I just wanted to say, it's extremly nice that you share your screw-ups too and let everybody learn from. When I'm working on such things, I get very suspicious if I'm doing a measurement and I get "nothing" as a result. Even on electric circuits, getting a wrong voltage feels better than getting exactly 0V, because it tells you at least that your measurement is working (and you have to check the function of your meter anyway). On refrigeration circuits I feel good when I'm reading a little bit above "nothing", maybe 2..3psi. If I'm reading zero, I start to do something like pressing Schraders to confirm this, because it makes me dubious about my measurement.

I would have felt guilty about putting nitrogen in the system, and would have paid for replacement if needed, also, I've never seen anyone purge nitrogen like that before, nice job!

"What we have is a legend right here...."..yes we do.....that's exactly how I feel every time I watch one of your videos........

Man, you scienced the hell out of that Nitrogen. I like it! :)

If I think a unit is out of gas I'll depress the Schrader before putting gauges on it, if it squirts gauges go on. Keep up the good work, awesome videos as always.

Old school techs , before all the regulations hit , they used to vent non condensables the way you did . As far as the billing and all that , in all honesty if it was me I would kick myself for not checking that the schrader was correctly depressed , like taking my gauges off and depressing the core with a screwdriver or something . I got fooled by a core not depressing before and now I'm very careful and apprehensive with trusting schraders . That being said we usually have to learn these things the hard way innit .

I am glad to see I am not the only one who starts with voltages checks. Enjoyed watching this. One time my boss went with me on a residential service call and after the gauges were on and I checked the super heat he asked for my diagnosis. I said a coil is blocked. He went into the attic only to find that coil was super clean. He said that the unit needed refrigerant. I disagreed and he asked why. I said A coil is blocked, I never sail the evaporator coil was. I asked him to move three feet to his left and look behind the condenser coil. There was a clothes dryer vent directly behind the unit and we found the back of the condenser coil was completely blocked with lint. I am unsure if this was a test or if he had tried to fix this before me and failed. Once we cleared all of the lint, the system worked perfectly. Q&A for yall: what is the largest copper line any of you have brazed? For me it was 1 5/8" & not fun as it was also my first forearm burn, the size of an egg.

R-22 is such a good refrigerant they made the jug green to represent money

I love how you braze. Bigger the gob the better the job!

That first couple minutes of you telling the sequence of operations was awesome!!

I’ve been here and done this! I personally, would have sold them new refrigerant because I don’t trust myself venting out the nitrogen properly. And you never know what kind of contaminants are mixed in with the refrigerant. I do like how you look out for your customers to try to save them money, as long as it doesn’t affect the system. And I love the new way of you doing your videos. I know it’s more work, but it is a much better way of explaining your thought process and what is happening. Keep up the great work!

People can give there opinions but it’s different when you are in the moment and working. Nice to see you think your way through that. Like you said I wish you would’ve kept the camera rolling through the frustration. Would of made me feel better when I do it 😂

I had to do that recocering r123 out of a low pressure chiller. Those run in a vaccum so when they have a leak they suck in air. A couple minutes into the recovery we popped the high pressure on the recovery machine, we had to periodically bleed off the top of the tank to save 1200lbs of gas at a couple G$/100lbs.

Lets get some HVACR VIDEOS on a Sunday morning

Your best teaching video so far Chris thank you so much. We all love you brother

Read a few of the posts. I agreed with just putting virgin R22 in, just to avoid any other issues for this unit. If I had no pressure on either gauge, I would have reseated my blue tooth gauges and checked by depressing schrader core with screw driver tip. We are under the gun most of the time and try to make good decisions and do our best. We don’t have to worry about 100* temps here (Wisconsin). I like watching these to see what tools other techs are using and picking up different techniques other tech have. Thanks keep it going. I’ll invite you to a roof here when it’s -20* for a no heat call.

I noticed the rapid rise right away. Look. Its so easy to armchair quarterback these things and your straight forward reflection is commendable. I have made this same mistake. Especially in the old days (1970 s...did I just date myself?) Had a system that wouldn't take gas. Bugged me for a while till the realization set in. GREAT video. I would apprentice under you in a heartbeat!

