The following informational video is brought to you by National Refrigeration Products.
The LV-1 refrigerant recovery unit's features and operation are tailored to the needs of the air conditioning and refrigeration service technician.
Environmental concerns such as ozone depletion and global warming have forced the government to implement regulations and restrictions on the users of refrigerants.
The service technician is already familiar with many of these, most notably CFC taxes and production cutbacks.
Based on these actions, recovery, recycling, or reclamation will be essential.
The first step in servicing an air conditioning or refrigeration system that requires the opening of the refrigeration circuit will be to recover the refrigerant in cylinders approved for recovery.
When servicing an air conditioning or refrigeration system, you will have to determine the quality of the refrigerant to be recovered.
If the refrigerant in the disabled unit is known to be free of contaminants, it can be reused once service is completed.
This is the most economical situation since there's no need for the technician to purchase new refrigerant.
If there's reason to believe contaminants are present, testing of the refrigerant is necessary.
With charges exceeding 100 pounds, we recommend the use of a laboratory analysis, which NRP's state-of-the-art laboratory can provide.
All of the tests we run follow the accepted refrigerant industry testing procedures.
Please contact your NRP distributors to order test cylinders.
If the refrigerant is found to have excessive contaminant levels, reclaim is a must.
ARI 700-88 specifications are necessary in maintaining the integrity of the refrigerant used.
Refrigerant failing to meet these ARI standards may cause failure and or substandard performance of equipment.
In many cases, equipment warranties will be denied.
Another option available is on-site recycling.
When done properly, recycling will reduce contaminants through oil separation and passes through replaceable core filters
in order to reduce acidity, moisture, and particulate.
However, there is a concern.
On-site recycling units cannot reduce contaminants enough and guarantee the refrigerant meets the ARI 700-88 specifications mentioned earlier.
This recycled refrigerant may affect the efficiency of the equipment it's used in and should not be used to charge systems under warranty.
The recovery and reclamation of refrigerant will benefit those servicing air conditioning and refrigeration equipment.
Corporations with in-house maintenance departments will discover considerable savings through recovery and reclamation,
while the service technicians will enjoy new opportunities for revenue growth.
Let's assume a refrigeration condensing unit holding a 35-pound charge of R-502 needs servicing.
If the charge is vented, 35 pounds of new R-502 would have to be purchased.
If the refrigerant is recovered and reused, there's an immediate savings.
Taking into consideration the market price of R-502, the LV-1 would pay for itself with a recovery of 350 pounds of refrigerant.
Many large corporations are already requiring the recovery of refrigerant when their equipment is being serviced and are paying for the additional cost incurred.
The technician will be justified in charging his customers recovery fees.
The LV-1 refrigerant recovery unit is the simplest and most convenient transfer unit in the industry.
Its weight of 46 pounds makes it easy to take anywhere you're working.
The unit is designed to transfer a 1-1-2-pound refrigerant charge of R-12, R-22, R-500, or R-502
at a rate of at least 5 pounds of liquid per minute or 1-1-2-pound of vapor per minute and is conveniently powered by 115 volts.
It is protected by a high-pressure cutout and internal overload at the compressor.
Its exclusive self-pump-out feature will reduce unnecessary venting and prevent the mixing of refrigerants.
The LV-1 is shipped from the factory pre-charged with dry nitrogen.
Before use, the nitrogen should be vented by removing caps and opening both the inlet and outlet valves.
The unit should also be evacuated with a vacuum pump by manifolding the inlets and outlet valves in order to remove leftover nitrogen and non-condensables.
All valves on the LV-1 must be in closed position when not in use.
The LV-1 is like a refrigeration unit and must not be open to the air since excessive moisture will damage the compressor.
The unit can transfer liquid refrigerant when using a cylinder with a two-port valve or with two valves.
Never connect the liquid line to the LV-1 inlet port.
This will cause slugging and damage to the LV-1 compressor.
Connect the LV-1 to a properly grounded 115-volt, one-phase, 60-cycle outlet.
Avoid the use of an extension cord due to the voltage drop to the LV-1 compressor.
If you must use one, however, it must be a maximum of 25 feet in length, oil-resistant, NEC approved, and a minimum of 14 gauge three-conductor wire.
Refrigerant hoses should not exceed eight feet in length.
We recommend the use of an O52 dryer on the inlet line for added protection to the LV-1 compressor.
The dryer will trap particulate and prevent interference with the pressure regulator and solenoid valves.
