AC Question?

I'm new on here and hope i'm posting correctly, I do mostly appliances and basic around the house stuff but I've been getting a lot of calls lately to pick ac units. i have about ten of them now already taken all apart and ready to take to an recycling yard, but my problem is no recycling yard around me want to take them without paperwork from a ac company. I understand it but i just pick them up from calls i get. So my question is what can i do with them?

Tampa bay area, FL

I am in the same boat. I have another thread started with a similar question. I see you are in Tampa Bay. Where? I am in SRQ.

no i have the machine that pulls it out, i repair appliances so i work with Freon. I dispose of it at work with the permission of my boss. I'm not doing nothing wrong but they still don't want to take it since my license is not for an ac company and the paperwork can't be from me.

I'm on the Pasco Pinellas boarder

Every yard I've been to wants a computer generated receipt for the ac unit but they never ask me about the fridges which also hold Freon. And even the few times when i did not have time to take the Freon out of a fridge i can see them breaking the fridge in the press and of course the lines break and the Freon goes up in the air. You can stand there and watch them throw even ac units in the press, same thing. And these are not small yards, i'm talking about commercial yards where even the county and waste management bring there stuff for money, i see the trucks almost everyday pulling in.

Hey Daniel, I am also on the Pinellas/Pasco boarder (Holiday) What scrap yards have you been going to? What type of ac units are they, window or the big central units? Are you bringing the whole units or are you braking the units down? I know this seems to be a lot of questions but knowing the answers can help. If you bring in the whole unit The law says you have to show proof of ownership. If they are window units and you break them down then there is not much they can say. On the bigger central units the only thing they can question are the coils and you'll need proof of ownership. I don't think it has anything to do with the freon. On the large rap around coils from the big central units you can cut them in smaller squares so they look like coils from window units and you should have no problems. Breaking them down would be the best way to go plus you will make more money than if you just brought the whole unit in one piece. It has more to do with people that steel the copper out of the units than it has to do with the freon. That's why they don't ask about frig's.

Originally Posted by daniel34668

Every yard I've been to wants a computer generated receipt for the ac unit but they never ask me about the fridges which also hold Freon. And even the few times when i did not have time to take the Freon out of a fridge i can see them breaking the fridge in the press and of course the lines break and the Freon goes up in the air. You can stand there and watch them throw even ac units in the press, same thing. And these are not small yards, i'm talking about commercial yards where even the county and waste management bring there stuff for money, i see the trucks almost everyday pulling in.

Well the reason the have all these restrictions on a/c units is not for the freon but because of all the thefts of a/c' units. They have become regulated materials and the dealers are required to document all the information in the event of a law enforcement inquiry.
It's actually working the thieves now know that the can not get the cash any more for these items so the theft of a/c units has almost stopped. Now all of us on this forum know that you blew the lines and let the freon go into the air we, we do not condone that here, it's pretty simple do it right or not at all, the reason you got those units is because no one else wanted them, go on line get your self certified, it sounds like you might have a niche that you can fill in your area.

my state has a lot of new laws on buying scrap metal,,,,,,they have not started anything on the ac coils yet....but i do see it coming in the future

If those regulations started happening here in NZ, I 'd get certified and start collecting the gas as well.

When the regs do happen, word gets around quick and if you let people know that you are their possible saviour.
They will pay good money to you to save them.
Also, you'd get fridge stuff delivered to you, rather than you having to find it.
If people are still wanting the scrap, you can charge for the service, or as a part deal, keep the compressor and iron, or such.

There's a market for selling the compressors overseas. That's the part they want, spesh going units. They buy the rest brand new.
The oils got value as diesol fuel too.

Thanks 1956- I think this will be the norm nation wide,because of the tweekers n thieves. They are costing BIG bucks to the insurance companies.

Originally Posted by daniel34668

no i have the machine that pulls it out, i repair appliances so i work with Freon. I dispose of it at work with the permission of my boss. I'm not doing nothing wrong but they still don't want to take it since my license is not for an ac company and the paperwork can't be from me.

You should be able to show them your license and sign an affidavit that the refrigerant was properly recovered in accordance with the clean air act. One of my yards actually has a statement at the bottom of your receipt that you have to sign stating this.

Originally Posted by mthomasdev

You should be able to show them your license and sign an affidavit that the refrigerant was properly recovered in accordance with the clean air act. One of my yards actually has a statement at the bottom of your receipt that you have to sign stating this.

I think the yard also wants to make sure units were not stolen.

I can't begin to tell you how many roof top units in the miami area were burglarized for there coils last year this year I can count them on one hand, there were many houses of worship that had to replace the units because of theft. The yards are compled by law to have a computerized reporting system for all regulated items, that included a/c coils, cemetery vases, manhole covers, any aluminum city or county signs, like stop signs, also any steel tracks or parts from the railroad. The law in Florida is any scrap dealer can sell there goods to any yard, the first thousand dollars can be paid in cash the rest in a the form of a check, I am a licensed secondary metal recycler and there are no restrictions between dealer to dealer, boy the scrap metal business has changed in the last couple of years.