Flashcards · the numbers
EPA 608 flashcards
These EPA 608 flashcards hold the numbers, dates and definitions the exam keeps coming back to, with both sides written out in plain text and a rule citation on every answer. Rule citations refer to 40 CFR 82 on eCFR as of October 5, 2026; EPA test topics were checked October 7, 2026.
The numbers that keep coming back
Type I
Small appliance
Factory-made, factory-charged, hermetically sealed, holding 5 lb or less. A window unit fits; a residential split system is field-charged and doesn't. (40 CFR 82.152)
Type I
November 15, 1993
The manufacture date of the recovery equipment that decides which recovery level applies, for Type I and for the Type II and III evacuation table. (40 CFR 82.156)
Type I
Small appliance, recovery machine made on or after November 15, 1993
Recover 90% if the appliance compressor runs, 80% if it doesn't; or pull to 4 inHg vacuum instead. The full grid: 80/90% rule. (40 CFR 82.156(b))
Type I
Passive recovery on a dead compressor
Install access valves on both the high and the low side, so refrigerant can be drawn from both. (EPA test topics, Type I)
Type II
High-pressure appliance, 200 lb or more
Evacuate to 4 inHg with pre-1993 recovery equipment, 10 inHg with newer. (40 CFR 82.156(a), Table 1)
Type II
Medium-pressure appliance, 200 lb or more
4 inHg with pre-1993 recovery equipment, 15 inHg with newer. R-134a and R-12 are medium-pressure since the 2016 rule. (40 CFR 82.156(a), 82.152)
Type II
Very-high-pressure appliance
0 inHg with either recovery-equipment date. Examples: R-13, R-23, R-503. (40 CFR 82.156(a), Table 1)
Type III
Low-pressure appliance, required level
25 mm Hg absolute for both recovery-equipment dates. The unit is absolute pressure in millimeters; the other rows use inches of vacuum. (40 CFR 82.156(a), Table 1)
Type II
Major repair
Removing the compressor, condenser, evaporator or an auxiliary heat-exchange coil, or opening more than 4 sq in of flow area for more than 15 minutes. (40 CFR 82.152)
Type II
Non-major repair, medium or high pressure
Evacuate to 0 psig before opening the system. An oil change allows up to 5 psig. (40 CFR 82.156(a))
Core
System-dependent recovery
Uses the appliance's own compressor or pressure. Not allowed on appliances holding more than 15 lb, unless a permanent pump-out unit is attached. (40 CFR 82.152, 82.156)
Type II
Leak-rate trigger: commercial refrigeration
20% per year, for appliances holding 50 lb or more of CFC or HCFC refrigerant. (40 CFR 82.157)
Type II
Leak-rate trigger: industrial process refrigeration
30% per year, same 50-lb ozone-depleting-refrigerant threshold. (40 CFR 82.157)
Type II
Leak-rate trigger: comfort cooling and everything else
10% per year, same 50-lb threshold. Why older sheets show other numbers: leak-rate thresholds. (40 CFR 82.157)
Type II
Leak repair deadline
30 days from the refrigerant addition that revealed the leak rate; 120 days when an industrial process shutdown is needed. Follow-up verification within 10 days. (40 CFR 82.157)
Type III
Chronic leaker
An appliance of 50 lb or more that leaks 125% or more of its full charge in a calendar year; reported to EPA by March 1 of the next year. (40 CFR 82.157(j))
Core
Reclaim
Reprocessing used refrigerant to the AHRI 700 purity standard, confirmed by chemical analysis. Used refrigerant sold to a new owner must be reclaimed, with narrow exceptions. (40 CFR 82.152, 82.154(d))
Core
Recycle
Cleaning refrigerant for reuse, for example through oil separation and filter-driers, in equipment of the same owner. No analysis to a purity standard. (40 CFR 82.152)
Core
Reusable recovery cylinder
DOT-approved, painted gray with a yellow top, never filled past 80% of capacity. Disposable cylinders are never refilled. (EPA test topics, Core)
Type II
psia from a gauge reading
psia = psig + 14.7. Pressure-temperature charts may be printed in either. (EPA test topics, Type II)
Type III
Oil removal from a low-pressure chiller
Heat the oil to 130 °F before draining it. During recovery, circulate or drain the chiller water so the tubes don't freeze. (EPA test topics, Type III)
Type III
Recharging a low-pressure chiller
Charge vapor before liquid, and charge centrifugals through the evaporator charging valve. (EPA test topics, Type III)
Type III
R-123 equipment room
ASHRAE 15 calls for a refrigerant sensor for R-123, on top of the oxygen-deprivation sensor required for every refrigerant. (EPA test topics, Type II and III)
Core
January 1, 2018
The sales restriction expands to non-exempt substitutes such as HFCs. The public exception: motor-vehicle AC cans of 2 lb or less with a self-sealing valve. (40 CFR 82.154(c))
Core
De minimis release
Small releases during good-faith recovery done by the rules, such as connecting and disconnecting hoses. Everything else knowingly vented is prohibited; see the venting prohibition. (40 CFR 82.154(a))
Core
Phaseout dates
CFC production and import ended January 1, 1996. HCFC-22 ended January 1, 2020, after a 2010 limit to equipment built before 2010. Servicing existing systems wasn't banned. (EPA ozone-layer phaseout pages)
Core
Maximum Clean Air Act penalty
$124,426 per day per violation, for penalties assessed on or after January 8, 2025. Older prep still prints $37,500 or $44,539. (40 CFR 19.4)
Core
ODP ladder
CFC highest (CFC-11 is the 1.0 reference), HCFC lower (0.01 to 0.1), HFC zero. R-12 is a CFC, R-22 an HCFC, R-134a an HFC. (EPA test topics, Core)
Exam
Pass mark
70% on a closed-book proctored test; 84% on a mail-in, open-book Type I, which can't count toward Universal. (40 CFR 82, Appendix D (e))
Exam
Keeping your certificate
A copy at your place of business until 3 years after you stop working as a technician. The certification itself doesn't expire under current EPA rules. (40 CFR 82.161(a))
Where the values come from
- 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F — eCFR as of October 5, 2026; definitions, evacuation table, leak repair, sales restriction, Appendix DeCFR
- Section 608 test topics — checked October 7, 2026US EPA
- 40 CFR 19.4, civil penalty adjustment — eCFR as of October 5, 2026eCFR