Which description matches the federal definition of a "small appliance" under Section 608?
Recovery requirements · EPA 608 Type I. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
The small-appliance definition and the recovery levels required.
The question
Which description matches the federal definition of a "small appliance" under Section 608?
- Any appliance holding less than 15 pounds of refrigerant
- Factory-built, charged and sealed with 5 pounds or lessCorrect answer
- Any appliance holding 50 pounds or less of refrigerant
- Any household unit that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet
Why “Factory-built, charged and sealed with 5 pounds or less” is correct
Section 82.152 defines a small appliance as one that is fully manufactured, charged and hermetically sealed in a factory with five pounds or less of refrigerant. All three conditions matter: a unit charged in the field is not a small appliance even if its charge is small.
Source: 40 CFR 82.152
Why the other answers are wrong
- Any appliance holding less than 15 pounds of refrigerant — Fifteen pounds is the limit for using system-dependent recovery equipment, not the small-appliance definition.
- Any appliance holding 50 pounds or less of refrigerant — Fifty pounds is the Part 82 leak-repair threshold for ozone-depleting refrigerants, not the small-appliance cutoff.
- Any household unit that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet — The definition is based on how the unit is built and charged and how much refrigerant it holds, not on its power supply.
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