A technician is starting recovery on a 1,000-pound R-123 chiller. Which should be removed first?
Recovery techniques · EPA 608 Type III. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Liquid then vapor, heating oil, protecting water tubes, and high-pressure cut-outs.
The question
A technician is starting recovery on a 1,000-pound R-123 chiller. Which should be removed first?
- The refrigerant vapor
- The liquid refrigerantCorrect answer
- The noncondensable gases
- The compressor oil
Why “The liquid refrigerant” is correct
Most of a chiller's charge sits in the shell as liquid. Moving that liquid out first removes the bulk of the refrigerant quickly; the remaining vapor is recovered afterward.
Source: EPA: Test Topics
Why the other answers are wrong
- The refrigerant vapor — Vapor recovery comes after the liquid has been removed.
- The noncondensable gases — Noncondensables are handled by the purge, not removed first during recovery.
- The compressor oil — Oil removal is a separate step and is not how recovery begins.
Practice more of this
More EPA 608 Type III practice questions, or see every EPA 608 practice test.
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.