As refrigerant from a string of small appliances collects in a recovery cylinder, what fill limit applies to that cylinder?
Correct Answer
D) It may be filled to eighty percent of its rated capacity measured by weight
Recovery cylinders are filled by weight and must not exceed eighty percent of their rated capacity. The empty space above the liquid gives the refrigerant room to expand as the cylinder warms. A cylinder filled liquid full has nowhere to expand, and a modest rise in temperature can generate enough hydraulic pressure to rupture it. Technicians track this with a scale under the cylinder, not with a pressure gauge, and stop at the eighty percent mark.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The eighty percent limit is a liquid expansion safeguard. Refrigerant expands as it warms, and the vapor space left above the liquid absorbs that expansion. Filling by weight on a scale is the way to observe the limit, since pressure alone gives no indication of how full the cylinder actually is.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: It may be filled until the internal pressure reaches the cylinder's service pressure rating
Pressure does not indicate fill level in a cylinder holding both liquid and vapor. A nearly empty and a nearly full cylinder at the same temperature read almost the same pressure.
Option B: It may be filled to ninety percent of its rated capacity measured by weight
Ninety percent leaves too little vapor space and is not the recognized limit. The number to remember for recovery cylinders is eighty.
Option C: It may be filled to its full rated capacity as long as it is kept below one hundred degrees Fahrenheit
A full cylinder is dangerous at any storage temperature, and the hundred degree figure has no standing here. Cylinders are also kept below one hundred twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit as a separate storage precaution.
Memory Technique
Leave the top fifth empty so the liquid has somewhere to go when the truck gets hot.
Reference Hint
40 CFR 82.166 and DOT cylinder practice: recovery cylinders are filled to no more than eighty percent of rated capacity by weight.
More epa-608-type-1 Questions
A technician certified under Section 608 is asked to service the air conditioning system in a customer's pickup truck. What credential does that particular job actually require?
Facing an unfamiliar packaged refrigeration unit on the bench, how should a technician decide whether the small appliance rules apply to it?
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?
A technician recovers R-134a into a cylinder that still holds recovered R-12 from an earlier job. What is the consequence for that refrigerant?
Refrigerant recovered from a small appliance is going back into service once the repair is finished. When may it be reused without first being sent to a reclaimer?
Why does system-dependent recovery generally take longer to finish than recovery performed with a self-contained machine?
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When system-dependent recovery equipment is used on a small appliance whose compressor does not operate, how must the sealed system be tapped?
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Recovery from a small appliance has slowed down and the pressure is barely moving. What accepted technique helps drive the remaining refrigerant out?