EPA 608 Type II cheat sheet

Leak-repair thresholds apply to appliances holding 50 lb or more of refrigerant: 10% of charge per 12 months for comfort cooling, 20% for commercial refrigeration, 30% for industrial process refrigeration.

A chronically leaking appliance is one that leaks 125% or more of its applicable threshold within 12 months; it must be retrofitted or retired under a dated plan.

Normal repair deadline is 30 days after leak discovery; it extends to 120 days only when industrial process refrigeration must be shut down to make the repair.

After a repair: initial verification test within 30 days of the repair, and a follow-up verification test within 30 days after the repair is completed or the appliance returns to normal operating conditions.

Before use, confirm the electronic detector responds to the target refrigerant and is calibrated; some sensors respond poorly to HFOs and to specific blend components.

Refrigerant vapor is heavier than air: probe low points, flare nuts, Schrader ports, brazed joints, and coil headers, moving the probe tip slowly (about 1 in. per second).

UV dye plus a UV lamp locates slow leaks, but only dye approved by the compressor or component manufacturer may be added to the system.

Dry nitrogen is the only acceptable pressurizing gas for leak testing; oxygen or compressed air can explode when combined with refrigerant oil, and test pressure must stay below the component design limit.

Trace gas used to help locate a leak must be recovered after testing; it may not be vented to atmosphere.

Type II certification covers high-pressure and very high-pressure appliances (R-12, R-22, R-134a, R-410A, R-502, R-13, R-503) but not small appliances or low-pressure chillers.

EPA recovery vacuum levels for high-pressure appliances: 0 psig for charges under 200 lb; 4 in. Hg (built before Nov 15, 1993) or 10 in. Hg (built after) at 200 lb or more; 15 in. Hg when a 200 lb or larger appliance is being disposed of.

Recovery cylinders must be DOT-approved, evacuated before first use, labeled with the refrigerant they contain, and filled to no more than 80% of capacity by weight.

R-410A must go into a cylinder with a 400 psig service rating (DOT 4BA400 / 4BW400) and through equipment rated for R-410A; R-22 service cylinders are not acceptable.

Push-pull liquid transfer is fastest for large charges; vapor recovery then finishes the job, and recovery stops when the recovery machine's rated vacuum is reached.

Self-contained recovery units have their own compressor; system-dependent (passive) devices rely on the appliance's compressor and internal pressure to move refrigerant.

Recovery equipment must never be used as an evacuation pump: it cannot reach a deep vacuum and can be damaged by running at its limit.

Recovered refrigerant may not be vented and may not be recharged into equipment until it has been recycled or reclaimed.

Short hoses with core depressors, low ambient temperature, or an ice/water bath on the recovery cylinder all speed up vapor recovery and reduce residual loss.

Recycling is on-site cleanup of recovered refrigerant (oil separation, filtering, moisture removal) for reuse; it does not restore refrigerant to AHRI 700 purity.

Reclaiming reprocesses refrigerant to AHRI Standard 700 purity and must be verified by laboratory analysis; only EPA-certified reclaimers may perform it.

Recycled refrigerant may be charged only into equipment owned by the same owner; reclaimed refrigerant may be used in any appliance.

Refrigerant of unknown identity or a mixture of refrigerants must not be blended with a known refrigerant; it can only be sent for reclamation or destruction.

Recovery and recycling equipment must be certified by an EPA-approved testing organization to meet 40 CFR 82.158 before it may be sold or used for 608 work.

Refrigerant failing purity tests (excess moisture, acid, particulates, non-condensables) is off-spec and must be reclaimed or destroyed, never installed in a system.

Single-use (disposable) refrigerant cylinders may not be refilled with recovered refrigerant; only DOT-approved refillable recovery cylinders are legal for that purpose.

Deep-vacuum target is 500 microns or lower; the micron gauge belongs at the system, not at the pump, because manifold gauges cannot resolve deep vacuum.

Standing (decay) vacuum test: isolate the pump at the target vacuum; a reading that keeps climbing indicates a leak or moisture still in the system.

Triple evacuation: pull a vacuum, break it with dry nitrogen to 0 psig, and repeat three times to sweep moisture and non-condensables out of the circuit.

Zeotropic blends such as R-410A are charged as liquid from the cylinder to prevent fractionation; charging by weight is the most accurate method for any blend.

TXV systems are verified by subcooling at the condenser outlet; fixed-orifice (piston) systems are verified by superheat against the manufacturer's target-superheat chart.

Liquid refrigerant is charged into the high side with the system off, or through a throttling device; liquid must never be slugged into a running compressor's suction line.

The system compressor is never used as a vacuum pump; it cannot reach deep vacuum, can overheat, and can pull air in through leak points.

Non-condensables raise discharge pressure and must be removed by recovery or reclamation, not by venting refrigerant from the system.

Section 608 of the Clean Air Act prohibits knowingly venting CFC and HCFC refrigerants during service, maintenance, or disposal; HFC venting is likewise restricted under the AIM Act.

Technicians must be certified for the appliance type they service (Type I, II, III, or Universal) before opening the refrigerant circuit or handling regulated refrigerant.

Owners of appliances with 50 lb or more of charge must keep records of refrigerant added, leak inspections, repairs, and verification tests for at least three years.

Refrigerant exposed to an open flame decomposes into toxic and corrosive gases including hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, and phosgene; the circuit must be recovered and purged before brazing.

Liquid refrigerant boils at very low temperature and causes frostbite and eye injury; gloves and safety glasses are required whenever breaking into a circuit.

Refrigerant vapor is heavier than air and displaces oxygen in pits, basements, and machine rooms; ventilation or a refrigerant monitor is required in occupied or confined spaces.

Cylinders are never heated above 125°F; warm water is acceptable, open flame or uncontrolled heaters are not, and cylinders are stored upright, secured, and valve-capped for transport.

Civil penalties for 608 violations can exceed $40,000 per day per violation, and venting violations may also trigger federal enforcement action.