Standard for Recovery-Only Equipment

The supplemental final rule establishing a standard for CFC-12 recover-only MVAC service equipment under Section 609 of the Clean Air Act was signed by the Administrator on April 24, 1995 and published in the Federal Register on May 2, 1995 at 60 FR 21682. Hard copies of the rule are available by calling the Ozone Hotline at (800) 296-1996 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. Unless stated otherwise, all provisions of the rule went into effect on June 1, 1995.

The rule provides for the following in relation to CFC-12 recovery. Standards for recovery of alternative refrigerants were included in the December 30, 1997 Final Rule.

It requires that refrigerant transported off-site for reclamation must, as of July 1, 1995, meet ARI 700-93 purity standards rather than ARI 700-88 standards.
It requires that recover-only equipment must meet the standards set forth in Appendix B to the Section 609 regulations. Appendix B is based on SAE J1989 and SAE J2209.
Equipment purchased by the end user prior to April 22, 1992, even if it has not been certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or ETL Testing Laboratories (ETL) to meet the standards set forth in Appendix B, will be considered approved by EPA if the Agency considers it substantially identical to recover-only equipment that meets the Appendix B standards. A manufacturer or owner may request that EPA determine whether a certain model is substantially identical.
UL and ETL are certified to test recover-only equipment in order to ensure that it meets the Appendix B standards.
Technicians trained and certified prior to June 1, 1995 by the 23 organizations already approved by EPA under the Section 609 program are considered trained and certified in the use of recover-only equipment.
Organizations that conduct training and certification of technicians after June 1, 1995 will be approved to train and certify them in the use of recover-only equipment on the condition that each organization certify to the Agency that its training materials discuss the standard set forth in Appendix B, and that its testing materials include questions concerning that standard. Organizations that do not submit such a certification will not be approved to train and certify future technicians for the use of recover-only equipment.

For further information, please use our contact form, or you may write:

MVACs Recycling Program Manager
Stratospheric Protection Division
6205J
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460

Appendix B to Subpart B--Standard for Recover Equipment

    SAE J1989, Recommended Service Procedure for the Containment of
R-12, as set forth under Appendix A, also applies to this Appendix
B.
    SAE J2209, issued June, 1992.

SAE Recommended Practice: CFC-12 (R-12) Extraction Equipment for
Mobile
Automotive Air-Conditioning Systems

Foreword

    CFCs deplete the stratospheric ozone layer that protects the
earth against harmful ultraviolet radiation. To reduce the
emissions
of CFCs, the 1990 Clean Air Act requires recycle of CFC-12 (R-12)
used in mobile air-conditioning systems to eliminate system venting
during service operations. SAE J1990 establishes equipment
specifications for on-site recovery and reuse of CFCs in mobile
air-
conditioning systems. Establishing extraction equipment
specifications for CFC-12 will provide service facilities with
equipment to assure that venting of refrigerant will not occur.

1. Scope

    The purpose of this document is to provide equipment
specifications for CFC-12 (R-12) recovery for recycling on-site or
for transport off-site to a refrigerant reclamation facility that
will process it to ARI (Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration
Institute) standard 700-93 as a minimum. It is not acceptable that
the refrigerant removed from a mobile air-conditioning system, with
this equipment, be directly returned to a mobile air-conditioning
system.
    This information applies to equipment used to service
automobiles, light trucks, and other vehicles with similar CFC-12
systems.

2. References

    2. Applicable Documents--The following documents form a part of
this specification to the extent specified herein.
    2.1.1  SAE Publications--Available from SAE, 400 Commonwealth
Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001.

SAE J639--Vehicle Service Coupling
SAE J1990--Extraction and Recycle Equipment for Mobile Automotive
Air-Conditioning Systems
SAE J2196--Service Hose for Automotive Air-Conditioning

    2.1.2  ARI Publications--Available from Air-Conditioning and
Refrigeration Institute, 1501 Wilson Boulevard, Sixth Floor,
Arlington, VA 22209.

ARI 700-93--Specifications for Fluorocarbon Refrigerants

    2.1.3  CGA Publications--Available from CGA, Crystal Gateway
#1,
Suite 501, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202.

CGA S-1.1--Pressure Relief Device Standard Part 1--Cylinders for
Compressed Gases

    2.1.4  DOT Specifications--Available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

49 CFR, Section 173.304--Shippers--General Requirements for
Shipments and Packagings

    2.1.5  UL Publications--Available from Underwriters
Laboratories, 333 Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062-2096.

UL 1769--Cylinder Valves

3. Specifications and General Description

    3.1  The equipment must be able to extract CFC-12 from a mobile
air-conditioning system.
     3.2  The equipment discharge or transfer fitting shall be
unique to prevent the unintentional use of extracted CFC-12 to be
used for recharging auto air conditioners.
    3.3  The equipment shall be suitable for use in an automotive
service garage environment as defined in 6.8.
    3.4  Equipment Certification--The equipment must be certified
by
Underwriters Laboratories or an equivalent certifying laboratory to
meet this standard.
    3.5  Label Requirements--The equipment shall have a label
``Design Certified by (company name) to meet SAE J2209 for use with
CFC-12. The refrigerant from this equipment must be processed to
ARI
700-93 specifications before reuse in a mobile air-conditioning
system.'' The minimum letter size shall be bold type 3mm in height.

