Patent ID: 8272228

Claim:
A refrigerant recovery unit that recovers and recharges refrigerant from a refrigerant system of a vehicle, comprising: a storage vessel that contains a refrigerant; a pair of refrigerant service hoses having a first end configured to connect to a first portion of the refrigerant recovery unit and a second end configured to mate with the refrigerant system of the vehicle, wherein the first end communicates with the storage vessel; a refrigerant control circuit operable to receive and transport the refrigerant between the pair of refrigerant service hoses and the storage vessel and to process the refrigerant to substantially remove contaminants from the refrigerant; a fluid connector configured to be in fluid communication with the pair of refrigerant service hoses to enable the refrigerant to flow between the first end and the second end of the pair of refrigerant service hoses when the pair of refrigerant service hoses are disconnected from the refrigerant system of the vehicle and to establish a closed loop through the refrigerant control circuit; and a controller operatively connected to the refrigerant control circuit and configured to control a flow of the refrigerant through refrigerant control circuit and through the fluid connector.