Servicing An Inficon Vortex Recovery Unit

[Exahertz]

Ok, I noticed that a lot of you Googler's have been here and bumped this thread up to number one on Google for VORTEX repair (thats pretty cool)!. so if you look twords the end of this thread there is some really helpfull information and drawings for rebuilding this unit! :D
The part that really sucks is that you cant get parts easily :( i worked for the company that manufactured the pump and i was able to get them.

okay so back to the origional thread:
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I really hope I can fix this thing. I just bought an Inficon Vortex recovery unit off of eBay (click here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260095734908&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016)). The seller said that the motor works but it will not pull a vacuum. But for $108 I though id give this $700 unit a shot. Can any of you guys tell me what to expect? Id really like to know how hard these things are to disassemble and reassemble. Or if anybody knows a link to an exploded view drawing? I'm wondering if the price of parts are reasonable as well. I’m just a little shaky about it :rolleyes:
Thanks

http://www.texasautocraft.com/ebay/ic1.JpG

[star882]

The seller said that the motor works but it will not pull a vacuum.
Does it recover? Recovery units are not vacuum pumps.

[Pete]

I though it would of had to suck to pull all the gas out surly?

[_HL4E_HalfLife_]

They ARE ment to suck my old recovery unit could pull down to about 25"hg. Too bad u didn't live closer to me i could have taken a look at it for yea.

[wdrzal]

Did you remove the filter to see if it was clogged, pump probably wiped out.

[Exahertz]

i spoke with a tech at inficon and he told me to open the pump's sump cover and look for shavings of metal. if i dont see any then look at cylinder for a poped shim or gasket. it also could be a hose fitting is leaking (but im expecting the worst (metal shavings, blown bearing or toasted cylinder sleeve)) :( but if its made of metal, i can fix it, make it or have it made but i can't buy it, they dont sell parts, rebuild kits, have drawings or tolerance charts :mad:
ive rebuilt some tricky pumps in my life... mainly vacuum pumps but ive rebuilt a GP T-series pressure washer pump and a few marine engines...

wish me luck :hehe:

[wdrzal]

I never owned anything by infocon thought there stuff was over priced and now to find out they don't sell parts for repair, This is a good warning for others to stay away from their products.

[Exahertz]

true, that doesnt look good... however there is a 3 year trade in warranty no questions asked (if you have receipt) under any condition other then theft...

[wdrzal]

all units are dated,its the law, how old is yours

[wdrzal]

There a process called "metal vapor deposition spray" they are many types you can build up the surface with metal or ceramic, metal if it needs machined back to tolerance. the rig is expensive and you must have the correct powder for the metal being coated.

[andybg]

Never pulled a recovery unit apart just assuming it's pretty much a standard oiless compressor could be a busted reed valve. Seen the new appion units wdrzal? Just picked one up but havent been able to try it out. Have a 100 ton chiller with a condenser leak waiting for it though.

[Exahertz]

Ok, i just got the unit today and opended it up...

seems that the "max fill" bearing on the piston rod only had half its balls, some o-rings were blown and the piston cap was worn. in other words the pump didnt work but the motor did spin (and im not sure how...). i called Inficon the other day and the tech said they dont sell parts for a rebuild.
but heres the weird and really cool thing about it. after inspecting the pump i saw the name Rietschle Thomas/Gardner Denver printed on the data plate. and anybody who knows me, well... knows that is whare i work (as tech support)! the pump is a 500CAR75 (http://www.rtpumps.com/thomas/web/home.nsf/systemcontentview/index.html?Open&DirectProductURL=E0EABB1883AA12D4C1256F4700502023) and im sure i can find parts for it now. or just get a brand new pump at company's cost. :banana:

Its a very small world after all... :D

[wdrzal]

Never pulled a recovery unit apart just assuming it's pretty much a standard oiless compressor could be a busted reed valve. Seen the new appion units wdrzal? Just picked one up but havent been able to try it out. Have a 100 ton chiller with a condenser leak waiting for it though.

Ya they are the same company as promax but renamed,what model??? promaxes like to puke there guts out ,only time will really tell,I keep my equipment pretty much updated,but learned not to always rush for the new item on the market.



exahetz glad you may have a solution, guys if some admits its broken or they say it powers up the lights come on, ask a lot of question or move on ,this stuff is made by the thousands every day, there are many recovery machines purchased not to recover any or very little refrigerant.