What a mental rollercoaster that job would have been, all I was thinking when you were replacing that EVAP was its already recently had a new compressor and now a new evaporator the condenser looks like shit so they may as well just load the parts cannon whilst it was apart and thrown a new condenser at it too 😐 it really makes you wonder how they see it justifiable to keep chucking parts at old degraded and worn out equipment.

Thank you for the first 5 minutes of explaining the sequence of operation with the wiring. My field supervisor just did the same thing on the phone with me on Friday to diagnose a blown transformer that I possible grounded out during routing visual inspection/filter change on Thursday. It was on the exact same WeatherMaster unit. I'm new to HVACR and find all your videos to be so informative. Thanks Chris!

I probably would have ate the refrigerant cost, but that agreeableness and conflict avoidance is partly why my handyman company died many years ago.

I love your videos. That happens to me also when I just put in the gauge’s hose without noticing the Schrader valve tip bent thereby concluded that the unit is out of gas. Experiences teach us a lot. More power to you💪

its a very old system rescuing old R22 refrigereant i an outstanding decision. The PT chart bucket method to rescue R22 is valid given the resources at hand in my opinion. I would have done the same thing and test it out. If the system works which seems like it did then i would keep else i consider replacing. About the Shrader issue it is the previous technicians responsibility, i have to clean up others mess more often than not in particular wiring and rubouts.

I watched this video at just the right time. Thanks for the tip on the Sumner 2124 lift. Never would have thought of using it like that outside of a building. (13:37)

Hey man it happens sometimes. Doesn't matter how good you are sometimes you over look very simple things. It's funny cause I just had a unit a couple weeks ago that I thought had a bad compressor but turned out my depressors were to far back and I wasn't depressing the shreader. I initially had pressure, but when it turned it looked like no pumping.

Thanks for the flow explanation in the beginning of the video. I like the new style when you stop to add detail when it is necessary, it helps those that are not in the industry understand what is going on. I have to agree with that company, I think I would continue to repair the equipment after you mentioned all the crap they have to go thru to replace a unit, will open up several cans or worms for sure. Thanks for continuing to make these video's!

Any time I even suspect a low charge before I even touch the service valves I run an electronic leak test on them. I want to be sure they are not the source of the leak because opening the valves you may create a new leak or stop an previous leak.

I don't do commercial, so these step by step walkthroughs are AWESOME. Thanks man!

Glad I'm not the only one that has that Schrade problem.

Literally did the same thing the other day but by the stroke of luck figured it out right before the nitro dump

This one was great. This reminds us to not assume the simple basic things are ok like a schrader valve. This shows anything is possible because both valves were bad. This would of messed me up too. Great teaching video. Thank you!

We have done that venting on recovery cylinders. We have a few facilities that have big leaks the customers don’t want to fix and their old units. On site engineers just dump 22 in. Found out they never purged their gauges and it eventually bit them. Only works for air like noncondensables. Can’t do that with moisture or fractionizarion. That won’t work with blends either. Awesome vid Chris, thanks for cutting up that evap header for us to see!

I’ve gotten fooled with the schrader valve before! Boss wasn’t to happy but it is what it is! I don’t think you were wrong if you had to change the refrigerant. Awesome video, thank you!

We had some issue with schradercores and a certain kind of quickconnect fittig. The way you use the quickconnect you have to actuate a valve on the quickconnect itself to open the schrader. Some genius made the valve plunger LONGER than the travel distance of the schradercore which would lead to you bending the living daylight out of the schradercore, wrecking it in the process.

Watching your videos is definitely making me a better tech…keep up the good work.

Although the logic is plausible, regarding pressure/temp relationships, I would sleep better knowing virgin refrigerant was added, to remove any doubt of trace amounts of non-condensibles. This in essence, makes the customer “whole” again. I do respect this….be humble to see your mistakes, be courageous to admit them, and be wise enough to correct them. 🤜🤛

Thanks for the clear information.

Appreciate the ride along, TNX!

