Freon safety warning!!!!!

This is not to discuss the right and wrong way to drain/recover freon... this is more a warning for everyones safety

I was talking to the owner of the scrap yard today and he warned me to be very carefull if I ever handle anythingfreon... wear a full face shield, and not just goggles... long sleaves and gloves... he told me about a customer who was blinded because of it... he said it sprayed into his eye and instantly FROZE!!!!! his eye and was blinded...

so no matter if you are draining freon right or wrong, whatever you do, please protect yourself against a preventable accident

Boyle's Law

also never put a flame to it to cut the lines or dismantle the compressor because when you burn freon in an open flame it creates phosgene gas which was used as a chemical weapon in world war 1 it will stop your heart from beating real quick.

respirator is probably a good idea too no? i always wear one when i break those lines. fridge, ac etc i dont like the idea of breathing that **** either. anything your are unsure of better safe then sorry. a gas shock on a computer chair shot a chunk of plastic at my face when i didnt think before i put the sawsall to it, **** near broke my nose i was bleeding pretty good. another time i was dissembling a lawnmower engine with a hilti sfh-18A (best tool ever btw) again not thinking i wasnt holding the engine i pulled the trigger on the drill to undo a bolt (it puts out 65 ft/lbs) swung the mower around 3-4 times and smashed me in the ankle not related but my point is before you do anything that could be hazordous THINK IT THROUGH

Originally Posted by steve129

dude managed to blast himself in the eyeball with it. obviously accidents happen i would always rather be safe then bleeding/blinded/ otherwise in danger. i wear my respirator to avoid breathing ANY. 90% of the hvac i deal with has already leaked out over time functional units i sell but the odd time i have to deal with a system that is still charged with green goo and gas

Don't know how it is in Canada, but in the US it's illegal to release refrigerant. I believe that's partly what Mech was driving at.

Yeah, I agree. If you are willing to spend the money on respirators and face masks, better use of said money would be to get the proper gear and license to reclaim. QUIT BREAKING FREON LINES!!!

whats freon

i want to become epa section 608 certified so i can do it safe but i think i'll have to be older.

When I first started scrapping I was at a local buis that sells/replaces a.c units, first time out I made my way to a unit for an office. I used a pair of bolt cutters and bit into the back, looking to rip out the copper next to the condenser etc. A massive blast (this thing was bigger than a fridge) of I'm guessing Freon, engulfed me in a deafening shriek of discharge, scared the $hit outta me, no gloves, no googles, no clue. Needless to say, I raced home, and googled if I was going to die or not, turns out it's not that positions, unless exposed to it for a long time. Eyes didn't freeze shut either. I did have a ringing headache for the rest of the night.
Whoever was watching the CCTV the next day must've had a right laugh.....
Rule learned? Check what your cutting into, it could be your last cut........

Poisonous*
Needless to say, I still come across, undrained units, I leave them alone.

Originally Posted by steve129

i dont deal with enough of it or have $350-600 for an hvac fluid recovery system.... i already had respirators, gloves, goggles etc and those things cost far less. how many ac rads and fridges would i have to reclaim before i broke even on that.... our climate eats ac lines and condensers anyway and by the time i get a car its usually allready been vented into the atmosphere over time. i snap the lines and not much comes out. $300 cars do not come with functional ac. when a scrap yard here buys a car and they crane it into a pile if the ac system is charged what happens? is it drained properly? no its thrown in a giant pile of smashed cars whatever systems get punctured leak there fluids im sure this happens with thousands of cars a year so please dont point your finger at me. make your judgements, hate me, whatever your guna do. it is what it is and i am not the only one, just one of many unemployed trying to scrape by

The AC units I have run across have had their recharge line cut with a side cutter which makes a opening small enough to allow the refrigerant to discharge slowly over a couple of days. It reduces the danger of a high pressure discharge to nearly zero. While I do not condone the release of refrigerant into the air, the fact remains that every molecule of refrigerant produced will eventually escape into the atmosphere.... and they keep making more, so it can't be that much of a problem in real life. The benefits MUST outweigh the costs.

Originally Posted by t00nces2

The AC units I have run across have had their recharge line cut with a side cutter which makes a opening small enough to allow the refrigerant to discharge slowly over a couple of days. It reduces the danger of a high pressure discharge to nearly zero. While I do not condone the release of refrigerant into the air, the fact remains that every molecule of refrigerant produced will eventually escape into the atmosphere.... and they keep making more, so it can't be that much of a problem in real life. The benefits MUST outweigh the costs.

No offense, but they same thing about 99% of all chemical discharge..... From crude oil, to nuclear, "the pros out weigh the cons" ....no they don't, and never will.....we only have one Earth, we need to look after her..

Originally Posted by BDAScrapper

No offense, but they same thing about 99% of all chemical discharge..... From crude oil, to nuclear, "the pros out weigh the cons" ....no they don't, and never will.....we only have one Earth, we need to look after her..

Are you so committed to the point of view that you do not use air conditioning or a refrigerator?

Inside the compressors theres a bunch of valves and such.
They can trap the oil with Freon inside it for more than a day.
When the comprssor is shifted, the oil can move around, the valves can open enough for some oil to move about..
And suddenly you can get a spurt of oil/gas out of a open tube.

Even if you think theres no oil in there, tip it over and suddenly you have a oil leak.

Originally Posted by t00nces2

The AC units I have run across have had their recharge line cut with a side cutter which makes a opening small enough to allow the refrigerant to discharge slowly over a couple of days. It reduces the danger of a high pressure discharge to nearly zero. While I do not condone the release of refrigerant into the air, the fact remains that every molecule of refrigerant produced will eventually escape into the atmosphere.... and they keep making more, so it can't be that much of a problem in real life. The benefits MUST outweigh the costs.

The cons always outweigh the pros when it comes to refrigerants.