Bludee AC800: the R134A machine that flushes the oil out

Most recovery machines take the refrigerant out and put refrigerant back. The AC800 goes after the thing that actually carries the contamination: the compressor oil.

Its flushing system is designed to extract all compressor oil from an automotive A/C system, and the reason that matters is chemical rather than mechanical. Everything you do not want in a system — moisture, metal particles, rubber debris, and the additives somebody poured in before you ever saw the car, from UV dye to leak stopper to "cooling booster" — is mixed or dissolved in the oil, not in the gas. Recover the refrigerant and the contamination stays exactly where it was.

Why flushing changes the repair, not just the service

There are two situations where this stops being a refinement and becomes the difference between a repair that holds and one that comes back.

After a component failure. When a compressor lets go, it distributes itself through the system. Replacing the compressor without removing what the old one left behind is how a shop ends up fitting two compressors to the same car and arguing about the second one.

After somebody else's additive. Sealant products are the modern version of this problem, and they do not leave with the refrigerant. A system that has had one through it needs the oil out, not the gas out.

Bludee is also explicit that flushing is worth doing as routine A/C maintenance and not only after a failure — which is a fair claim to make about oil that has been circulating for a decade collecting everything the system could shed.

Separate PAG and POE oil injection

The machine injects PAG and POE oils separately, and keeping them apart is not fussiness. Hybrid and electric compressors are electrically driven, which puts the lubricant in contact with motor windings, and the wrong oil in that position is a costly and entirely avoidable mistake. A machine that keeps the two circuits separate cannot make it for you. Combined with an oil vessel for the new charge and a separate one for what comes out, that gives a shop servicing both conventional and electrified vehicles a defensible process rather than a careful habit.

Charging speed, and the rest of the automation

Charge speed is up to 2 Kg/Min, which is the quickest in this family and shows up in throughput rather than in quality — on a busy day it is the difference between two machines' worth of work and one. The gas cylinder holds 10KG (22LBS), the vacuum pump moves 16 Gal/min, and average gas-state recovery runs at 0.55 lbs/min.

The sequence itself runs unattended: recovery, automatic used-oil drain, automatic vacuum, automatic new-oil injection, automatic internal tank refill so a low cylinder never stops a service, and automatic air purge to keep non-condensable gas out of the storage tank. A vacuum leak test finds gross leaks before an expensive charge goes in. Onboard scales weigh it, a built-in thermal printer records it, and a large vehicle database supplies the manufacturers' recommended refrigerant and oil quantities so nothing depends on memory. Units can be switched between metric and imperial, and the load cells, pressure transducer and temperature sensor are all calibratable on the machine.

Space, power and the crate

Power is 110V at 60 Hz, single phase, from an ordinary outlet. It arrives in a crate of roughly 29" x 26" x 47" (720 x 670 x 1,190 mm); the unpacked machine is 630 x 560 x 1,075 mm. Maximum working pressure is 20 bar, listed in our catalogue data as 290 PSI. Position it where it can stay put, with clear access at the front. A suitable, ventilated location with an adequate supply is the owner's responsibility.

Two recovery figures, and this one is inverted

This needs flagging carefully, because it runs the opposite way to the rest of the range. Bludee's marketing text for the AC800 claims 99% recovery efficiency. The specification table on this same page states 95%. On the AC400 and AC600 machines the same two sources say the reverse — prose 95%, table 99% — which suggests a transposition somewhere in the manufacturer's documentation rather than a real difference between models.

We are not going to guess which way round it should be. Both numbers are printed here as published. If recovery efficiency is a figure you are buying on, ask us and we will get Bludee to state it in writing before you order.

Perfect For

• Shops doing A/C repair rather than A/C top-ups, where compressor failures and contaminated systems are routine work.
• Workshops servicing hybrids alongside conventional vehicles and needing PAG and POE kept properly apart.
• High-volume R134A operations, where charge speed converts directly into bays turned over.
• Anyone who has refitted a compressor that failed because the system was never cleaned out the first time.

What's in the box

The AC800 with its internally installed tank, onboard electronic scales, built-in thermal printer, flushing function and vehicle database. Refrigerant, PAG and POE oils and UV dye are consumables and are not included. Bludee does not itemise further, and neither do we — ask us to confirm any specific coupler, hose or flush adapter before ordering if it matters to your process.

Key specifications

Certification and compliance, stated honestly

We hold no independent performance listing for this machine and this page claims none. Worth stating plainly given how much of the machine is measurement — scales, transducers, a temperature sensor and a charge quantity a customer is billed for. A manufacturer's specification is the manufacturer's word for it, which is not the same as an assessment by a party with nothing riding on the sale. If a warranty programme, insurer or local rule requires assessed recovery equipment in your shop, confirm the requirement before purchase; ask us and we will request Bludee's documentation and pass it on unaltered.

Delivery and pickup

Shipped crated as freight throughout the lower 48 states. Freight is quoted live for your delivery address at checkout, and a residential address carries a residential fee. Plan the unload before it ships — a crated machine of this size needs more than willing hands, and terminal pickup is often the simplest answer where there is no dock or forklift. When it arrives, inspect the crate before you sign and note any damage on the bill of lading while the driver is there. A clear signature is very difficult to argue with afterwards.

Warranty

Terms and the claim process live on our warranty claims page, and we will supply the manufacturer's current document before you order if it affects your decision. If something fails, talk to us before the machine is opened. A sealed refrigerant circuit, calibrated load cells and a pressure vessel are not things to investigate with the covers off — a machine dismantled before assessment cannot be assessed, and that ends the warranty.