What should the technician do next?

Recovery requirements · EPA 608 Type III. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

Evacuation levels for low-pressure appliances, and major versus non-major repairs.

The question

An R-123 chiller is pulled down to 25 mm Hg absolute, then the pressure creeps up after the recovery unit is valved off. What should the technician do next?

• AOpen the chiller, since the shell is still well under a vacuum anyway
• BResume recovery until the pressure holds at the required levelCorrect answer
• CBreak the vacuum with nitrogen and start the repair
• DLog the reading and leave the chiller as it is

Why “Resume recovery until the pressure holds at the required level” is correct

A pressure rise after recovery stops means liquid refrigerant is still present in the chiller or its oil. The technician should restart recovery and repeat the wait-and-watch check until the pressure stays at 25 mm Hg absolute.

Source: EPA: Test Topics; 40 CFR 82.156(a)

Why the other answers are wrong

• Open the chiller, since the shell is still well under a vacuum anyway — The chiller has not held the required level, so it is not ready to open.
• Break the vacuum with nitrogen and start the repair — The rising pressure shows refrigerant is still in the chiller, so breaking the vacuum now would be premature.
• Log the reading and leave the chiller as it is — Logging the rise does not recover the refrigerant still in the chiller.

Practice more of this

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