-ups". That's one of the truest quotes from a movie. How successful you are is only measured by the end result, not the way you took. In most conditions nitrogen is pretty inert and harmless, but you could probably get improper pressure readings if you have too much nitrogen in the system. At some stage it might be worth to consider a refrigerant recovery system that can purify the refrigerants, but I assume that's a pretty expensive investment.

[@Slayer92000]

My personal opinion is that you did what was best. I can't remember the phase diagram of nitrogen but I imagine it's boiling point under these pressures is lower than the refrigerant. You quoted them a full charge and were able to vent off the nitrogen for the most part. I used to work in automotive both as a mechanic and as a parts peddler and I always give a worse case scenario. Even if I don't think that's the problem I always let the customer know what the absolute worst is. It's always better to over quote and under charge than one quote and over charge.

[@kittyztigerz]

i have questions for you how come you cant replace condenser ? or is it cant be replace until wholes machine is removed or what?? i have replaced few ac unite condenser and evaporated at same time because unite wasnt rotten out at all was in good shape just two bad coils condenser and evaporated (including drain pan too) i still remember you worked on that unite before WAS failure high and low pressure switch and after that worked good for month or two it failed aging and same results you show us before was cause by overheating oils cause it jammed up full of oils

[@lauram5905]

Customer doesn’t want to pay for it if it’s still marginal enough to work