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EPA 608 NEC 2023

EPA 608 Type 3 Exam Practice Test 7

Free EPA 608 Type III Exam Practice Test 7. 25 questions covering accumulator location between evaporator and compressor, oil degassing at about 130°F, post-recovery vacuum rise test, vapor-first charging procedure, pressure relief device requirements, nitrogen use with large vacuum pumps, ASHRAE vacuum rise from 1 mm to 2.5 mm indicating leaks, water circulation during evacuation, short evacuation hoses, high discharge pressure from non-condensables, R-11 vs R-123 comparison, Type III application identification, centrifugal chiller parts-load surge, Section 608 record-keeping requirements, EPA refrigerant purchase and sale regulations, reclaimed refrigerant AHRI 700 purity, UV dye for low-pressure systems, hot gas bypass stuck open failure mode, Type III re-certification, comfort cooling 10% threshold calculation, oil heater prevents bearing damage, chiller room emergency procedures, IGV diagnostic troubleshooting, and low-pressure chiller seasonal startup checklist.

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The EPA 608 certification is required by law for any technician who purchases or handles refrigerants. It covers safe handling, leak detection, recovery, and environmental regulations.

Type I covers small appliances (≤5 lbs refrigerant), Type II covers high-pressure systems, Type III covers low-pressure systems, and Universal covers all three. Most HVAC technicians pursue Universal certification.

You must score at least 70% on each section of the exam. The Universal exam has four parts: core, Type I, Type II, and Type III.

Key topics for this test: The accumulator is installed between the evaporator and compressor to catch any unevaporated liquid and prevent liquid slugging. Oil should be heated to about 130°F before draining to minimize refrigerant emissions. After recovery, a vacuum rise from 1 mm Hg to 2.5 mm Hg on the ASHRAE vacuum rise test indicates a system leak. When charging a low-pressure system, vapor is added first until the saturation temperature is above 32°F, then liquid charging can proceed.

25

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45 min

Time

70%

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EPA 608 Type 3 Exam Practice Test 7 — Question List

Question 1: Which of the following component directly following the evaporator in the refrigeration system?

Receiver
Metering device
Accumulator
Condenser

Question 2: The oil should be heated to ………………. F before removing it from refrigeration system to minimize the refrigerant leakage.

120 F
100 F
130 F
150 F

Question 3: What should be done when you reach required recovery vacuum on a system?

Immediately disconnect the recycling equipment and open the system for service
Immediately pressurise the system with nitrogen and open the system for service
See if the system pressure rises, indicating the small amount of refrigerant is trapped in system
Immediately pressurise with hydrogen and open the system for service

Question 4: In low pressure refrigeration system, ……………………. Should be added first until the refrigerant boiling point is above the freezing point.

Liquid
Vapor

Question 5: Every refrigeration system should be protected by ……………………..

Low pressure control device
Pressure relief device
Refrigerant recovery receiver
Stop valve

Question 6: If the refrigeration contains large amount of moisture, to prevent freezing of moisture during evacuation the system pressure can be increased with …………. Gas

Nitrogen
Oxygen
Hydrogen
Argon

Question 7: As ASHRAE guidelines, the pressure in the system increases from ……………………………. During vacuum testing then system should be leak checked.

1 mm Hg to 2.5 mm Hg
2 mm Hg to 3 mm Hg
1.5 mm Hg to 2 mm Hg
2mm Hg to 2.5 mm Hg

Question 8: Water must be circulated through chillers during evacuating a system to avoid ……………

Refrigerant Freezing
Refrigerant leaking
Water tube damage

Question 9: When evacuating a system the hoses should be ……………..

Short in length
Long in Length

Question 10: If non condensables present in the operating refrigeration system ………………………….

The refrigerant leak rate will increase
The discharge pressure increases
The moisture present in the system freezes
Spoils condenser coil

Question 11: Which statement BEST describes why R-123 was chosen to replace R-11 in centrifugal chillers rather than immediately switching to R-245fa?