4. Safety Requirements

    4.1  The equipment must comply with applicable federal, state
and local requirements on equipment related to the handling of R-12
material. Safety precautions or notices or labels related to the
safe operation of the equipment shall also be prominently displayed
on the equipment and should also state ``CAUTION--SHOULD BE
OPERATED
BY CERTIFIED PERSONNEL.'' The safety identification shall be
located
on the front near the controls.
    4.2  The equipment must comply with applicable safety standards
for electrical and mechanical requirements.

5. Operating Instructions

    5.1  The equipment manufacturer must provide operating
instructions, necessary maintenance procedures and source
information for replacement parts and repair.
    5.2  The equipment must prominently display the manufacturer's
name, address and any items that require maintenance or replacement
that affect the proper operation of the equipment. Operation
manuals
must cover information for complete maintenance of the equipment to
assure proper operation.

6. Functional Description

    6.1  The equipment must be capable of ensuring recovery of the
CFC-12 from the system being serviced, by reducing the system
pressure to a minimum of 102 mm of mercury below atmospheric. To
prevent system delayed outgassing, the unit must have a device that
assures that the refrigerant has been recovered from the air-
conditioning system.
    6.1.1  Testing laboratory certification of the equipment
capability is required which shall process contaminated refrigerant
samples at specific temperatures.
    6.2  The equipment must be preconditioned with 13.6 kg of the
standard contaminated CFC-12 at an ambient of 21 deg.C before
starting the test cycle. Sample amounts are not to exceed 1.13 kg
with sample amounts to be repeated every 5 minutes. The sample
method fixture defined in Figure 1 of appendix A shall be operated
at 24 deg.C. Contaminated CFC-12 samples shall be processed at
ambient temperatures of 10 and 49 deg.C.
    6.2.1  Contaminated CFC-12 sample.
    6.2.2  Standard contaminated CFC-12 refrigerant, 13.6 Kg sample
size, shall consist of liquid CFC-12 with 100 ppm (by weight)
moisture at 21 deg.C and 45,000 ppm (by weight) mineral oil 525
suspension nominal and 770 ppm (by weight) of noncondensable gases
(air).
    6.3  Portable refillable containers used in conjunction with
this equipment must meet applicable DOT standards.
    6.3.1  The container color must be gray with yellow top to
identify that it contains used CFC-12 refrigerant. It must be
permanently marked on the outside surface in black print at least
20
mm high ``DIRTY R-12--DO NOT USE, MUST BE REPROCESSED''.
    6.3.2  The portable refillable container shall have a SAE 3/8
inch flare male thread connection as identified in SAE J639 CFC-12
High Pressure Charging Valve Figure 2. [[Page 21689]]
    6.3.3  During operation the equipment shall provide overfill
protection to assure that the storage container liquid fill does
not
exceed 80% of the tank's rated volume at 21 deg.C per DOT standard,
CFR Title 49, section 173.304 and the American Society of
Mechanical
Engineers.
    6.4  Additional Storage Tank Requirements.
    6.4.1  The cylinder valve shall comply with the standard for
cylinder valves, UL 1769.
    6.4.2  The pressure relief device shall comply with the
pressure
relief device standard part 1, CGA pamphlet S-1.1.
    6.4.3  The container assembly shall be marked to indicate the
first retest date, which shall be 5 years after date of
manufacture.
The marking shall indicate that retest must be performed every
subsequent five years. The marking shall be in letters at least 6
mm
high.
    6.5  All flexible hoses must meet SAE J2196 standard for
service
hoses.
    6.6  Service hoses must have shutoff devices located within 30
cm of the connection point to the system being serviced to minimize
introduction of noncondensable gases into the recovery equipment
during connection and the release of the refrigerant during
disconnection.
    6.7  The equipment must be able to separate the lubricant from
the recovered refrigerant and accurately indicate the amount
removed
from the system during processing in 30 ml units.
    6.7.1  The purpose of indicating the amount of lubricant
removed
is to ensure that a proper amount is returned to the mobile air-
conditioning system for compressor lubrication.
    6.7.2  Refrigerant dissolved in this lubricant must be
accounted
for to prevent system lubricant overcharge of the mobile air-
conditioning system.
    6.7.3  Only new lubricant, as identified by the system
manufacturer, should be replaced in the mobile air-conditioning
system.
    6.7.4  Removed lubricant from the system and/or the equipment
shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable federal, state
and local procedures and regulations.
    6.8  The equipment must be capable of continuous operation in
ambient temperatures of 10 deg.C to 49 deg.C and comply with 6.1.
    6.9  The equipment should be compatible with leak detection
material that may be present in the mobile air-conditioning system.
    7.0  For test validation, the equipment is to be operated
according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Standard for Recovery-Only Equipment

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