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Making a Refrigerant Flusher from a Recovery Machine? Pages: 12

marvin-miller on Sat May 08, 2004 12:47 AM User is offline

Hi guys;

95% of the time I'm working on A/C systems I'm taking the whole system apart to flush them out with mineral spirits. I do this because then I know the system is clean and I can be 100% certain of the oil amount and have no contamination. I can then give a solid warranty on the work..... BUT......

It's getting to be a pain in the rear. I've been reading that GM only supports flushing an A/C system with liquid refrigerant. To me this would be a handy way to go. While I don't believe everything GM says is gospel I do know that the newer A/C machines all seem to have this feature so I'd like to incoporate it into my custom A/C equipment if possible.

A friend gave me an old R12 recovery/recycling machine that's on a cart. It's nice and small and I'm wondering if I can turn that into a refrigerant flush machine. It has a compressor like a fridge has and also a motor for recylcing the gas. Do you think it would be possible to turn this into a flusher? How would someone do something like that?

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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

NickD on Sat May 08, 2004 7:57 AM User is offline

Read this article by Larry Carley Marvin.

Flushing

I personally know Larry, he does his homework.

Before trying to make something, nice to know if if it's already on the market, what it costs, replacement parts, users comments, etc. I am not having too much success in finding an R-134a solvent flush machine, whether this thing is worth a darn or not, I don't know.

Cobra Flush Machine.

Is there an R-134a flush machine even out there? Maybe someone else knows.

One thing for sure, manually flushing is a pain.

Karl Hofmann on Sat May 08, 2004 8:32 AM User is offlineView users profile

There certainly is a device to flush using R134a here in the UK. It is designed to work in conjunction with a Robinair RMS for closed loop flushing, the debris is caught in a cheap throw away filter. UK Tech has one, and from what he posted last year, he seemed pretty pleased with it. I think that I shall invest in one this year. Obviously R134a couldn't be used to flush out mineral oil for a retrofit, but then the number of retrofits that I anticipate doing this year could be counted on the fingers of one hand, Similarly I dont suppose that it would shift "Black Death", but I have never seen this problem in all of the Ford cars that I have worked on. Perhaps UK Tech could advise you further on the equipment that he has.

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Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

TRB on Sat May 08, 2004 12:26 PM User is offlineView users profile

You need to take into account that newer condensers are just not flushable no matter what type of flushing agent is used!!! Some suggest using your new components to flush with R134a and a filter combination before the suction side of the new compressor which is supposed to catch the debris. I don't like using my customer new components hoping nothing gets by a filter setup. I think your best option in something link the Hecat Mark III. This is the updated version of what we use in our shop. Still have to take into account that many foreign cars have the exp valve inside the evap case. No flushing machine is going to flush through that valve so removal is required. To do the job correctly removal of items is part of the process. A machine link the Mark III can make it job easier in some cases.

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Contact: ACKits.com

marvin-miller on Sat May 08, 2004 1:34 PM User is offline

Thanks for the replies :-)

I should clarify my goal a bit as we seem to be getting into the flushing debate. I'm not looking for a system to fix black death (in those cases I would manually flush and replace the more major components like the condenser etc.) but am trying to come up with a way to shorten the work involved in using a flush gun and mineral spirits.

Generally speaking, I'm always flushing a system when working on it. Usually the nature of the repairs required makes it less expensive because some components are out anyway so you might as well flush. The thing is, I'd rather not break everything down in pieces and then use the flush gun to blow out each piece (while aiming at a safe target :-)

The primary reason I have been flushing is not black death but to clean the system of oil and any other miscellaneous stuff that mineral spirits can pick up and carry out. Mostly it's just so that I can have piece of mind knowing that the exact amount of oil is in place and that the system id basically clean. I do a lot of retro-fits where the compressor is still OK but a leak has taken out the A/C - that's the primary application.

So, I thought that with the recovery/recycling machine that I was given I could try and change it over to a r134a flush machine. I have read some posts from others that seem to indicate that when using a newer model recovery machine they have this feature built-in and that it loads the system with roughly 11 pounds of liquid refrigerant and that this then pushes out all oil and probably the same amount of contaminents as mineral spirits. I figured I'd use a Removinator type of filter and that I could then see how much oil has actually come out as well as filtering out the junk.

I was thinking that I could just make a closed loop system that would endlessly cycle and filter until the system was clean, leave it on for two hours and drink coffee :-)

I was hoping I could come up with a system that just connects to the high and low sides, throw a switch and come back later. What I haven't taken into acount though is orifice tubes and expansion valves. Maybe it's not possible to do this easily I just thought that seeing the new recovery/recharging stations have the ability to do it maybe I could make this functionality happen with the recovery/recycling machine I was given.