R-123 has lower GWP than R-245fa, making it the environmentally preferred choice
R-123 is chemically similar to R-11, allowing existing chiller barrels to be retrofitted with minimal changes — far more practical than redesigning for R-245fa in the 1990s
R-245fa was banned before R-123 — R-123 was the only legal replacement option
R-123 was less expensive than R-245fa to produce when R-11 was first banned

Question 12: A refrigeration system uses an evaporator operating at 5 PSIG. Is this a Type II (high-pressure) or Type III (low-pressure) system, and why?

Type III — any evaporator pressure below 30 PSIG is considered low-pressure
Type II — 5 PSIG is above atmospheric pressure; Type III systems operate with the evaporator below atmospheric pressure (vacuum conditions)
Type III — low-pressure systems have evaporator pressures below 20 PSIG
Cannot be determined without knowing the refrigerant type — pressure alone does not indicate Type II vs Type III

Question 13: During a cool spring morning, an office building's R-123 centrifugal chiller is running at 12% load. The chiller suddenly makes a loud banging sound and the discharge pressure spikes. What is happening?

The compressor is cavitating due to liquid refrigerant entering the suction — the accumulator must have failed
The chiller is surging — at 12% load the flow has dropped below minimum stable flow, causing repeated refrigerant flow reversal through the impeller
The rupture disk has partially opened — the banging is the disk vibrating against the housing
The oil pump has failed — without lubrication, bearings are striking the housing

Question 14: Under EPA Section 608, for how long must records be kept for an appliance with more than 50 lbs of refrigerant, and what must those records include?

Records must be kept for 1 year and include only the amount of refrigerant added per visit
Records must be kept for 3 years and include service dates, technician certification number, refrigerant quantities, and leak repair actions when threshold was exceeded
Records must be kept for 5 years, but only systems over 200 lbs require documentation of refrigerant quantities
Records are only required if the system leaks more than 30% — below that, no documentation is needed

Question 15: Who may legally purchase containers of R-123 refrigerant under EPA Section 608 regulations?

Any building owner may purchase R-123 — certification is only required to service the equipment
Section 608 certified technicians, or businesses that employ them
R-123 is an HCFC and can be purchased by anyone who has taken a safety training course
R-123 purchase requires no certification because its ODP is only 0.02 — much lower than CFCs

Question 16: A service company recovers R-11 from an old chiller into a recovery cylinder. Can this company then sell this recovered R-11 to another company for use in a different chiller?

Yes — recovered refrigerant can be freely sold to other companies as long as it was properly recovered
No — recovered refrigerant must be sent to a certified reclaimer and tested to AHRI 700 purity before it can be sold or transferred to a different owner
Yes — but only if the selling company itself holds EPA certified reclaimer status
Yes — R-11 recovered refrigerant is exempt from resale restrictions because its production is banned

Question 17: A technician wants to add UV dye to an R-123 centrifugal chiller to help track down an intermittent leak. What must the technician verify before adding the dye?

Verify that the UV lamp has the correct wavelength — low-pressure dyes only glow at 420 nm
Verify that the UV dye is approved for R-123 and for the oil in that chiller
UV dye should never be used in Type III systems — any dye will contaminate the refrigerant
Verify the system charge is over 500 lbs before adding dye — smaller systems will have too much dye concentration

Question 18: If the hot gas bypass valve on a centrifugal chiller is stuck in the OPEN position, what will happen during normal full-load operation?

The chiller will surge at full load — an open hot gas bypass collapses the discharge pressure
Energy is wasted — hot discharge gas continuously adds artificial heat to the evaporator; the chiller still cools normally but at significantly higher energy cost
Nothing — the hot gas bypass valve is inactive during full load operation regardless of position
The chiller will overheat and trip on high discharge temperature safety

Question 19: Does an EPA 608 Type III certified technician need to renew or update their certification after a certain number of years?

