Home Menu

Section 608 Technician Certification Test Topics

Technicians must pass an EPA-approved test to earn Section 608 technician certification.

Below are some of the topics covered on the tests for each of the four types of technician certification. (Note that universal certification involves topics pertaining to the other three types of certification).

Ozone Depletion

Clean Air Act and Montreal Protocol

Section 608 Regulations

  • Definition/identification of high and low-pressure refrigerants
  • Definition of system-dependent versus self-contained recovery/recycling equipment
  • Identification of equipment covered by the rule (all air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment containing CFCs or HCFCs except motor vehicle air conditioners)
  • Need for third-party certification of recycling and recovery equipment
  • Standard for reclaimed refrigerant [Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Standard 700-1995]

Substitute Refrigerants and oils

  • Absence of "drop-in" replacements
  • Incompatibility of substitute refrigerants with many lubricants used with CFC and HCFC refrigerants and incompatibility of CFC and HCFC refrigerants with many new lubricants (includes identification of lubricants for given refrigerants, such as esters with R-134; alkylbenzenes for HCFCs)
  • Fractionation problem--tendency of different components of blends to leak at different rates

Refrigeration

  • Refrigerant states (vapor versus liquid) and pressures at different points of refrigeration cycle; how/when cooling occurs
  • Refrigeration gauges (color codes, ranges of different types, proper use)

Three R Definitions

  • Recover
  • Recycle
  • Reclaim

Recovery Techniques

  • Need to avoid mixing refrigerants
  • Factors affecting speed of recovery (ambient temperature, size of recycling or recovery equipment, hose length and diameter, etc.)

Dehydration Evacuation

  • Need to evacuate system to eliminate air and moisture at the end of service

Safety

  • Risks of exposure to refrigerant (e.g., oxygen deprivation, cardiac effects, frost bite, long-term hazards)
  • Personal protective equipment [gloves, goggles, self-contained breathing apparatus (SBCA)-in extreme cases, etc.]
  • Reusable (or "recovery") cylinders versus disposable cylinders [ensure former Department of Transportation (DOT) approved, know former's yellow and gray color code, never refill latter]
  • Risks of filling cylinders more than 80 percent full
  • Use of nitrogen rather than oxygen or compressed air for leak detection
  • Use of pressure regulator and relief valve with nitrogen

Shipping

  • Labels required for refrigerant cylinders (refrigerant identification, DOT classification tag)