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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

UK Tech on Sat May 08, 2004 2:01 PM User is offline

The Robinair stuff that we use is a standard RMS, but with an extra outlet that comes straight from the liquid port on the tank. This is connected to the ystem by a variety of adaptors, then the other end of the part being flushed is connected to a remote filter drier with a sight glass. To the outlet of this r/d is the LS connection of the RMS. The liquid is let in, and the machine set to recover. You can see the muck flowing past the sight glass. Do it a few times, then reverse the connections and do it a few times more.

The main requirement of the recovery machine is a good sized compressor, (1/3 HP min) a large proper oil seperator, and most importantly the ability to recover large qtys of liquid gas, as this is what will come back to the machine.

Beware little recovery machines, as even though they state they can recover liquid, they really don't like it a lot. This is because to convert liquid to gas they just use an orifice, whereas proper machines use a proper expansion valve, small condensor with fan, and has a heated oil seperator (the outlet from the compressor provides the heat source). They also have their own large filter/drier internally to catch anything the remote one missed. If the smaller machines have an oil seperater, then it's usually only a small catchpot that soon gets cold, so the oil doesn't get dropped out of the gas.

bohica2xo on Sat May 08, 2004 4:05 PM User is offline

OK, I think Marvin is looking for something more like THIS. A simple solution, all you need is some hose and fittings to connect to the item(s) you want to flush. Low pressure, open loop recirculation to clean out all of the old oils and loose debris.

Now, I will put my asbestos suit on, and say what is surely blasphemy to some on this board.

Why not use R290 or R600 (or a blend!) for refrigerant flushing?
R290 is a better solvent than 134a or R12, and it is miscable with any of the oils used in MVAC - so it would clean out the mineral/PAG/Ester glop left behind from Pep Boys/death kit/ brother in law service.....

There are plenty of older recovery machines out there, that sell for cheap. With 3 new 50lb recovery cylinders, you could build a dedicated flushing machine for less than 500 bucks.

Since you are going to recover all of the R290 before you re-assemble the system, there are no HC's being used for refrigeration - this is just as legal as flushing with stoddard solvent, another HC.

Just my 2 cents.

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"Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest."
~ Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi, An Autobiography, M. K. Gandhi, page 446.

TRB on Sat May 08, 2004 4:12 PM User is offlineView users profile

Educate me here, how are these machines getting whatever flushing agent used through a expansion valve, force?

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When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com

marvin-miller on Sun May 09, 2004 12:18 AM User is offline

I don't know about that (flushing through the expansion device) but from what I'm seeing from owner's manuals (Skye Recovery Machine Manual in .doc format)from these newer machines they charge the vehicle with twice the rated capacity of refrigerant in liquid form. Somehow it cycles around and this then causes all the old oil to come out of the system where it's then separated and drained off.

They make a big exclamation that this is for oil removal only and not for catastrophic compressor failures (which to me is sensible).

My home-made recovery unit is pretty much completely digital and contains vehicle charge specs for around 750 vehicles and keeps inventory control (gas levels) and automagically charges the correct amounts etc. It also controls the recovery machine itself as well as the vacuum pump and other devices. It's pretty slick and one of these days I'll photograph it and describe how it works. The reason I mention it is that I am trying to put together a total custom package :-)

The thing is that there are two things it can't do and that's separate oil from refrigerant and perform a system oil flush with liquid 134a. I'd really like to add that to it. I figure it would be nice to use the old recovery machine to do both of these things as it's a self-contained cart. That would have the added benefit of being able to work on two vehicles simoultaneously.

The part where I get stuck with oil separation is not the filter as there are a number of really good ones out there including helical oil separation and coalescing filter systems. I can even buy a two stage oil separator that starts with a helical stage and finishes up with a coalescing filter. That's one that I am sure would scavenge almost all the oil (good coalescing ones are rated to around 99.8%) the problem I am finding is that I lack the understanding on how to make the oil filter drain without being under pressure or vacuum.

For instance, lets say I have a two stage oil separator installed with the conventional drain petcock on the bottom (these are available). It's placed in-line on the suction hose on my recovery machine. As the recovered gas comes in the oil gets separated and sinks to the bottom. Once all the refrigerant is recovered then my custom recovery machine shuts off (it's very cool!). At that point the inlet hose to the recovery machine is in a state of 15" of vacuum. So if I open the drain petcock on my oil separator it's not going to vent the oil but instead suck air into my recovery machine :-( So I need a way to stop that from happening. I know what product to buy to scavenge 99% of the oil from the refrigerant but I don't know how to drain it without introducing air into my unit - that's problem number one right now.