The dryer should be changed after recovering refrigerant from a burnout, transferring different refrigerants, or after recovering 500 pounds of the same refrigerant.
The liquid refrigerant is transferred directly from the disabled unit to the bottom of the recovery cylinder at a rate of at least five pounds per minute.
We recommend the use of a sight glass for monitoring purposes.
The unit pumps refrigerant vapor from the top of the recovery cylinder through the transfer unit, condensing the refrigerant and pressurizing the disabled unit.
This process maintains a lower pressure in the cylinder than in the disabled unit, which pulls the refrigerant to the recovery cylinder.
To speed up the refrigerant flow, remove the Schrader core from the disabled unit's access fitting.
Note, evacuate empty recovery cylinder to at least 1,000 microns to remove air and non-condensables.
Connect a hose from the liquid side of the disabled unit to the liquid valve on the recovery cylinder using a quarter-inch sight glass in line for monitoring purposes.
If necessary, a self-piercing access fitting may have to be installed on the liquid line to allow for liquid transfer.
Connect a hose from the vapor valve on the recovery cylinder to the inlet of the LV-1 using an O52 dryer in the line.
Connect a hose from the outlet valve of the LV-1 to the compressor discharge valve of the disabled unit or to the vapor side purge hoses.
Use a scale to weigh the cylinder. For safety reasons, the cylinder must be filled by weight.
Open cylinder valves, turn unit on, open valves on unit.
Monitor the liquid refrigerant through the sight glass.
When liquid transfer is complete or cylinder is 80% full, shut off the valves on the cylinder and transfer unit.
Turn unit off.
Once the liquid has been removed, the remaining vapor can be extracted with the LV-1 as shown in this diagram.
The vapor is transferred at a rate of approximately one-half pound per minute depending on suction pressure.
Connect a hose from the vapor side of the disabled unit to the inlet valve of the LV-1 using an O52 dryer.
Connect a hose from the outlet of the LV-1 to the vapor valve on the recovery cylinder.
Open the vapor valve on the recovery cylinder and both valves on the LV-1.
Turn the unit on.
When the low pressure gauge on the LV-1 goes down below zero PSIG, the vapor transfer is complete.
Turn the unit off and wait two minutes.
If the pressure rises, turn the unit on again until the suction pressure goes below zero PSIG.
If necessary, the unit can recover into a vacuum to meet anticipated EPA requirements.
To pump out the unit, close the suction valve on the LV-1 and turn the LV-1 pump out switch on.
The unit pulls the refrigerant trapped in the LV-1's condenser and piping and transfers it in vapor form directly into the recovery cylinder.
This unique feature reduces the risk of mixing refrigerants as well as venting unnecessarily.
When the low pressure gauge goes below zero PSIG, self-pump out is complete.
Turn the power off and close all valves.
Under high ambient conditions, it's preferable to pump out the refrigerant into an empty cylinder to relieve discharge pressure.
The compressor oil level is located on the right side of the LV-1 and must always be at half the sight glass.
If the oil level decreases, oil must be added.
The compressor oil should be changed after a recovery from a burned out system or before the recovery of a different refrigerant.
Before draining oil, open all valves on unit to relieve pressure.
Remove oil drain fitting cap and Schrader core.
The oil drain is located under the unit.
The oil will drain quickly by gravity.
The oil is under needed.
Drain oil into a container for proper disposal.
The oil in the compressor can be under pressure and hot if the unit has been running.
Be careful. Severe burns to the operator can occur.
To add oil, remove the cap and Schrader from oil charging port on the front of the unit.
Close inlet valve and open outlet valve.
Attach a hose to the oil charging port and transfer fresh oil from a container by turning LV-1 on.
When the sight glass shows half filled, turn unit off.
Do not overfill.
The unit holds 16 ounces of 150 or 300 viscosity refrigeration oil.
Before transfer of different refrigerants, technicians should, one, ensure self pump out was completed after last use.
Two, drain LV-1 compressor oil and replace it with 16 ounces of fresh 150 or 300 viscosity refrigeration oil.
Three, replace filter dryer in suction line.
Four, evacuate recovery units and hoses.
Five, mark refrigerant number on each recovery cylinder at time of recovery.
Remember, mixed refrigerants cannot be separated and disposal is very costly.
We suggest you take the time to read the LV-1 written instructions and troubleshooting guide to ensure proper operation of unit.
Customer satisfaction is our primary goal.
We strive to manufacture quality equipment that's convenient to use, economical and reliable.
Please contact your local distributor or NRP with your refrigerant recovery questions, problems or suggestions.