During refrigerant recovery, what is used to cool the water-cooled recovery unit?

• A. The local municipal water supply is used to cool the water-cooled recovery unit
• B. Ambient air
• C. Liquid nitrogen
• D. Refrigerant itself

Answer: (A)

During operation, a water-cooled refrigerant recovery unit uses a condenser that is cooled by circulating water. That cooling water removes heat from the refrigerant as it condenses, so you typically pull this cooling water from the local municipal supply and discharge it after it absorbs heat.

This is different from air-cooled systems, which use ambient air to remove heat. Liquid nitrogen would be an impractical and unsafe cooling method for this purpose, and cooling with refrigerant itself would create an unnecessary, separate cooling cycle. The water supply approach is simply the standard, reliable way to handle the heat rejection in a water-cooled setup.