All recovery machines I have seen (I've never used a commercial one) seem to have the handy feature of showing how much oil has been removed during recovery. To me this is invaluable as I do sometimes have to recover a system I overhauled due to a leaking or mis-placed O-ring or what have you. I then have no way of knowing how much oil I sucked out of my job when I went through a lot of flushing and cleaning to get the exact oil charge in the system.

I would also like to keep my recovered gas completely free from oil. So if anyone has an idea on how to stop air from being sucked into my recovery machine I would love to hear it as I can then implement my oil solution. I don't want to draw any fire here - the only gas I re-use is the virgin gas that I have installed myself. The 'other' stuff goes into a junk tank and eventually off to be reclaimed.

On my donated Robinair recovery machine it seems to use some sort of cheezy accumulator with a stiff to turn valve on the bottom. What you are supposed to do is recover a bunch of gas and then open a valve a little bit to introduce refrigerant into the accumulator in an effort to pressurize it. You then drain the oil by opening the valve. The problem I see with this system is that it is not enviro friendly and seeing I'm 'growing my own' I am trying to make it enviro-safe. I can implement the same solution to pressurize the new oil separator but I'd rather not if there is another way. One thing's for sure - if I can come up with a way to do it that two-stage oil separator will be so far superior to the ones in a commercial recovery machine it will be worth the effort :-)

Maybe I'll leave the flushing side alone for now and take it one step at a time. I like article that Bohica posted up (and Nick's too) and the pump in that article is food for thought - I could use that for a lot of other cool things :-) UkTech gave me some interesting info from experience (I guess he has one of these puppies!) maybe he knows about flushing liquid refrigerant through the orifince tube or expansion valve?

Anyway, I do have that used recovery/recycling machine though and it is on a skookum cart so if I'm going to continue on the flushing path I'd like to use that if at all possible and combine the two features. Maybe for that aspect I'll just have to do a trial and error approach using my own car as the guinea pig. Without an accurate way of seeing the amount of oil recovered though I won't necessarily know how well it's working. I can get pretty large sight glasses from a commercial supplier in Nanaimo (close by) so I should be able to watch the sludge come out in real-time :-) As for what to use as a flushing agent - that could actually be decided after the system is built.





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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

NickD on Sun May 09, 2004 6:35 AM User is offline

I was searching for some operating instructions on these things, are the ports used for the connections? You just hook these things up for 20 minutes and walk away? How about gravity? And as Time mentioned, the orifice. Is the entire system flushed at once, or is each component flushed? I believe GMtech inferred component and not the entire system flushing that GM uses R-134a for in the plant, then these are brand new components, and not a blackdeath or a compressor failure type. You sure can't back flush a compressor, least one with good reed valves in it.

I know on batauto, not much is thought of these power engine and AT flush machines, but if you read the manufacturers literature on these things, it's the greatest thing since grandma's apple pie.

Karl Hofmann on Sun May 09, 2004 7:17 AM User is offlineView users profile

The only real way to get a reasonable result is to bridge the compressor, expansion and drier, No easy way round that. Biggest problem is that many vehicles have their TXVs inside the evap box, which is not a huge problem on most Japanese stuff, but I recently notet that the S-Type Jag required the entire dash to be removed just to remove the TXV. Who ever designed that should die with a large spike up his backside!!

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Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

UK Tech on Sun May 09, 2004 5:18 PM User is offline

The TXV is replaced with a dummy. You get a kit of dummies, all standard valve blocks but with no inards. You can also get compressor bridges for use with sandens and others, so potentially you could get away with entering/exiting the flushing gas at the drier only. I reckon it works better splitting the system down a bit more.

The oil seperators are simply a catchpot with coils inside. These coils carry the discharge gas from the RMS compressor to provide the heat required to drop the gas out. To empty it, when the recovery cycle is complete, a solenoid valve from the machine's valve block to the tank closes, then another between the discharge of the compressor and the now closed solenoid from before opens, releasing the small amount of gas 'stuck' between the comp and the tank solenoid into the oil seperater.

