Review on Supco BPV31 Bullet Piercing Valve by Marcelo Montalvo

A very affordable, high quality faucet that lets you add freon to the fridge, which is low. This clip on the valve attaches to three different sized copper pipes with the two included inserts. The instructions it contains explain the process. Very easy, even includes an Allen key. My Viking Side by Side Freezer/Fridge has a top mounted compressor. There are no working valves, so this is needed to measure the pressure and add freon. They mount on the suction side or on the low-pressure side on a straight piece of copper tubing. This is slightly larger than the high-pressure side. It will also be cooler than the top, which should be warm or hot. Clean the copper with a small amount of cloth or steel wool. wipe clean Put the valve on the pipe so that the hole is suitable for connecting the hose of the freon cylinder. Tighten the three terminal screws. The central screw is advanced a few turns to pierce the copper. The piercing needle also acts as a valve. After connecting the freon hose, unscrew the screw a maximum of two turns. Then you can add freon in batches and watch the manometer between batches. In the second picture you can see a can of R134a ($4.88 from W*****t). Note that since these cans now have a Schrader valve built in, I attached a $4 blue plastic can adapter for use with the hose. a word about the adapter; They are cheap and cross easily when fitted. I've watched all the videos, read the comments and I'm still confused! let me explain. On the underside of the adapter is a threaded ring made of brass, which is screwed onto the top of the can. On the top is a blue plastic threaded nipple that screws into the freon faucet - a gauge hose adapter (also purchased from Revain here). There is a fixed needle at the bottom of the adapter which, when screwed in, opens the Schrader valve in the cylinder and allows the freon to flow. The top of the adapter also has a needle centered on the blue threaded nipple. I don't think it does anything at all, certainly doesn't open a stream through the adapter (that confused me). I recommend screwing the brass freon hose to the top of the blue adapter FIRST. I used some teflon tape on the threads. Tighten the connection tightly, but not too tightly. Then turn the knob on the brass tank adapter fully clockwise to close the valve. A pin on the tank adapter, designed to pierce old metal gas caps (no longer sold in the US), simply closes the valve. It doesn't do anything inside the blue adapter and certainly doesn't touch or press the inner pin in the adapter. Now carefully screw the blue adapter, already attached to the cylinder tap-hose-valve assembly, onto the freon cylinder. After about two turns, the pin pushes down on the Schrader valve on the cylinder, and a small burst of freon is released. Continue rotating it a turn or two until the balloon is seated in the adapter. Freon will no longer leak. You might want to put on a glove to hold the can, but to be honest there's only a tiny trickle of freon leaking around the connection. Now you're good to go. Before connecting the hose to the BPV valve, open the valve on the tank, touch the crack to force a small flow of refrigerant through the hose. This will remove air and moisture from the hose. Then quickly slide the tubing onto the BPV valve. Now that the valve on the bottle adapter is closed, the manometer shows "0". Then open the valve on the BPV by loosening the center screw a full turn or more with an Allen wrench. Follow the gauge. If the freon level in the refrigerator is low with the compressor running, see how the arrow goes into negative territory. I had about -10 which indicates a very low level. In my Viking refrigerator, the label showed a full load of 5.5 ounces of 134a. I probably lost about 2 ounces. Then open the valve on the jug adapter about one turn while watching the pressure gauge. The pressure jumps to 40-60 indicating a freon leak. Leave the jug adapter valve open for 10-20 seconds, then close it and watch the pressure gauge drop rapidly to indicate the refrigerator's suction pressure. With each further release of freon, the pressure in the refrigerator should increase. Note: When freon leaves the tank, the tank cools down and can sweat. As a result, the pressure on the manometer will decrease with each subsequent release of freon. This is absolutely normal. Continue injecting freon until the sensor is about +2 lbs up. At this point you should be almost full. DO NOT OVERLOAD THE REFRIGERATOR. Too much freon puts a strain on the compressor. After sufficient refrigerant has been added, close the valve on the cylinder adapter and then close the valve on the BPV by tightening the center screw with a hex wrench. You can then remove the tubing from the BPV and place the cap securely on the BPV. Note: Hold the freon bottle vertically when filling so that only gas is drawn into the refrigerator and the liquid in the bottle stays at the bottom. DO NOT allow the can to tip on its side. Then I disconnected the freon can by unscrewing it from the blue adapter. Again, a brief whiff of freon comes out when you turn it off, but actually very little. The built-in Schrader valve at the top of the jar closes the jar, leaving the residual freon in the jar. Therefore, refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners should not use or lose freon. The condenser, evaporator or one of the connections must have a slow leak. I'll be keeping an eye on how long it takes for my freon levels to drop and assuming it's very slow consider one of the leak stop products if I need to refill.