When the compressor in a small appliance will not run, what portion of the refrigerant must the technician recover?
Correct Answer
A) 80 percent of the refrigerant in the appliance
A seized or burned compressor cannot help push refrigerant toward the recovery machine, so EPA sets the requirement at 80 percent of the charge. The same 80 percent standard applies when the recovery equipment was manufactured before November 15, 1993, regardless of compressor condition. In place of the percentage requirement, the technician may evacuate the appliance to 4 inches of mercury vacuum, which is treated as an equivalent way to satisfy the rule.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
With the compressor out of service, the recovery machine has to do all the work of pulling refrigerant out of a sealed system with no circulation help. EPA recognizes this and sets the requirement at 80 percent rather than 90 percent. Older recovery equipment made before November 15, 1993 gets the same 80 percent allowance.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option B: 90 percent of the refrigerant in the appliance
Ninety percent applies only when the compressor is operating and the recovery equipment was manufactured on or after November 15, 1993. A seized compressor rules that combination out.
Option C: 60 percent of the refrigerant in the appliance
Sixty percent appears nowhere in the small appliance rule. Recovering only that much would leave a substantial charge in a unit headed for disposal.
Option D: 100 percent of the refrigerant in the appliance
The regulation does not demand complete removal, and no recovery method achieves it. Requirements are stated as a recovery percentage or as a vacuum level.
Memory Technique
Dead compressor drops the bar to 80. Live compressor lifts it to 90.
Reference Hint
40 CFR 82.156 small appliance recovery: 80 percent when the compressor is not operating or the equipment predates November 15, 1993.
More epa-608-type-1 Questions
An under-counter ice maker is one factory-sealed cabinet, while a modular ice machine head is joined to a remote condenser by field-run tubing. What certification does servicing the modular machine's circuit require?
A technician recovers refrigerant from a small appliance using a recovery machine that was manufactured in 1991. What recovery level must that older equipment achieve?
Two technicians recover from identical refrigerators with working compressors, one using a 1991 recovery machine and the other a 2015 machine. Why do their required recovery levels differ?
System-dependent recovery equipment may be used only on appliances that normally hold up to what amount of refrigerant?
What feature defines a self-contained recovery unit and sets it apart from the system-dependent kind?
When system-dependent recovery equipment is used on a small appliance whose compressor still runs, how can that working compressor be put to use?
Recovery from a small appliance has slowed down and the pressure is barely moving. What accepted technique helps drive the remaining refrigerant out?
After the recovery unit stops pulling on a small appliance, how does a technician confirm that the recovery is actually complete?
A sealed small appliance offers no service port at all. What has to happen before recovery equipment can be connected to it?
As refrigerant from a string of small appliances collects in a recovery cylinder, what fill limit applies to that cylinder?
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