How can the technician get an indication of which refrigerant it holds?

Recovery techniques · EPA 608 Type I. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Identifying refrigerants, access valves, passive recovery and solderless fittings.

The question

The nameplate on a used refrigerator is unreadable. How can the technician get an indication of which refrigerant it holds?

• ACheck the color of the compressor oil
• BSmell a small release of the refrigerant
• CMeasure the compressor's running amperage with a clamp-on meter
• DCompare its standing pressure and temperature to a P/T chartCorrect answer

Why “Compare its standing pressure and temperature to a P/T chart” is correct

EPA's test topics include using pressure and temperature to identify refrigerants. With the appliance off and the refrigerant at a known temperature, its pressure should match the saturation pressure for that refrigerant on a pressure-temperature chart.

Source: EPA: Test Topics

Why the other answers are wrong

• Check the color of the compressor oil — Oil color shows condition, not which refrigerant is in the system.
• Smell a small release of the refrigerant — Releasing refrigerant is venting, and smell does not identify it.
• Measure the compressor's running amperage with a clamp-on meter — Amp draw reflects load, not the type of refrigerant.

Practice more of this

More EPA 608 Type I practice questions, or see every EPA 608 practice test.