Environmental Impact & Legislation
This act, revised and expanded in 1990, provides the EPA with broad authority to implement and enforce regulations reducing air pollutant emissions
What is the Clean Air Act?
This type of refrigerant contains hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon, but no chlorine, and includes R-134a, R-404A, and R-410A
What are Hydroflurocarbons?
This piece of personal protective equipment must be worn at all times when working with refrigerants to prevent liquid refrigerant from causing permanent blindness
What are safety glasses (with side shields)?
This instrument is the only accurate field method for measuring the deep vacuum required for proper dehydration
What is an electronic micron vacuum gauge (or micron gauge)
When refrigerant is removed from an appliance and stored in a container without testing or processing, it is classified as this.
What is recovered refrigerant?
This component must always be replaced in the liquid line any time the refrigeration circuit is opened for repair.
What is the filter drier?
This year marked the creation of the EPA and the passing of a much stronger version of the Clean Air Act
What is 1970?
This process, which is illegal for ozone-depleting and substitute refrigerants, is only permitted for "de minimis" (small unavoidable) quantities or specified leak test gases
What is venting or releasing refrigerant?
This is the difference between the dew point temperature and the bubble point temperature of a non-azeotropic blend
What is temperature glide?
The safety concern caused by the displacement of oxygen in a room by dense refrigerant vapor, requiring ventilation or a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)
What is asphyxia or oxygen deprivation?
These are required on service hoses of recovery and recycling machines and manually or automatically close to minimize refrigerant release when disconnected
What are low-loss fittings (or shut off valves)?
This is the required visual characteristic of a DOT-approved refillable cylinder designed specifically to hold recovered refrigerant
What is grey body and yellow top?
This technique uses intermittent charges of dry nitrogen between vacuum pulls to sweep moisture out of the system, helping to achieve a deep vacuum
What is the triple evacuation method?
The year the United States and 22 other countries signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
What is 1987?
This value is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period of time, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide
What is Global Warming Potential?
These blends behave like a single component refrigerant, have zero temperature glide, and are designated with a 500-series ASHRAE designation
What are Azeotropic blends?
Always use a pressure regulator with a relief valve when connecting to a cylinder of this gas, as its pressure exceeds 2,000 psig
What is dry nitrogen gas?
In a two-valve, three-hose manifold, this hose, typically colored yellow, is generally connected to the vacuum pump, recovery device, or refrigerant source
What is the center hose (or center port)?
This cleaning process uses oil separation and single or multiple passes through filter driers for immediate reuse, but there are no purity standards governing it
What is recycling?
This procedure, done by introducing dry nitrogen to slightly raise the pressure above atmospheric, must be performed before opening an evacuated system to the ambient air
What is breaking the vacuum?
The production and sale of virgin CFCs, halogenated CFCs, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform were required to end by this yea
What is 1995?
This is the legal leakage rate threshold for comfort cooling applications containing 50 pounds or more of an ozone-depleting refrigerant
What is 10 percent per year or more?
Although a 400-series refrigerant, R-410A is considered this due to its temperature glide of only 0.2∘F
What is a near-azeotropic blend?
This ASHRAE safety classification is given to non-flammable refrigerants with low toxicity, such as R-134a
What is A1?
This is the primary danger of trapping liquid refrigerant in a sealed hose or manifold, which lacks a pressure relief device, as the ambient temperature rises
What is the danger of the device/hose bursting/ rupturing (due to liquid expansion)?
This AHRI standard specifies the purity level required for used refrigerant to be classified as reclaimed
What is AHRI 700?
This maximum vacuum level, which equates to 0.5 mmHg absolute, is the minimum required to fully dehydrate a system and remove moisture
What is 500 microns?
The year a ban was placed on the production, sale, or importation of new systems that use HCFC-22 or HCFC-142b refrigerants or blends containing them. The production and sale of virgin HCFCs also ended this year
What is 2010?
This is the maximum penalty per day per violation of the Clean Air Act, including improper recordkeeping
What is the $44,539?
You must charge 400-series non-azeotropic blends as this, to prevent the more volatile components from evaporating preferentially and altering the properties of the blend
What is Liquid Charging?
When servicing systems with flammable refrigerants, the system, recovery unit, and recovery cylinder must all be properly connected to this to avoid ignition from an electrical spark
What is ground or grounding?
The high-pressure gauge on a manifold set used for R-410A must be rated for at least this pressure
What is 800 psig?
This AHRI standard specifies the purity level required for used refrigerant to be classified as reclaimed
What is ahri 700
According to the EPA, this is the most effective way to detect the general area of a small leak
What is using an electronic leak detector or ultrasonic leak tester?
The specific date a ban was placed on the production or import of any HCFC refrigerant, including HCFC-22, meaning servicing must rely on recycled, reclaimed, or existing stockpiles
What is January 1, 2020?