Recovery, Recycling, and Reclaiming Flashcards

When recovering from an appliance with a full charge over 200 lbs of HCFC-22 (a high-pressure refrigerant) for disposal, recovery equipment must reach what vacuum level?

Answer: 10 inches Hg

For appliances with more than 200 lbs of high-pressure refrigerant being disposed, recovery must reach 10 inches of mercury vacuum.

Self-contained (active) recovery equipment differs from system-dependent (passive) equipment because it:

Answer: Has its own compressor/pump to pull refrigerant from the appliance

Self-contained recovery equipment has its own means (compressor or pump) to draw refrigerant out, unlike passive equipment that depends on the system's own pressure.

System-dependent (passive) recovery may only be used on appliances containing:

Answer: 15 lbs or less of refrigerant

Passive recovery is limited to small appliances with 15 lbs or less of refrigerant.

Recovering liquid refrigerant first, rather than vapor, speeds the process mainly because:

Answer: Liquid removes a large mass quickly and reduces time spent pulling vapor

Removing liquid first extracts the bulk of the charge by mass rapidly, leaving only residual vapor to recover.

Heating the appliance's refrigerant or using a heat source during recovery helps by:

Answer: Raising refrigerant pressure to speed vapor recovery

Gentle warming raises refrigerant pressure, pushing more refrigerant out and speeding recovery.

Recovery rates slow down significantly near the end of recovery because:

Answer: Low remaining pressure makes the last vapor difficult to pull out

As pressure drops, the remaining vapor is harder to remove, so the final stage of recovery is the slowest.

Using a recovery cylinder that already contains refrigerant from a different system is acceptable only if:

Answer: It is the same refrigerant type and the 80% fill limit is observed

You may add to a cylinder only when it holds the same refrigerant type and the combined charge stays under the 80% fill limit.