How do refrigerator repairmen recover the refrigerant from sealed compressors There are no screw-on fittings The refrigerant is in pipes that are soldered shut?

They use a tap that makes a hole in the pipe. The tap also has a valve connected to it, sort of like the one on a bicycle tire, actually its exactly like it with a sharp metal pointy thing that pops a hole in the copper. Then they use gauges attached to a hose to suck it out with a reclaimer, a machine that sucks it out into a canister designed to hold refrigerant (really most of time they bleed it out into the air while your not looking).