Refrigerant Recovery Quiz

Ten questions on recovery methods, cylinders and the rules behind them. Pick an answer to see whether you are right and why. Related reading: The Code: refrigerant rules.

1. Under EPA Section 608, intentionally venting refrigerant during service is:

   1. Allowed for small amounts
   2. Prohibited, apart from de minimis releases during good-faith recovery
   3. Allowed for HFC refrigerants
   4. Allowed if the equipment is outdoors

   The prohibition covers ozone-depleting refrigerants and their substitutes. Small releases while connecting and disconnecting hoses during proper recovery are the narrow exception.

2. Recovery cylinders are identified by:

   1. A white body
   2. A gray body with a yellow top or shoulder
   3. A green body
   4. A red band only

   The gray and yellow color scheme marks a cylinder for recovered refrigerant, so it is not confused with a cylinder of new refrigerant.

3. The maximum safe fill for a recovery cylinder is:

   1. 100 percent of capacity
   2. 90 percent
   3. 80 percent
   4. 50 percent

   Liquid refrigerant expands as it warms. Leaving at least 20 percent vapor space stops the cylinder from filling completely with liquid, which can rupture it.

4. The best way to avoid overfilling a recovery cylinder is to:

   1. Watch a sight glass
   2. Weigh the cylinder on a scale during recovery, or use a float switch with a recovery machine that supports it
   3. Fill it until it feels heavy
   4. Feel the cylinder for frost

   Weight is the reliable measure. Work out the maximum fill from the cylinder's capacity and tare weight, then watch the scale.

5. In the push-pull method of liquid recovery, the recovery machine:

   1. Pulls vapor from the recovery cylinder and pushes it into the system, driving liquid into the cylinder
   2. Pulls vapor only
   3. Vents the vapor side
   4. Is not needed at all

   Moving refrigerant as liquid is much faster than recovering it as vapor. Push-pull suits systems holding a large amount of liquid.

6. Why should different refrigerants never be recovered into the same cylinder?

   1. The cylinder will explode immediately
   2. Mixed refrigerants are difficult or impossible to reclaim and may have to be destroyed
   3. It is faster
   4. It changes the cylinder color

   Reclaimers need a single refrigerant. Keep one refrigerant per cylinder and label it.

7. Which certification type covers servicing a typical residential split air conditioner?

   1. Type I
   2. Type II
   3. Type III
   4. No certification is needed

   Residential split systems are high-pressure appliances, which fall under Type II. Universal covers all types.

8. Refrigerant recovered from a customer's system can be:

   1. Sold to another customer as it is
   2. Returned to the same system or other systems with the same owner, or sent to a certified reclaimer
   3. Vented once recovered
   4. Mixed with new refrigerant and sold

   Recovered refrigerant can go back into the same owner's equipment. If it changes ownership, it has to be reclaimed to purity standards by an EPA-certified reclaimer.

9. Before using a recovery cylinder, you should check:

   1. Its retest date and condition, and that it is evacuated or already holds the same refrigerant
   2. Only its color
   3. That it is full of nitrogen
   4. Nothing, since all cylinders are interchangeable

   A cylinder must be within its retest date, undamaged and dedicated to one refrigerant. An empty cylinder should be evacuated first to remove air.

10. Recovering an A2L refrigerant such as R-32 or R-454B requires:

    1. Any recovery machine
    2. A recovery machine and cylinder rated for A2L refrigerants
    3. Venting outdoors
    4. Mixing it with R-410A

    A2L refrigerants are mildly flammable. Use recovery equipment and cylinders that the manufacturer rates for A2L use, and keep ignition sources away.