If you want some plumbing diagrams, let me know a fax number and I'll shoot them across.

marvin-miller on Sun May 09, 2004 8:24 PM User is offline

Hi UKTech

I'd love some diagrams as I'd really like to create one of these. I came up with a solution for my oil separator on my custom recovery machine and I think it will work perfectly so that's one problem down. I can use the same solution (or an even better one) on the flushing machine. There's some really great filters out there that will scrub everything out.

If you could fax over some diagrams I'd love it. Also, if you could tell me who made the RMS machine (make/model) you are using then I could probably buy get the dummy blocks from them too. There's always room for another dummy over here ;-) Diagrams are best because I find that it's harder and harder these days to understand some things unless I can 'see' them.

My fax number is (250) 954-2195. I know calls from the UK are expensive so if you need me to I'd be happy to shoot you some bucks through PayPal to cover your costs. I'm in Canada and I think the country code is +1 ? Let me know if you have any issues. The line is also my home number so if you could give me a rough idea as to when the fax is coming through I'll be sure not to pick up :-)





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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

mihai914 on Mon May 10, 2004 11:17 AM User is offline

Hmm,

A simple solution for your oil separator problem would be to isolate it with a valve before and after and when you want to drain just cut both. Simple enough and effective unless the machine you have is more complex than that.

Mihai

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Drive like Hell, you'll get there!

marvin-miller on Mon May 10, 2004 12:00 PM User is offline

That's what I was thinking but the problem with that is that you still get air in recovery system. The suction hose on the recovery machine finishes up in about 15" of vacuum so when you drain the oil then the chamber fills with air :-(

The solution I came up with is to run a line off the bottom of the filter to a dial-a-charge. Someone gave me one and I suspect it's going to make a great graduated site glass! Because it holds around 88 ounces of oil I can just make note of the before and after doing a recovery operation and by subtracting the latter from the former I'll know exactly how much oil came out in the last recovery operation.

The nice thing is that I have a guage on the dial-a-charge that shows whether it's under vacuum or pressure and also there is a valve on the bottom for draining it. It uses standard fittings too. I can isolate the actual filter as it has a valve in it already so when I need to drain the dial-a-charge I can close those fittings, drain the oil, not loose any gas (because it's under vacuum) and then just hook my vacuum pump up to the dial-a-charge and bring both it and the filter above into a vacuum :-)

Because the dial-a-charge holds so much oil this should only need to be done at the end of every season (I would think). I felt this was a pretty neat solution that's enviro-friendly and gives me the opportunity to use a far superior oil separation system then what comes stock with a commercial recovery unit.

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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

iceman2555 on Tue May 25, 2004 11:08 PM User is offlineView users profile

I have tried this approach and it seems to work pretty well. The air purge part of my recovery machine takes care of any air intake. I use the liquid charge of my recovery/recharge machine. Connected to the outlet of the evap. The inlet on the evap is connected to a DOT approved refrigerant recovery tank. The inlet is connected to the liquid side of the cylinder. The recovery machine is connected to the vapor side of the recovery cannister. I use a heater blanket to heat the recovery cylinder in order to recover the refrigerant (flush material) as a vapor. Since the vapor connection is at the top of the cylinder no liquid is recovered by the recovery machine. The excess lubricant stabilizes in the bottom of the recovery cylinder. The liquid pick up in the recovery cylinder is app 2-3 inches from the bottom, so the cylinder will hold lubricant without fear of it being introduced into my recovery machine. After several flushes, the recovery cylinder is simply turned on its end and the valve opened and the captured lubricant is allowed to drain. It is possible to drill, tap and add a drain to the cylinder. However, this voids the DOT certifications. Only the evap is flushed to remove lubrications. The condenser can be flushed by the chance of removing heavy contamination with 134a is questionable. 134a is an excellent flush material and could possibly remove light contamination from the condenser. However, the flow characteristics of the parallel flow and 6 mm pic make these units almost impossible to clean properly. They are replaced is the system has suffered a severe compressor failure.
The evap is flushed with app 4-6 lbs of liquid refrigerant. Testing several different types of evaps has shown that this is sufficient to remove lubricants. The flushing of hoses without mufflers or filter can be accomplished also. Hoses that have mufflers or filters are replaced. Also a inline filter is used prior to the refrigerant entering the recovery cylinder.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson

NickD on Thu May 27, 2004 9:44 AM User is offline

Buy, make, repair, rebuild, or rent is the question I ask daily.

We beat the subject of building a vacuum pump to death on this board, beside getting something that wouldn't sell at a garage sale for 25 cents, all the expense of those fittings are wasted, plus the performance is very questionable. Buying a new pump is tested, perfected, guaranteed, and worth a lot of money on ebay. I feel the same is true of a flushing machine.

