What percentage of refrigerant must recovery equipment be certified to recover from a small appliance, and does it differ when the compressor is not operating? Answer in under 100 words.

Details / How it works

Certification standard (§ 82.158(e)). Equipment used during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of small appliances must be certified by an approved equipment testing organization to recover 90% of the refrigerant in the test stand when the compressor is operational, and 80% when the compressor is not operational.

Service practice (§ 82.156(b)). When recovering refrigerant from a small appliance, persons using equipment manufactured before November 15, 1993 must recover 80%; those using newer equipment target 90% (operational compressor) or 80% (non-operational compressor). Alternatively, the appliance may simply be evacuated to a vacuum of four inches of mercury.

Numbers & thresholds

Exceptions & edge cases

• Pre-November 15, 1993 equipment: only 80% recovery is required, regardless of whether the appliance's compressor is functioning.
• Percentage-based recovery is optional: evacuating the small appliance to a four-inch mercury vacuum satisfies the requirement in lieu of meeting either percentage threshold.