A technician pumps an R-410A charge out of a rooftop unit into a DOT cylinder using a machine that has no cleaning circuit, replaces the condenser coil, then puts the same refrigerant back in. What has the technician done to that refrigerant?
Correct Answer
B) Recovered it, because the refrigerant was removed from the appliance into an external container without being processed
Recovery means removing refrigerant from an appliance in any condition and storing it in an external container, with no cleaning or testing involved. That is exactly what happened here. Recycling goes a step further and cleans the refrigerant on site by circulating it through oil separation and filter driers built into the machine. Reclamation is a laboratory-grade process: the refrigerant goes to a certified reclaimer, is processed to the AHRI 700 purity standard, and is verified by chemical analysis. De minimis refers to the tiny amounts released while making and breaking connections in good faith, not to the whole charge.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Nothing was cleaned, processed, or tested. Refrigerant simply came out of the appliance and went into a cylinder, which is the exact definition of recovery. The fact that it later went back into the same system does not change what was done to it.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Recycled it, because the refrigerant was cleaned on site and returned to the same appliance it came out of
Recycling means the refrigerant passed through an oil separator and filter cores on the machine. The machine described here has no cleaning circuit, so nothing about the charge was changed.
Option C: Reclaimed it, because the refrigerant was captured and restored to a usable condition before recharging
Reclamation means processing to the recognized purity specification and proving it by chemical analysis, which only a certified reclaimer can do. No machine on a rooftop reclaims anything.
Option D: Vented it within the de minimis allowance, because refrigerant left the appliance while the hoses were being connected and removed
De minimis covers the small losses that happen while making and breaking connections in good faith. Here the whole charge went into a cylinder, so nothing was vented under any allowance.
Memory Technique
Recover moves it, Recycle cleans it, Reclaim certifies it, and only the last one leaves your truck.
Reference Hint
Definitions live in 40 CFR 82.152: recover equals remove and store, recycle equals clean on site, reclaim equals process to AHRI 700 and verify.
More epa-608-type-2 Questions
A walk-in cooler condensing unit holds a full charge of twenty-five pounds of R-404A, which is below the fifty pound threshold that brings an appliance under the leak repair provisions. What still applies to this unit?
An office building has thirty water source heat pumps on a common water loop, and each one left the factory assembled, hermetically sealed and charged with four pounds of R-410A. How is one of those units classified?
A data sheet for an unfamiliar refrigerant lists a boiling point of about fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit at atmospheric pressure. What does that tell a technician holding Core and Type II certification?
A technician holds Core, Type I and Type III certification and is sent to recover the charge from a twenty ton rooftop unit charged with R-410A. What does that combination of sections allow on this job?
A fleet garage technician holds only the vehicle air conditioning certification issued under Section 609 and is asked to recover the charge from the shop's own rooftop air conditioner. What does that credential allow?
A split system's outdoor unit, indoor coil and the line set the installer ran and brazed between them are being considered. For the purposes of the refrigerant rules, what makes up the appliance here?
On a new installation the line set is brazed to a factory charged outdoor unit and an indoor coil shipped under a nitrogen holding charge, with the outdoor unit's service valves still closed. What does the recovery requirement call for before that brazing?
A rooftop unit's data plate has weathered until the charge figure cannot be read, and the technician needs the full charge to place the appliance under the evacuation and leak provisions. Where should that figure come from?
A computer room air conditioning unit holds forty pounds of R-407C and connects to a remote air cooled condenser through refrigerant piping run and brazed by the installer. How is that unit classified?
A shop's office manager, who holds no technician certification, is sent to a supply house to pick up a new recovery machine for the commercial crew. What does the sales restriction require at that counter?
People Also Study
Business & Financial Management
120 questions · 70% to pass
Contract Administration
60 questions · 70% to pass
Project Management
60 questions · 70% to pass
Related Study Resources
Previous Question
A split system's outdoor unit, indoor coil and the line set the installer ran and brazed between them are being considered. For the purposes of the refrigerant rules, what makes up the appliance here?
Next Question
Oil is found under the brass cap of a service valve stem on a rooftop unit that loses a small amount of charge each season. What is leaking there?