Patent ID: 7174742

Claim:
A method carried out by a single apparatus for recovery and reclamation of refrigerant from a refrigeration system, and solvent flushing of at least a component of the refrigeration system, the method comprising: (a) recovering used refrigerant from the refrigeration system by carrying out at least the following steps: i. withdrawing the used refrigerant from the refrigeration system; ii. vaporizing the withdrawn refrigerant with an evaporator; iii. removing contamination from the vaporized refrigerant to clean said refrigerant; iv. liquefying said cleaned refrigerant; v. storing the liquefied clean refrigerant; (b) cleaning at least one component of the refrigeration system by carrying out at least the following steps: i. flushing solvent through the component to remove contamination from the component, said solvent being of a different composition than said refrigerant; ii. withdrawing the flushed solvent from the refrigeration system; iii. vaporizing the withdrawn solvent with said evaporator; iv. removing contamination from the vaporized solvent to clean the solvent; v. liquefying said cleaned solvent; and vi. storing said liquefied cleaned solvent.