Those coremax schraders are notorious for bent stems, I am sure you'll be looking next time before you put the gauges on( I personally try to look at all schrader stems, it's just a good habit before putting on gauges). I probably would have met the customer halfway on the new refrigerant because it did have a full charge and the nitrogen was kind of a screw-up. Chris you still go the extra mile on some of the older equipment but there does come a time when you start throwing good money on top of bad. You did a great job, the only thing different I would have done would be new refrigerant and 4 oz to 8 oz of AC renew for the lost oil. I just happen to love that AC renew, is it just me (?).

I would have done the same. You said it best that it wasn’t your fault the shraders were shot. I’ve seen it far too many times myself. Now I may have pushed them manually just to see if anything spit out but otherwise no issues with me charging em under these circumstances! BTW - I get the same nonsense with the alternatives…..

6:51 I had that happen when I tried to add air in my car tires a few weeks ago... I knew there was air in them, but on one of them the gauge didn't pick up any pressure... then a slight touch of the trigger shot the pressure way up. First I was like WTF... And that happened at another station too, it appears the pin on that valve is a bit too short, whatever, but the depressor does not quite engage it without using high force. I did get them all topped up but that one required some sweet words and coercion.

Awesome job man! I replaced the metering devices and liquid header on a similar unit. What a pain in the ass, i should have just quoted a new evap lol.

I have seen those coremax valves go crooked, brazing in the suction or discharge lines on a compressor changeout, the heat can cook them real good. Can be tricky when they are 6" from braze points.

Recently I was pulling the gas out of one with cormax fittings. I only had one depressor so I only connected one hose, but didn't cap the other side. Oops! Recovery machine wouldn't pull into a vacuum. Scratching my head what the heck, the leak can't be that big. Suddenly I realized, sucking air into the system through the other cormax fitting! The large disk seal will lift if the pressure is greater on the outside. Air is lighter than R-22 so it will separate and float above the R-22. If you crack the valve you can hear the whistle change sound as the refrigerant starts to come out. I've let them sit over night in a controlled temperature room I never thought about the bucket idea.

almost always, always use virgin (new refrigerant) you did a good job, I always find those core max depressors bent or leaning.

I really appreciate that you are brave enough to post mistakes. Next time check wich pressure switch is open first and all this will be avoided. But now I know how to get nitrogen out of refrigerant.

A little excess heat shouldn't damage the filter drier, they usually just contain molecular sieves. They're zeolite adsorbant beads. They can be "recharged" and dried with heat of a few hundred degrees.

Years ago when I had high head pressure, I did the same thing to blead off air out of the refrigerant.

I am not in the business but have watched many of your videos. This was the first time that you mentioned the red tape involved with installing a new unit. It changed my previous opinion that they were just kicking the problem down the road. All that red tape has costs included besides dealing all the "problems" that the inspections add to the cost. In a similar vein, my appliance guy told me I should keep my ancient clothes washer and dryer going as long as I could because the modern versions have much higher repair costs.

That was Great!....I try to save the customer money as well....at least when I am able to....Thanks for the teaching friend!

Very informative.

My flatmates and I end our day with a beer and watching your show on our tv. It’s a good life!

Holy crap-seismic testing--Sounds like everybody's got there hand in the cookie jar!!

I been waiting for this video. I have the same unit on the top of the shop. It's been having problems running on ac.

My favorite torch tip, rose bud

Good Job Chris.

i Like the way you solder, like me. use lots of heat and fosco solder, that makes NO leaks

When I have a CLO lockout, I reset the power to see what will happen. Once I find power on X, I check for a call. If I have to, I place a jumper first and then test the system to see if it can run. If I can see evidence of a working compressor (as in having gas in the system to do work, such as a temp dropping on the suction line) then I know if I gauge up and see no pressure, it's those coremax valves again. I carry spares on the truck when I get approval to do the repair. Replacing the evap is a good move, but as you found out, the newer evaps don't fit. We had to hack up a 14 year old TME to fit the new part earlier this year. Carrier never got back to me when I told them about the issue, so I'm sure that they were told to not discuss this screwup. I stopped replacing orifices three years ago, because it does not always fix the problem. It may be a problem of thickened oil pooling in the evap or large plugs of wax after the orifice...I haven't taken one home to do an autopsy. The evaps go to the boss' house and are Company scrap. I will sometimes try heating them with pressure on the suction side and an open liquid line, and if that doesn't work, it's big bucks time. Oh, well. I didn't tell them to not use a nice Sporlan TEV. I already have two units lined up for evaps next cooling season. I just remind myself that I didn't design this junk.