In the good old days purchased many a vehicle with a great body and interior and some only required a buck part to make them run very well. Could get these for 10-50 bucks, was a question of knowing what was wrong and fixing it. Those days are history, the parts costs today are astronomical. While my Continental had a great body and interior, I already sunk $1,800.00 worth of parts into it thinking that was the last part. A rude awakening as the car at the dealer was only worth 100 bucks on a trade-in. Today, I find it much cheaper to pay a couple of bucks more in a used vehicle that doesn't require replacing a bunch of parts. That 1,800 bucks I spent on parts wouldn't even fill a shopping bag.

Back then, Sears was selling parts for a washing machine cheaper than the floor price, not anymore as well as the rest. I would be insane to pay 500 bucks for a new heating element on my range when a brand new range costs only 100 bucks more.

So this brings about the question of whether to by used and repair or rebuild, depends much on the item. JVC wanted 85 bucks for one chip in a stereo amplifier that wouldn't go on ebay for 25 bucks kind of thing. And would anyone pay 35 bucks for a single head on a floppy drive when you can buy a brand new drive for 8 bucks? I don't think so.

I also learned the hard way, restoring an old car was a waste of money, I was glad to just get my parts cost back, the hundreds of hours of labor was given away for free, wish now that I purchased land instead.

Renting is now ridiculous, but so is buying a home. My son won't even go with me anymore, I tend to embarrass him with my statements as to what they want for a pile of crap sitting perhaps in a good location. Same or a higher price than a new home, but land is getting difficult to find and the prices have skyrocketed. Ha, I made an offer if the seller would remove and deduct all those rotten windows, worn carpet and flooring and 30 year old appliances that I would have to pay dearly to get some recycling place to take it.

I was pricing new homes, and while many are saying the materials costs are going up, I am not seeing that, would be true if you are using all hardwoods and wood. All this new stuff is particle board and plastic including the plumbing and fixtures. What I am seeing is that the selling price is now four times the material cost as compared to 35 years ago, where the materials costs was doubled for the selling price 35 years ago.

This kind of tells me to find a good used flushing machine or buy a new one depending on the parts replacement costs, and use your extra time to build your own home. If you can find the land to build it on.

Ha, buying two kinds of the same old car to make a good one doesn't work, they both have the same problems.

marvin-miller on Fri May 28, 2004 8:37 PM User is offline

Hi Nick;

Not nessescelery......

I have a refrigerant recovery/recycling station that was given to me. It actually does still work and has a nice cart and is self-contained. It also has both a compressor and a pump for recycling the refigerant. All the pump does is move liquid refrigerant through a filter in an endless cycle through the two valves on the tank.......

Seeing it's already set up to move liquid refrigerant it would be very easy to turn it into a flushing machine. It already has a spot for the tank on the rear and all the hoses etc. It would be very easy to bypass the enormous clunky filter and install a new high quality one. Ditton for the oil separation as I already have 5 coalescing filters en route from the US.

So the way I see it, it's probably going to cost me very little to convert this thing into a refrigerant flusher. I already priced out adapters to make it fit all the different connections out there and that weighs in at 350.00 A new quality flusher weighs in at around 2500.00

As for my self-built recovery/charging/recycling station - it kicks butt! It's also 99% done as I'm just waiting for my filters from the US for that too. Total cost on that one is around 3,000 CDN, maybe less and it's way better then a commercially bought machine that would cost roughly 15,000 CDN. The benefit I get is way faster evacuation time, recovery time and very high quality filters. Plus I have refrigerant management, over 750 vehicles in the computer with charge specs and a whole lot more then the 15,000 machines offer. The biggest benefit to me is that it is custom and so it meets my quality criteria.

One of these days I'll get a digital camera and take some snaps and do a write up on it explaining the system. This is probably the only place on the 'net that will understand my rational behind it anyway :-)

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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

Karl Hofmann on Sat May 29, 2004 6:00 AM User is offlineView users profile

WOW $15000 for a management station? Now that is steep! I'd build my own too!

This digital camera, are you making it??

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Never knock on deaths door... Ring the doorbell and run away, death really hates that!

Edited: Sat May 29, 2004 at 6:01 AM by Karl Hofmann

NickD on Sat May 29, 2004 7:07 AM User is offline

My first digital camera was a camcorder connected to a video input card and attempting to hold the camera, look at the monitor, and clicking the mouse button at the right time. it worked, but was kind of awkward and not exactly portable. We had a video converter to feed a notebook that require power as well as the notebook and camcorder, with all the cables, but the sample time was long, so the subject had to remain perfectly still. A cheap Canon A-60 that fits in your shirt pocket with a 128 MB media card is slightly more convenient especially if you like to take shots on a roller coaster ride.

