Refrigerant that has been reclaimed must meet a published purity specification before it can be sold again. Which specification applies, and who is authorized to certify the batch?
- AHRI 700 purity, verified by an EPA-certified reclaimer
- BASHRAE 15 purity, verified by any technician holding Universal certification
This is a safety standard covering refrigeration system design and machinery room requirements. It is not a refrigerant purity specification, and no field technician certifies reclaimed purity.
- CUL 1963 purity, verified by the original equipment manufacturer
This standard covers refrigerant recovery and recycling equipment itself, not the purity of the refrigerant, and equipment manufacturers do not certify reclaimed batches.
- DDOT 4BA purity, verified by the cylinder supplier
This is a Department of Transportation specification for the cylinder, describing how the container is built and tested. It says nothing about what is inside it.
Why A is correct
AHRI 700 is the purity specification that defines what reclaimed refrigerant must meet, covering contaminants such as moisture, acid, noncondensables, and other refrigerants. Reaching that level requires processing equipment and laboratory verification, and EPA restricts the work to certified reclaimers so that the label on the drum actually means something.
What this question is testing
The item tests the purity standard by name, the fact that only EPA-certified reclaimers may do the work, and your ability to tell a purity specification apart from a safety standard, an equipment standard, and a cylinder specification. The exam deliberately loads this answer set with real standards that serve other purposes.
On the job
This matters when a customer proposes reusing refrigerant from a building they are selling, or when a wholesaler offers reclaimed product at a discount. Reclaimed refrigerant from a certified reclaimer is legitimate and often a good value, because it has been analyzed and brought to specification. Refrigerant that a shop merely ran through a recycling machine is not reclaimed, no matter what anyone writes on the tag, and putting it into another owner's system is a violation.
Memory technique
40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F
Exam tip
Reclaim means reprocessed to AHRI 700 purity and verified by chemical analysis, done only by an EPA-certified reclaimer.
Where to look it up
Reclaim rhymes with reprocessed to a standard. Recycle is just a cleanup, and only a reclaimer can certify.