Recovery Tips and Best Practices w/ AC Service Tech
HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs
Bryan Orr
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2021
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this podcast episode, Bryan and Craig Migliaccio (AC Service Tech) discuss some HVACR recovery tips and best practices.
When you select a recovery tank, you need to know which refrigerant is in the tank. So, it's a good idea to make sure you label each recovery cylinder. You don't want to contaminate refrigerant in the recovery tank, use a recovery tank with contaminated refrigerant, or have too much air inside the cylinder. If the tank is empty, you'll have to pull a vacuum on it before you use it for the first time.
Tank fill can be a tricky business. You have the tare weight and water capacity, which you can use to determine the maximum refrigerant fill (factoring in the refrigerant's specific gravity at 130 degrees and the 80% capacity). Weighing in the charge is important so that you stay within an appropriate range as not to build up hydrostatic pressure and risk injury.
Recovery machines will give you the quickest recoveries. (When using one of those, you can extend your machine's life by using a filter drier during recovery.) However, you can also keep the pressure of the tank low during recovery; one of our best tips is to put the cylinder in an ice bucket during recovery. Regardless of what you use for recovery, you ALWAYS want to use a scale to weigh the tank as you recover refrigerant.
Craig and Bryan also discuss:
- Hydrostatic pressure
- Figuring out the refrigerant type in an unmarked tank
- Contamination
- Core removal
- Waterproof scales
- Leaks and low refrigerant charge conditions
- Pulling from the liquid and suction lines
- De minimis venting
Check out Craig's website at acservicetech.com.
Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.
If you have an iPhone, subscribe to the podcast HERE, and if you have an Android phone, subscribe HERE.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This episode of the HVAC School Podcast is made possible by our sponsors. |
| 0:09.0 | And our sponsors are carrier and carrier.com, Navac and Navac carrier.com. |
| 0:14.0 | Refrigeration technologies at Refrigerate Tech.com. |
| 0:17.0 | They make Viper and Venom Packs and Nylog and all kinds of great chemicals that are well thought out and that work great for technicians in the field. |
| 0:25.8 | Find out more by going to a Fridgetech.com. |
| 0:27.8 | Speed Clean and Speed Clean. |
| 0:29.8 | They make the coiljet if you ever find yourself in a position where water or power are |
| 0:34.4 | difficult to get when you're doing a cleaning job either an evaporator coil or a |
| 0:38.5 | condenser, especially a condenser, take a look at the coil jet. It's made right here in the U.S of A. It's a great product that does the job reliably. |
| 0:47.0 | That's the coiljet from SpeedLean. |
| 0:50.0 | Ultraair at ultra-A-I-R-E.com Ultra Air makes all sorts of amazing whole home dehumidification products. |
| 0:59.7 | We use them all the time, everything from their 98H all the way up to their |
| 1:05.4 | SD 12 which is actually a split dehumidifier amazing products we use them in |
| 1:09.5 | our own homes and our own projects every day and we are so excited to have them as a sponsor. |
| 1:14.2 | It's Ultra-Air spelled with an E.com. Field Peace and Field Peace.com. Field Peace |
| 1:21.4 | make so many great tools that it's hard to mention them all but they do have a new large pipe clamp that you're definitely going to like it goes up to four inches and it works great if you are in the more industrial sides of our industry. |
| 1:34.0 | Very, very accurate, great form factor. |
| 1:37.0 | We tested it out at Kailos and we really love it. |
| 1:40.0 | Find out more by going to Field Peace.com. Freon ain't free every time he finds a leaking braise joint on a warranty call. |
| 1:55.0 | Brian Orr. |
| 1:57.0 | Hey, this is Brian with the HVAC School Podcast. |
| 2:00.0 | If I sound overly enthusiastic when I start these podcasts just know that I'm not always |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bryan Orr, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Bryan Orr and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