You can now buy a webcam for around 15 bucks that comes with the software that is more convenient if you have a notebook computer with a USB input. These are fixed focus, but self light adjusting if you can wait the five or so seconds for it to adjust each time you move the camera a tad.

So Marvin, on your recovery machine, did you start from scratch or just modify an existing machine with improved filters? Yes, I would like to see a picture. And how many hours did you spend putting it together? Since you have a working prototype that is better than anything on the market, should you consider putting it into production? Don't get me wrong, innovation and making improvements is still part of the inventors dream and nothing wrong with capitalizing on a creation. Some innovations may even be patentable, may not be able to sell the idea, but good protection if you are manufacturing it. Working around patents is very much a part of the manufacturing world.

My point was to build something using components that were intended to do the job in the most efficient way and yes you can put a Harley engine on a rotary lawn mower kind of thing, it may not be the most efficient at cutting grass in tight spaces, but it sure would sound cool. Everyone likes the sound of a Harley, LOL.

marvin-miller on Sat May 29, 2004 6:40 PM User is offline

I haven't built a camera but I did modify my cell phone quite a bit. It's a Nokia 8260 but I liked the appearance of the 8860 much better so I found that I could buy the chrome housing for an 8860 on ebay and then take the circuit board out of my 8260 and put it in the 8860. That way I have all the extra features of the 8260 in the much nicer looking 8860.

The 8860 has a nice chrome case so I thought that would look better in an automotive environment. My company's name is Frosty's Air Conditioning so I emailed a new ring tone for my phone. It's not only chrome like an automobile but also plays Frosty the Snowman whenever a client calls! :-)

For the recovery machine - I really didn't make the whole thing I just bought a portable commercial recovery unit and a MasterCool scale. The Mastercool scale was actually designed to be used also for OEM's who want to manufacture a charging/recovery station. So it has EPROM's and relays built-into it that you can use to control your connected items like the recovery machine. It's very slick and is the heart of the unit. It has 750 cars built-in to it so it has refrigerant amounts you can look up. I've been in touch with the engineer who made the thing at MasterCool and am trying to find out every feature it supports because many are undocumented. I found a whole bunch of secret settings on it that the factory uses which was very cool. So it controls each device connected to it. It also supports electronic signalling but there are no docs on this. I'm waiting for a response from Mastercool as to how this works and am hoping that it will be able to control solenoids. That way I don't have to manually turn a valve now and again :->

Basically, I bought separate components because at the start I thought I might do mobile work. Once I tried two mobile calls I didn't want to do mobile! As I learned A/C I had thoughts that it would be easier if this did that etc. Because the scale supports so much of these functions as I learned I started taking advantage of these features. I didn't know it but I was really learning how to build a recovery machine along the way. I had never seen one up close so when my buddy gave me a working R12 unit I saw how much better mine was. I then started looking at the features that new ones support (now that I have a way better understanding of how they work) and am finding that if I add a few more features mine will be way, way better.

Right now it uses hoses but after taking the manufactured one apart I can see that I could bend up tubes and flare them and truly make a nicer and tighter package. The more I go along the more I learn and the more I can see that I probably could indeed manufacture a really nice machine that you guys would love. I don't know if I'll go that far but I do know a really talented sheet metal fabricator.......

Anyway, I'm having fun and learning a ton as I go. The high initial cost period is past me now so the finishing touches are fairly inexpensive and I love quality items. There's also a lot of pride that goes into making my own system and customers really love it. When they see the quality of that stuff they get assurance that my work is the same and really enjoy hearing about their repair.

Anyway, got to go back to digging a short trench..... I'll post pictures and a write up pretty soon...
BTW, about the video camera thing - I used to have an ATI All inWonder video card that had a TV built-into it. It also had every form of video connection possible so what I did was mount my parents 900.00 CamCorder to a tri-pod and wired it into the video card. Talk about auto-focus and a clear picture! Whenever I video conferenced with people they were shocked at the picture quality. A CamCorder kicks butt on those little golf ball cameras. The cool part is that CamCorders are so cheap now. You could probably find one that doesn't record anymore on ebay for very little and use it to send the signal through. I can't say enough about them they work like you wouldn't believe.

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Best & Thanks;
Marvin

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