Problem now is company's you could rely just on their name as yellow jacket or robinair or bacharach and even fluke, now sell cheaper lines of imports along with their "premium" products. now robinair still has their blue cool-tools line vacuum pumps included but also market those cheaper imports with their name, same goes for other companies. In many company's the almighty dollar has given way to craftsmanship and pride . Thank god not all tools & company's fell to this low. but premium tools are expensive but if you watch ebay they bring a good resale value.

[Pete]

Hey dude thats a turn up for the books eh! I hope you have lots of fun taking it all apart and sorting it out. Ideal with the fact you can ether get a discount at work or sort so other means out being cost effective. Keep us informed

[Exahertz]

well seems that this is another division that my company doesnt work with directly but i did get the rebuild kit number.


Major Kit: SK500CAR ($223.42 list price)
Leadwire brush spring assy
conrod assembly
retainer cup
piston cup
connrod
shims
bearing
bush retainer
o-rings
reducer
pipe plug
spring
gasket
cylinder
instruction sheet

Minor Kit 650615 ($12.64 list price)
2 o-rings
piston cup
instruction sheet

now i am trying to see what kind of discount i can get

[Pete]

Not bad if it all costs you $300 all in to have it working when there $700 like you say

[Exahertz]

Just got pricing. my company pays < $50 :lol:

[Xeon th MG Pony]

You should open an ebay shop selling repair kits! think of the money to make and the head achs youd save people. But of course give the company the listed price then add your mark up for the final sale.

[wdrzal]

His company won't allow him too receive disconted kits and market them,be happy your getting this one so cheap

[Xeon th MG Pony]

Thats why I said to pay full listed price, for reselling, you must have skimmed again, as the old saying goes, the devil is in the details!

[wdrzal]

no ones going to pay 300.00 plus his mark up plus shipping for a kit that only is for the pump,even the complete kit does not address the wear to the motor ,valves ,cosmetic case appearance,ect,ect, especially if you know what to look for you can get a new or like new unit on ebay for 250.00 to 350.00

[Xeon th MG Pony]

Ah well, it was a thought.

[Exahertz]

Okay, i just pruchased the major rebuild kit today and asked to have it drop shipped to my house. I pay $34 + S/H.

this was a very easy pump to disassemble. and shouldnt be too hard to put back together, just a few tolerances to set but looks straight forward. i cant wait to try this thing out as i got this very expensive unit for $150.


I dont want to wipe out the pump when i test/use it. so does anybody know of a site that expains the proper and safe use of recovery units?

also, does anyone here have a small recovery cylinder they could or want to sell???

thanks for all the input!

[wdrzal]

Ya the place you got all your epa recovery certs.

[Exahertz]

Okay, i just received the rebuild kit and installed it. i think its pumping to spec but im a little afraide to use it too much with out refrigerant/oil. i did add some oil into the system's sump before starting it.

do you guys know if its safe to pump pure oil through this unit? i really want to test it and share the results.

[Exahertz]

This is for reference purposes only, (for all you google'rs who are servicing vortexes) PM me if you want a higher quality drawing. I'll have this drawing filed for years!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f9/laserskys/500CAR75.jpg

inficon vortex service rebuild kit blown piston shim install no vacuum low pressure parts list numbers clog flush gasket o ring cylinder conrod bearing no out of warranty repair recovery machine unit old not working drawing breakdown list

[Exahertz]

The disassembly and repair of this unit is relatively straight forward, the only tools that I was required to use was:

standard set of sockets Torques and wrench, Allan wrenches, *precision calipers*, fine file or flat stone, screw drivers and some oil.

Disassembly:

1. Carefully unbolt the vortex's plastic case, lay the unit on its side and remove one of the half’s to expose the pumping system (take care not to bend or break any of the copper lines).

2. Loosen the flare fittings that connect the radiator to the gauge manifold and remove the radiator.

3. Remove the pump and set it elevated on a book so the pump is not resting on the plastic fan.

4. Loosen the 6 bolts that hold the sump cover on the pump to expose the bearing and piston/conrod assembly

5. check for metal shavings and inspect bearing for any play, the conrod should be tight.

6. Remove the 4 bolts holding the cylinder assembly together

7. Rotate the crank so as the piston is in its lowest position and pull the cylinder assembly off straight up and of the case.

