Proper AC evacuation

[rjp]

Even though I don't have a kit yet, I still have a donor, and at the very least it needs some engine work. As far as I know, the AC is charged. What is my best bet for properly draining the AC loop without venting to atmosphere? My old neighbor's advice was just crack the system open and let time do the work, but, uh, well, I care about the earth somewhat. Not really sure who to ask about this. There's a local shop that I might be able to convince to make a house call if they have the equipment, but otherwise, I have to trailer the donor somewhere. I didn't see any obvious hits on search.

[DJWalker]

I can’t really help you with a recommendation because I am in the UK but I had the same problem. It’s illegal here to release AC gases into the atmosphere so I wanted to be both legal and take a responsible attitude environment-wise. I contacted a few local garages who offered air con services but,like you, I couldn’t drive the donor to them and they weren’t willing to come out to visit.

However… I persevered and eventually found someone who ran a mobile air con service. He had to travel a bit further than he normally would but he did the job. Extracted all the nasties into a storage tank in his van and took it away. Wasn’t too expensive either but can’t remember now how much. Made me feel like I had done the right thing.

[rjp]

Was it an automotive AC service or did they also service home HVAC? I can reach out to some places. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Mastertech5]

I would stick with automotive AC shops or mobile services. The type of refrigerant used in non-automotive applications are different and they probably don't deal with R134a.

[DJWalker]

It was an automotive service. I looked up the cost I paid and it was only £45, which is something like $55 at todays exchange rate. It was in March so I think he wasn’t very busy.