R134a AC Recovery Procedure Robinair RG3

Quick overview of recovering AC from my Honda Accord in preparation for replacing the condenser (I said evaporator in the recording, pay no attention to that 😂).

Couple notes:
- If you have a leak, do not pull the system into vacuum as it will start to suck air into the cylinder. In this case I didn't, was just doing some service. I believe mumble mumble EPA rules let you pull a system to 0 psi in case of leak.
- technically you probably want to find a vacuum gauge to double check the vacuum on the cylinder prior to filling. You can also bleed the air off afterwards and if you’re not reusing the refrigerant don’t worry so much. I didn’t get one until after this whole rigamarole.
- if you don’t know what you’re doing (me) just recover the vapor. The RG3 has a marking on the inlet valve for liquid; make sure you don’t ram liquid full bore into the pump when recovering.
- don’t leave refrigerant in the pump after you’re done otherwise it could expand when the temperature increases and make the pump unhappy. This pump doesn’t have a purge feature; not sure what the “correct” way to handle this is without venting the remnants.
- I probably should have gotten 72 licenses before doing this rather than just watching YouTube HVAC channels, but...
- honestly even though it is 110% illegal to vent R134a out of a car, it is 100% legal to vent R134a out of a keyboard duster readily available on Amazon. If you’re not a geek and aren’t concerned about finding out how much refrigerant was in your vehicle, maybe this isn’t strictly necessary... perhaps attaching a keyboard duster to your outlet hose might get you into a legal grey area? I do enjoy buying toys so that’s why I have this.

[FernandoRojas-xsdc]

Thank you, very good tutorial. How to charge ac back to the system with the Robinair??

[samsullivan]

I wonder if that RG3 unit still had a few ounces of refrigerant in it's condenser.
If like to get that small unit myself but I haven't been able to find out how much it normally can't pump out. The larger sized units all have purge on them to evacuate out the machine after the unit/ car system is emptied.

Good job quickly showing how to use the equipment as well.

[TheGibby]

Thank you Sir for taking the time to make this vid. Question if I could. By pulling the system below zero (into a vacuum) does this not run the risk pulling air (through the leak) into your recovered refrigerant? Thx in advance. Recovery is all new to me.

[AnthonyStromDesign]

Don't you mean the condenser? The evaporator sits inside your dash. I bought the same unit. I'm still vague about recovering the liquid verses the gas using this machine. You recover the liquid first and then the gas.

[bassemmatoubsi]

Can the freon you just recovered can be reuse, I mean that particular machine has the option to push it back to the car?

[garnetsuss]

Good of you to make this video, but you definitely are not a teacher. Haha.