You can take it to an HVAC shop and have it drained of refrigerant for a
few bucks or possibly the white goods recycling shed at your city dump
and have it done for free but more important, those hermetically sealed
compressors rely on oil circulated with the refrigerant for lubrication.
I have not had much luck with them. It may work for a few hours as a
vacuum pump for a few hours but in my experience it will freze up fairly
quickly. Definitely not long enough for more than one or two bags of
slower set laminating resin.

I did get my third one to last a bit longer by spraying some WD40 into
the intake every couple of hours but it eventually froze up

Ken Kennedy wrote:
I have an old dehumidifier that makes all the right noises, but does not
cause either of the outgoing or ingoing tubes to get hot or cold.
Perhaps the compressor is shot, or perhaps the (presumably) freon has
escaped.

If the latter case, I am contemplating cutting the tubes between the
compressor and the radiator coils, then having the compressor available
for the day I finally try a vacuum bagging.

Is there a simple, environmentally responsible way to determine if the
compressor is shot, or if the freon has escaped?
kk


--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
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