Taking Care Of Your Air Conditioning Vacuum Pumps
Taking care of your air conditioning vacuum pumps is important, but it is something that we do not often think about. For example, one easy thing that you can do that will add years of life to your equipment is to change the oil every time you use it. A lot of people out there seem to be under the impression that it is enough to simply change the oil whenever it gets dark, but this is not true. Most owners’ manuals for this equipment recommends a regular change of the oil so that the pump can stay properly lubricated and absorbs any pollutants that may be in the system
A good set of gauges that are working well should be sufficient for most smaller sized air conditioning vacuum pumps to evacuate them, as long as they are 5 tons or smaller. A larger one on the other hand will need copper tubing and isolation valves which can be attached to the system with a micron gauge.
If you have a larger system, then you will likewise need a high capacity air vacuum pump. If you do not have one, then you may be able to get by using two or more regular air conditioning vacuum pumps installed at different locations in the system. In order to hook it up to the system you will need hoses that are 3/8, 1/2, or 5/8. Do not use 1/4 hoses or Schrader valves because they simply will not be able to work to the full capacity.
It is good practice to vacuum to 500 microns, so if your air vacuum pump cannot do so then you must go out and purchase one that can. If your system cannot be vacuumed to 500 microns then leaks will soon form and a lot of moisture is bound to build up within the system. One way that you can tell whether or not there is moisture in your system is if your oil turns a milky white color. If this happens to you, immediately have the leaks repaired and drain any remaining moisture from the system.
Finally, we will discuss one use that you can get out of Ontario air conditioning vacuum pumps that you may not have realized. You can use them to drain the oil from large compressors and other systems. In order to do this, you simply have to hook the hose from the liquid access port on the recovery tank to the port for draining oil. Then, hook your pump up to the vapor port. This will create a vacuum in the can and it will fill up with oil, but the vapor port will keep the oil from being drawn into the pump. Hopefully these few tips have helped you to better understand how to take care of and get use out of your air conditioning vacuum pumps.