Yes — EPA 608 certification must be renewed every 5 years with a continuing education course
No — EPA 608 certifications do not expire; once a technician passes the Type III exam, the certification is valid for life
Yes — renewal is required every 3 years, specifically when new refrigerant regulations take effect
Only for Type III technicians — Types I and II are permanent, but Type III requires renewal because low-pressure regulations change frequently

Question 20: A 1,800 lb R-123 comfort cooling chiller has had 200 lbs added in January, 80 lbs in April, and 40 lbs in October over the past 12 months. Has the mandatory repair threshold been exceeded?

No — 320 lbs is less than 30% of a 1,800 lb system, so no repair is needed
Yes — 320 lbs added ÷ 1,800 lb charge × 100 = 17.8%, which exceeds the 10% comfort cooling threshold; leak repair is mandatory
No — the threshold only applies when refrigerant is added more than twice per year
Yes — but only because the January addition alone exceeded 10% of the charge

Question 21: What is the primary purpose of the oil heater that runs continuously on a centrifugal chiller during extended shutdown periods?

The oil heater keeps oil from freezing during winter cold snaps in unheated mechanical rooms
The oil heater prevents refrigerant from dissolving into cold oil — without it, the oil-refrigerant mixture foams on startup, starving bearings and causing damage
The oil heater reduces oil viscosity so it flows easily to bearings during cold weather start-up
The oil heater burns off moisture that has condensed into the oil during the shutdown period

Question 22: A maintenance worker entering a chiller room hears the refrigerant alarm activate. What should the worker do FIRST?

Rush to the chiller and manually shut it down to prevent further refrigerant release
Exit the chiller room immediately and use the emergency shutoff outside; the automatic ventilation is already running — do not re-enter
Open all windows and doors to dilute the refrigerant concentration before attempting to find the leak
Call the refrigerant supplier to report the alarm — they will dispatch emergency responders

Question 23: The chiller control system shows full load demand but the chiller is producing less cooling than expected. The operator notices the IGVs appear to be stuck at 60% open. What is the likely effect?

No effect — at full load, the IGVs are only used as a safety backup and the compressor operates independently
The chiller is capacity limited — IGVs stuck at 60% restrict refrigerant flow to the compressor, preventing the chiller from reaching its rated full-load tonnage
The chiller will surge because 60% open is the surge threshold for most centrifugal compressors
The chiller will actually cool more effectively — restricted IGVs increase discharge pressure, improving refrigerant subcooling

Question 24: During spring seasonal startup of an R-123 centrifugal chiller that has been offline since October, what should be checked BEFORE starting the compressor?

Just start the chiller on the control panel — modern chillers perform self-diagnostics automatically
Verify the oil heater has been running (or warm oil for 24 hours), confirm water flow in both circuits, check refrigerant charge, run the purge unit, and test the ASHRAE 15 refrigerant alarm before starting the compressor
Add 10–15% extra R-123 charge to compensate for winter losses, then start normally
Run the chiller at 50% capacity for 30 minutes first to warm up the refrigerant before allowing full load

Question 25: Why do non-condensables (air) in a centrifugal chiller cause the discharge pressure to be abnormally HIGH relative to the condenser water temperature?

Air mixes with refrigerant vapor and creates a denser mixture that takes more energy to compress, raising discharge pressure
Non-condensables accumulate in the condenser, reducing active heat transfer area — the compressor must work harder against higher condenser pressure than the water temperature alone would cause
Air dissolves into the refrigerant at high pressure, changing the refrigerant properties and artificially raising the saturation temperature
Non-condensables block the evaporator tubes, reducing refrigerant flow and causing back-pressure in the condenser

Study Tip: The EPA 608 exam is closed book. Memorize: recovery is required before opening any refrigerant system. Venting refrigerant is illegal. Know the ODP and GWP values for R-22, R-410A, R-134a, R-32, and R-454B.

EXAM CARD EPA 608

Questions25

Time limit45 min

Pass score70%

RegulationEPA Section 608

DifficultyIntermediate

Last reviewedJun 2026

Timer starts immediately. Progress is auto-saved.

Source: EPA Section 608 (40 CFR Part 82)