Tubing Cutter

Home a/c unit recharge; can i do it myself?

I recently purchased a used mobile home with a 2 or 3 ton central A/C unit. When i disconnected it from the former site, i cut the pipe with a pipe cutter and let the freon escape very slowly (overnight). The next day i cut it completely off and taped the ends of the tube to prevent dirt or moisture from getting in the lines. Now its time to hook it back up....can i use "shark bite" plumbing products for the copper tubing and can i just add freon myself?? It is a 2 or 3 ton a/c unit, 1 year old and i know how to add freon to a car. How much freon is in a 3 ton unit? I have called a few a/c service companies....they want $475 to service the unit and hook it back up.....thats rediculous!!! Thanks in advance.

A shark bite for refrigerant lines? Absolutely not! The connections need silver brazed while you bubble a few ounces of Nitrogen through the line to prevent inside oxidation of the lines. Then you need to vacuum it down to 300 microns to boil off noncondensibles.This is not a do it yourself job. BTW, don't tell any service techs that you call that you released refrigerant into the atmosphere... The EPA pays people to turn others in for that. Big fine!

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