Type I - Small Appliances
What this domain covers
Type I is the small-appliance category: hermetically sealed, factory-charged equipment holding 5 lb of refrigerant or less. Typical examples are household refrigerators and freezers, window and portable air conditioners, dehumidifiers, water coolers, vending machines, and small ice machines. These units have no service valves, so access is normally made through a process tube with a locking-type line-piercing valve - and the charge must be recovered before you pierce anything.
Rules you must be able to state
- No venting, ever. Recovery is required even for a few ounces. A vacuum pump may never be used to dump refrigerant, and service venting is not a permitted exception.
- Recovery target: 80% of the charge, whether or not the compressor is running. This flat 80% is the Type I number; the 90%/80% split and vacuum-level targets belong to other appliance classes.
- System-dependent versus self-contained recovery. Passive (system-dependent) equipment relies on the appliance's own compressor and heat, so it cannot pull a deep vacuum; on a non-operating system it must be paired with a vacuum pump.
- Recovery cylinders must be DOT-approved, never filled above 80% of capacity by weight, and never heated with a flame or torch.
- Charging is by weight, using the data-plate charge as your reference.
Traps that show up in questions
- The two different 80% values: 80% of the charge for recovery efficiency versus 80% of cylinder capacity for fill limit. Distractors swap them.
- Small appliance is not motor-vehicle air conditioning; a Type I certificate does not authorize MVAC work.
- Cheap self-piercing (non-locking) valves leak after the tool is removed. Use locking access valves and cap them.
Rule of thumb
A 4 lb charge means recovering at least 3.2 lb (80%) before opening the system, and the receiving cylinder must still be at or below 80% full by weight.