One machine in the plant room is a seven-hundred-ton centrifugal chiller charged with R-134a, and the machine beside it is a centrifugal chiller charged with R-123. Which certification covers work on the R-134a machine?
Correct Answer
D) Type II, because R-134a keeps the machine above atmospheric pressure no matter how large it is
Certification class follows the refrigerant, not the tonnage or the compressor style. R-134a boils well below room temperature at atmospheric pressure, so a machine charged with it runs above atmospheric pressure and belongs to the high-pressure class covered by Type II. The neighboring machine using R-123 is low pressure and needs Type III. Two identical-looking centrifugal chillers side by side can therefore require two different certifications. Size, tonnage and compressor type are all distractions; the question to answer is what the refrigerant does at atmospheric pressure.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
The definitions sort appliances by the atmospheric boiling point of the refrigerant charged into them. R-134a sits in the high-pressure band, so the chiller is a high-pressure appliance and Type II is the required certification. Nothing in the definitions references capacity, footprint or compressor design.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Type III, because a centrifugal chiller of that tonnage is always handled as a low-pressure machine
Tonnage is not part of any appliance definition. A large machine charged with a high-pressure refrigerant is still a high-pressure appliance, and low pressure is not a synonym for large.
Option B: Universal, because a plant room holding more than one pressure class requires it
Universal is convenient for a technician who works on everything, but the R-134a machine by itself only requires Type II. The question asks what that one machine needs.
Option C: Type I, because the whole charge stays inside one factory-built package
Type I is limited to factory-sealed appliances holding five pounds or less. A seven-hundred-ton chiller is field assembled and holds hundreds of pounds.
Memory Technique
Read the nameplate refrigerant, not the tonnage. Big does not mean low pressure.
Reference Hint
Class is set by the refrigerant's boiling point at atmospheric pressure, 40 CFR 82.152. R-134a is high pressure and needs Type II; R-123 is low pressure and needs Type III.
More epa-608-type-2 Questions
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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?
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Previous Question
A convenience store runs six separate refrigeration systems, the largest holding forty pounds of R-404A and the others less, adding up to well over one hundred pounds on the site. How are those charges counted against the fifty pound leak repair threshold?
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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?