4 Safe Refrigerant Handling and Recovery

Safety and certification

Safe refrigerant work has two goals: protect people and equipment, and prevent refrigerant from escaping to the atmosphere. Section 608 prohibits intentional venting of covered refrigerants during stationary air-conditioning and refrigeration service. Technicians must be certified for work that could reasonably be expected to open or compromise the refrigerant circuit.

Identify and handle refrigerant

Before starting work, identify the refrigerant and review the appliance and tool manufacturers’ instructions. Use tools and recovery equipment rated for the refrigerant, its pressure, and its safety class. Equipment certification standards depend on equipment type and refrigerant; equipment for flammable refrigerants has specific standards. Follow the equipment’s operating instructions.

Do not mix refrigerants, because mixed recovery can be difficult or impossible to reclaim. Avoid breathing refrigerant vapor and prevent liquid refrigerant from contacting skin or eyes. Work with adequate ventilation and use appropriate personal protective equipment.

Keep refrigerant in a properly rated, clearly identified recovery cylinder. Recovered refrigerant may be returned to the same appliance or another appliance owned by the same person. Before refrigerant is sold or transferred to a different owner for use, it must be reclaimed by an EPA-certified reclaimer.

Recovery, recycling, and reclamation

Recovery, recycling, and reclamation are distinct processes. Recovery removes refrigerant and stores it without necessarily processing it; recycling cleans it for reuse, generally within equipment owned by the same person; and reclamation processes it to a specified purity.

Use recovery or recycling equipment certified to meet applicable EPA requirements. For small appliances, compliant equipment must recover at least $90\%$ of the refrigerant when the compressor works, or at least $80\%$ when it does not.

Evacuation requirements

For appliances containing more than $5\ \text{lb}$ of refrigerant, the required evacuation level depends on the appliance’s pressure class, charge size, and whether it was manufactured before or after November $15$, $1993$. Do not apply one target to every system; check the applicable requirements.

For example, post-$1993$ high-pressure appliances charged with $200\ \text{lb}$ or more require evacuation to $10$ inches Hg vacuum. Post-$1993$ medium-pressure appliances in that charge category require $15$ inches Hg vacuum. Low-pressure appliances require $25\ \text{mm}$ Hg absolute.

If a leak prevents the required evacuation, isolate leaking components from non-leaking parts where possible. Evacuate non-leaking parts to the required level and leaking parts to the lowest attainable level that does not substantially contaminate the recovered refrigerant. The leaking part must not remain above $0\ \text{psig}$.

When a recovery target is reached, pause as appropriate and check whether pressure rises. A rise may indicate that refrigerant remains in liquid form or is dissolved in oil.

Use recovery cylinders safely

Use a recovery cylinder designed and rated for refrigerant recovery. Do not use an oxygen cylinder, a compressed-air cylinder, or a disposable refrigerant container. Check the cylinder’s condition and pressure rating, and identify its contents.

Keep cylinders upright and secured during use, storage, and transport. Protect them from heat and physical damage. Use a scale to monitor the amount recovered, and never exceed the cylinder’s marked maximum fill weight. Leave room for liquid expansion: an overfilled cylinder can develop dangerous pressure as it warms. Do not combine refrigerants in one cylinder.

Find leaks and verify repairs

Use a method that can locate the leak. Options include an electronic leak detector maintained according to its manufacturer’s instructions, an ultrasonic detector, gas-imaging equipment, or an approved bubble solution. A pressure or vacuum decay test can show that a system is leaking, but it does not locate the leak; pair it with a locating method.

After a repair, perform the appropriate verification test and document the method and result. When pressurizing a system for leak testing, follow equipment instructions and use an appropriate regulator. Never use oxygen or compressed air to pressure-test a refrigerant system.

For certain appliances containing $50\ \text{lb}$ or more of ozone-depleting refrigerant that exceed the applicable leak-rate threshold, EPA requires leak inspections and verification tests. A leak-inspection record includes the inspection date, methods used, leak locations, and confirmation that all visible and accessible parts were inspected. Verification-test records include the appliance location, test dates, repaired leak locations, test methods, and results. The technician must provide the required documentation to the owner or operator.

Maintain required records

Clear service records are sound practice. Useful entries include the appliance location and identifier, date, refrigerant type, amount recovered or added, cylinder identifier and weight, leak findings, repairs, and verification results. Good job documentation should not be confused with a universal federal requirement for every service call.

Specific federal recordkeeping requirements apply in defined cases. For example, technicians disposing of appliances containing $5$–$50\ \text{lb}$ of refrigerant must record each appliance’s location, recovery date, and refrigerant type; monthly quantities recovered by refrigerant type; and quantities transferred for reclamation or destruction, the recipient, and the transfer date. These records may be paper or electronic and must be kept for three years.

For appliances containing $50\ \text{lb}$ or more of ozone-depleting refrigerant, technicians must provide specified records of refrigerant added, leak inspections, and verification tests when those requirements apply.