Owners, Dwight Q. Darlage and R. H. "Bob" Miller
Owners, Dwight Q. Darlage and R. H. "Bob" Miller
Randy "Smitty" Smith and Jeff Pearson fill R-406A
cylinders. (the early days)
It all starts with a good vacuum being pulled on the cylinders
Left, a "cold trap" is filled with liquid nitrogen (-320 F). The cold traps are in the vacuum lines just before the vacuum pumps. They freeze out the water (from the humidity) from the air being removed from the refrigerant cylinders. Freezing out the water with a cold trap helps the vacuum pumps maintain better vacuums longer by avoiding getting the water in the their oil.
30 inches of vacuum (perfect - not obtainable) is "zero" microns. 29 inches of vacuum, the depth of vacuum that cars are often serviced to equals 25,400 microns; 28 inches is 50,800, etc.. It takes a vacuum BETTER THAN 1000-1500 microns to remove moisture from A/C systems and the insides of refrigerant cylinders. As you can see, 29 inches of vacuum = 25,400 microns, will not get the water out. We have reports of the other major refrigerant manufactures of only using vacuums of 4000-5000 microns when filling cylinders. We USE 100-200 microns, to get the moisture out of the cylinders before filling.
Jon MacIntire uses a torque drill to close the cylinder valves to the correct "first time" closing torque (35-40 ft/lbs). This correctly seats the valve seat, and activates the "check valve", so the cylinders cannot be refilled later with (air tanks or recovery cylinders). "Skids" of refrigerant (40 cylinders each) are wrapped in plastic (like Saran Wrap) and await loading onto semi trailers.
A semi trailor pulls in, and Bob Tignor loads the skids of refrigerant into the trailer with a forklift.
The truck driver, Mark Sims, attaches the UN1956 (nonflammable compressed gas) placards to the load, and off he goes.
Bill Hardaway (pictured) and George H.
Goble (GHG R-406A inventor), both have done extensive work
with the refrigerant since 1990.
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