I replace the CoreMax Cores, but I remove the whole center. I install a swivel tee w/ cores on both ports. Then Nylog & Torque everything down. If you need to service after, then you use VCRT’s.

We don't ever touch or use Coremax fittings around here. I believe they don't even accept regular hose fittings? Systems I see have coremax and regular service acsess fittings. Why mess with such BS fittings? Faster evacuation for little 5/10 ton units!? Very foolish$$ for the engineering genius's who think we need two different access fittings right next to eachother when most times they can't even include just one! Bigger Systems we pull vacuum through king valves and other types of full flow service valves. Why does Coremax exist is a good question Excellent job on getting creative with recovering from your mistake though. I've developed purging habits that probably are unessessary for fear of not wanting to get any air into a system. One tip. If you think you might be in a vacuum before putting low side guage on then shut off system to give best chance of not hooking up on a vacuum that sucks in hose air. CA does sound retarded. Less hassle to pay more to fix vs. replace Never heard of such anywhere else

Lots of extra precautions in an earthquake zone . You did the right thing by a customer and I am sure you will credit him for some Freon 22. Good video.

Impossible to find a schrader issue when you working on things STUFF happens. Any of the posters including me have done things much worse. Hindsight is always 20/20 especially if your not the one that made the mistake Good job saving the refrigerant

Dang it's like almost 5am here in California when you post this

I've been told by my supervisor before that if you see that a unit low on gas or completely flat. Don't add nitrogen on top of the refrigerant you just add refrigerant, and search for leak which confused me because I thought that adding nitrogen on top was standard practice

Dealing with old units with new edicts... my apologies, policies, is damn difficult. Up in Alaska, it's damn difficult to replace equipment between shipping to the state followed by shipment to the location so we end up doing "repairs" and that's before the politics get involved. I'm sorry to hear about your predicaments.

Before we start let’s just say I hate the fact CA is STILL doing ac lol. Salt Lake City has started heating season since Monday. Can’t say why but I’ve always leaned towards refrigeration. Those heating seasons when they come at you. Your still thinking “ahhh shwwwt what’s the sequence of operations?” Lol GREAT VIDEO CHRIS AS ALWAYS 👍. Let’s talk about them Water boilers & them gummies let’s get to work haha

If myself or one of my tech's did that Id have to take responsibility for new refrigerant. I like the purging idea though!

That’s a bad part about those high flow cores. To much side to side play of the plunger. I have a video showing a O ring melted on the core also preventing the plunger from depressing. It happens!

I'm just a normal guy who likes these types of videos. So my question may be dumb, but does the nitrogen ruin the refrigerant?

You are supposed to clean the refrigerate by running it through a filter dryer from a tank to another, if you are going to reuse refrigerate according to the EPA law.

Troubleshooting is always a process with infinite factors that can trip us up. Never dwell on mistakes, just keep trucking and figure it out.

If the schrader is oddly depressed, will counseling help

We all work under the assumption that the simple things just works and that the schrader valves just do that and at worst they leak. But there's a movie quote from the movie "Under Siege 2" where it's stated "Assumption is the mother of all F-ups". That's one of the truest quotes from a movie. How successful you are is only measured by the end result, not the way you took. In most conditions nitrogen is pretty inert and harmless, but you could probably get improper pressure readings if you have too much nitrogen in the system. At some stage it might be worth to consider a refrigerant recovery system that can purify the refrigerants, but I assume that's a pretty expensive investment.