8. Inspect the piston cup (rubber cup sounding the top of the conrod) for chips, tears or any imperfections.

9. Inspect the cylinder for axial score marks or rough spots that are not on the (flat) mating surfaces and can’t be fixed.

10. Inspect that the plastic check valve on the cylinder head is not melted and still moves and seats to form a good (500psi) seal.

11. If the cylinder, bearing, conrod assembly or check valve need to be replaced then you will need to purchase the major rebuild kit (Thomas industries SK500CAR) ~$220.00. Otherwise you may buy the minor rebuild kit that will service some o-rings and the piston cup only but it’s in the range of $12.00

Reassembly:

this pump can tolorate a lot when it comes to setting clearences (this was varafied by the service manager at inficon).

1. The first clearance that should be set in the position of the connecting rod relative to the center of the cylinder. If this clearance is off by too much you may end up over-heating the bearing. To set this clearance I found you should install the crank onto the shaft. Tighten the set screw so it contacts the flat part of the shaft and locks the crank. Then back off the screw 1/4 turn so the crank slides back and forth on the shaft. Using a set of calipers, measure the diameter of the bore that the cylinder will slide into. Then measure the width of the con rod. (0.5 X diameter of bore) - (0.5 X width of conrod) = the distance that each side of the conrod should measure between the bore to set its center. My tolerance was &#177;0.1mm (&#177;0.0039").

2. It is not easy to set the TDC (top dead center) clearance of the piston to cylinder head. You will need to machine a flat plate with a hole over the cylinder bore so you can stick a depth micrometer down and measure the TDC clearance. Make a plate (very flat) with the same bolt pattern as the four bolts that hold the cylinder head down to the cylinder. Start with a large shim installed on the cylinder. Then install the four bolts and tighten the cylinder down to 40 inch pounds. Measure the distance between the depth micrometer and the top of the conrod at TDC, then subtract the thickness of the plate. You should not measure less then 0.0001" and no more than 0.0016". The factory setting is 0.0013" (Set by laser micrometer for precision). However the larger the tolerance the better the liquid recovery rate will be. And the smaller the tolerance the unit will achieve a deeper vacuum and better gas recovery rates (but these things are not vacuum pumps, so I set my large) but smaller clearance runs the risk of slugging more easily.

The rest you can figure out. There’s not much to these pumps and I believe I have touched on all of the more critical areas. Have fun, don’t rush and always recover refrigerants!

[wdrzal]

Was the connecting rod missing balls as you thought or is the new one the same? do you have a exploded view of part #1?


Also make sure if there is end play in motor shaft you have the shaft completely toward the rear before setting eccentric end away from housing using a feeler Gage.

[Exahertz]

Part #1 comes as pre assembled. the bearing is an NSK 6203. previously the bearing that i thought was a max fill bearing, was not. however it was missing its cage
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f9/laserskys/bearing.jpg
and only a few balls sat at the bottom of the two races. looked as if they over heated too.

there wasnt much of motor shaft end play (there was very little lateral and alternating movement of the shaft only rotation). besides its a WOB-L (http://www.rtpumps.com/thomas/web/products/home.nsf/contentview/ACCE45E8118E41EFC12571470081CEB9) (wobble) piston and i feel it can tolorate a little more than most pistons. the crank is held on the shaft only by a set screw that tightens to the shaft. Before i locked the position i made sure that the connecting rod was center of the cylinder by &#177;.05mm.

[wdrzal]

So that previous owner had it apart and clearly knew the pump was shot,bearing cages don't disappear.

Glad you got out of that mess so cheaply

[Exahertz]

lol, yes i dont know if the ebay seller was the one who opend it up or not... but heres a message i received from him.

I asked:
"how many of these things do you have that dont pull vacuum? and how many would you be able to sell in bulk? and what price. i can service these units and would like to do some business with you.

P.S.
I already serviced the one you sold me. Works like a charm now, but it required a major rebuild kit (piston cup was blown, cylinder was scored, bearing was blown, o-rings poped or rotted and check valve was melted). The kit lists for $220.00."

Seller responded:
"I do not buy them much anymore if they do not work. SInce as you have learned to is hard to get parts. All the ones i currently have work."


and now, i think somebody's getting a little greedy (look at the Buy It Now price of this one), same guy i got mine from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AAAQ%3AUS%3A1&viewitem=&item=260103182582&rd=1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME&#37;3AB%3AAAQ%3AUS%3A1&viewitem=&item=260103182582&rd=1)