Thread: Pump Down

Why bother? The hole in the ozone layer hasn't been proven conclusively. Global warming's just a transient thing. Open the line and let 'er go...

Yes After pumping down your a/c unit connect aproved reclomation unit to gas side of the liquid reciever, open necessary v/vs and start, run until all gas / liquid is removed

Question

1, can you get or do you have the necessary vacume pump and tank

2, Did you know you will still have to pay to get rid of the gas

3, Do you have the CFC acreditation so you can legaly do this


Some people just crack a pipe and let the gas escape This is illegal so I would never condone such a action ,

Originally Posted by Ashore

Yes After pumping down your a/c unit connect aproved reclomation unit to gas side of the liquid reciever, open necessary v/vs and start, run until all gas / liquid is removed

Question

1, can you get or do you have the necessary vacume pump and tank

2, Did you know you will still have to pay to get rid of the gas

3, Do you have the CFC acreditation so you can legaly do this


Some people just crack a pipe and let the gas escape This is illegal so I would never condone such a action ,

Ashore, I'm lead to believe that you open one valve and close another whilst running the unit for a few seconds that this process pumps down the gas/liquid back into the main unit, thus storing it within the unit so there is no external requirement to capture/store the gas/liquid.

Must apoligise Rod I miss read your post I thought you wanted to remove and scrap the unit.

To pump down you can close the discharge v/v on the liquid reciever, this goes to the suction side of the pump , the unit should run for a short while shut down on low pressure then reset itself and should start again after a few moments, let this happen a couple of times then shut down and close inlet v/v on the liquid reciever.

If the unit shuts down on high pressure you will have to manually reset.
I wouldn't advise re starting if high pressure cut out operates when you have v/vs on the system shut as you may have inadvertantly closed the wrong v/v

The diacharge v/v from the liquid reciever should be on the outside compressor on the smaller line going to the inside evap unit. By shutting this you can suck all the gas from the evap unit and pump, hopefully you can save enough gas so that you won't have to top up when you reinstall


Rgds
Russell

What you need to do:
There will be two valves which the copper pipe connects to via flare fittings, one will be larger than the other.

The larger of the two pipes is the suction
The smaller pipe is the discharge.

At the end of each valve there is a cap which unscrews, unscrew both caps.

If you look inside you will see a 4 or 5 mill hex, these are the valves.

Using an allen key completely close both valves by turning them clockwise, no need to swing off them just firm.

Crack the suction valve open approx 1 - 2 turns, this is the fitting with the larger of the two pipes connected to it.

Start the unit in cooling mode, after a 20-30 seconds max close the suction valve completely and shut the unit off immediatly. For this it is a good idea to have some one help you if your unit doesn't have an isolator beside the outdoor unit. Reason - By the time you run back inside to switch off the power, the unit has been running with both valves closed and the compressor may grenade!

Hope this helps,

Andrew.

ajt
Don't know who you are or your background or qualifications but starting an ac comp with both v/vs shut is wrong and to advise anyone to do so is stupid:mad:
You either know nothing about ac compressors and the mechanics of how they operate or you are being deliberately misleading:confused:
offering advice that may cause the unit to "grenade" is dangerous and irresponsible :mad:
This being your first post ,if your advice is the best you can offer then maybe you should make it your last.:mad:

Come on fella's calm down.

The advise is appreciated.

Cheers

I can't see where he says to start it with both valves closed - but I *can* see where he warns AGAINST this.:confused:

As I read it:

1) close both valves
2) crack open suction valve
3) now start the unit

I recognise Ashore as a longtime pretty trustworthy contributor; AJT is a new name to me, but his info seems pretty clear and makes sense to me (who knows nothing about AirCon apart from the fact that I have an aunt who wants one removed).

I'm hoping it's just a mis-read on someone's part!

Cheers,
Andrew

Arose62 you are right It was late at night and I responded too dillegently on a miss read espically after his " may grenade" comment
Ajt did not say to start the comp with both v/vs shut and his method would work as the external v/vs on a split system are from the liquid reciever and to the compressor suction
However I am and will always be for safety first and come in with two guns blazing when advice is given thatI feel may be dangerous.

Ajt I can only say that you were correct in your description regarding split systems where mine was more for a/c systems in general and you had every right to take offence to my comments ,
You have my apoligy and I hope to see your posts in the future


Rgds

Well yesterday arvo I followed ajt's instructions... I'm still here nothing blew-up.

Thanks

Make sure you cap the two connection points where the pipes attatch to the valves, after you undo the flare nuts and disconnect the pipe work.

You dont especially want any foreign objects getting in there.