We don’t use replacements either unless they want it the new gases do not equal the original r22

I think we all have done or will do that during our career. I did put nitrogen on top of the charge thinking it was flat, and it was the core depressor valve that was broken. We just have to laugh and move on. Sometimes we like to jump into conclusions because it look so obvious, old unit , leak are common, no pressure= we think it’s flat.

Awesome video Chris !

Hey, I hate those carrier scraders! I don't change them I replace them! I use the regular ones. All my customers still want R-22! Even tho there are good drop in replacement gases. I've done the bleed off trick also too! I have polished a few turds in my time! I couldn't imagine doing work in your state!

My personal opinion is that you did what was best. I can't remember the phase diagram of nitrogen but I imagine it's boiling point under these pressures is lower than the refrigerant. You quoted them a full charge and were able to vent off the nitrogen for the most part. I used to work in automotive both as a mechanic and as a parts peddler and I always give a worse case scenario. Even if I don't think that's the problem I always let the customer know what the absolute worst is. It's always better to over quote and under charge than one quote and over charge.

Thanks for another great video Chris.

If you are planing there will be chips😁 In my opinion you did a good job. Sometimes I'm in a similar situation and had to decide what kind of failure diagnostic strategy I use to find a fault. If my choice was suboptimal there will be a little bit more chips on the floor😁 There is a tomorrow everytime.

If you look right here we have a legend. Well yeah, of course you're a legend, that's why we watch your content:) Keep up the great videos!

Perfect fix 👍🏻

Just bad luck. That always happens to me late in Friday.

Completely ethical in my view. I believe if absolutely necessary you could've charged for new gas as well, but you did the best for this turd. Great job with these videos, much help.

15:03 the valve pin bent to side just push it to center all good to go. i know because this also happen to me.

It never occurred to me to purge non condensables like that but I’ve also never accidentally put nitrogen on top of r-22. Easy mistake to make though, I’ve also never seen both valves go bad like that either

Nice Turbo cap in there... I can understand putting it in there for a temporary fix, but that is not a cheap fix leaving it there.

16:36 i think the "Artesian Style non-condensables hand purging" should cost extra!

IMO what you did is just fine. You looked after the customer and made sure there isn’t any appreciable amount of N.

I would have done exactly what you did on the refrigerant. We both know plenty of people that would charge for virgin refrigerant no matter what which is not a bad thing. I prefer to stick with OEM and not redesign a system.

We've all done things we'd wish we'd spent just 5 seconds longer thinking it through. My first boss said to me "never assume" That bit of advice bites me time and time again.. However blowing off the nitro and re-using the charge on the job is a personal choice. In this situation considering the customer had already approved new gas on the job I would have recharged with new, taken the old back to the yard and let it sit a while and vent off there . Once happy, that cylinder would go as van stock.. Either way it's no biggie and don't beat yourself up over it.Loved the drier falling off I'm usually swearing my head off by that point :-) . All back up and running = Great job

Oh Chris I was you would have come to a Starbucks in Ottawa to fix our ice machine I told them what I learned I told them the condenser could be iced up or réfringent leak it was not making ice at all.

I Think I would routinely discard any thing recovered. But that is why I watch the videos, hoping to understand the big picture better.

Perhaps the customer came up to the condenser and tried pushing in that Shredder himself to see if there was gas in the system. He may have bent the shredder.

you are awesome man , always loved your videos

LOL KZfaq ... correcting a misspelling in a posting removes the like from HVACR Videos. Thanks YT! xD

surprised the manufacturers don't design in a filter element option for the condensers for dusty environments. (Not an HVAC tech)

Chris the refrigeration GOD!!!!!

Like the blooper bro!👍🏻 🥃🥃🍺🍺🍺🍿🎯

It was your error so you should have taken the hit even though it was a difficult situation. Great work as always.

Omg I just subscribed to your channel and I’m going through so much similar problems you’ve encountered with carrier it’s uncanny. I’m recently going through contractor chatting and with your video ima look into pressure sensors, also I to had a carrier that I thought was flat and yes why does carrier install those core max service ports?, I looked into that “special tool” and it was like 700.00