What is a likely cause?

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

A technician finds a solderless piercing valve left on a refrigerator's process stub from an earlier repair. The unit is now low on charge. What is a likely cause?

• AThe refrigerant has worn out with age
• BThe thermostat has been set too warm
• CThe old piercing valve has been slowly leakingCorrect answer
• DThe process stub is designed to bleed off pressure

Why “The old piercing valve has been slowly leaking” is correct

Solderless access fittings are not a permanent seal and tend to leak over time, which is why EPA's test topics say to remove them at the end of service. A fitting left in place is a prime suspect when a sealed system loses charge.

Source: EPA: Test Topics

Why the other answers are wrong

• The refrigerant has worn out with age — Refrigerant does not wear out or get used up in a sealed system; a low charge means a leak.
• The thermostat has been set too warm — A thermostat setting cannot remove refrigerant from the system.
• The process stub is designed to bleed off pressure — A process stub is resealed after service and is not meant to release refrigerant.

Practice more of this

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