Where should a relief valve be placed when pressurizing an R-410A system with nitrogen for a leak test?
Safety · EPA 608 Type II. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Hermetic compressors under vacuum and other high-pressure hazards.
The question
Where should a relief valve be placed when pressurizing an R-410A system with nitrogen for a leak test?
- Downstream of the nitrogen regulatorCorrect answer
- On the recovery cylinder
- Inside the compressor
- No relief valve is needed with a regulator
Why “Downstream of the nitrogen regulator” is correct
A relief valve in the line after the regulator protects the system if the regulator fails or is set too high. It vents nitrogen before the system reaches a dangerous pressure.
Source: EPA: Test Topics
Why the other answers are wrong
- On the recovery cylinder — The recovery cylinder is not part of the nitrogen test setup.
- Inside the compressor — A relief valve cannot be fitted inside the compressor for testing.
- No relief valve is needed with a regulator — Regulators can fail, so a relief valve is still good practice.
Practice more of this
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Unofficial, not affiliated with the EPA or any EPA-approved certifying organization. Questions are original practice written from public EPA material, not real exam questions.