Question 1Clean Air Act and Montreal Protocol
From 2010 until 2020, newly produced or imported HCFC-22 could be used only for what?
How hard is the refrigerant certification test?
Each section is 25 multiple-choice questions and passes at 70 percent, so you can miss 7 and still pass. What makes it hard is that many questions turn on one number: a date, a pound limit or a vacuum level.
| Sections | Core, Type I, Type II, Type III |
|---|---|
| Questions | 25 a section; Universal is 100 |
| Pass mark | 70 percent, 18 of 25 |
| Expiry | None |
What makes it hard
- Rule numbers: evacuation levels change with the pressure class, whether the charge is under or over 200 pounds, and whether the recovery machine was made before or after 15 November 1993.
- Leak repair: the 20, 30 and 10 percent limits, the 30-day repair window and the 50-pound threshold all appear in one question.
- Closed book: Type II, Type III and Universal tests are proctored with no notes, so the numbers must be learned.
- Look-alike numbers: small appliance recovery percentages and large-system vacuum levels are easy to mix up.
What makes it easier
The rules are a short list, and they repeat across sections. Once you can place an appliance in its pressure class and read the evacuation table, most of Type II and Type III follows. Short daily practice on the numbers works better than rereading.
Core comes first
Every certification needs Core, and it is the broadest section: ozone science, the law, the rules, the refrigeration cycle, recovery and safety. Start there, then the type for the equipment you work on.
Try 3 questions
Question 2Leak repair rules
A supermarket R-22 rack has a full charge of 400 lb. A technician adds 20 lb, 146 days after the previous addition. Under the annualizing method, does the leak repair rule require a repair?
Question 3Recharging
Which charging sequence is correct for an evacuated R-123 chiller?
Next step
Questions people ask
How many questions can I miss?
7 of 25 in a section. The pass mark is 70 percent, and 18 right answers is the first count that reaches it.
Is the test open book?
Type II, Type III and Universal tests are closed book and proctored. Type I may be given on site or by mail; a mail-in Type I test passes at 84 percent and cannot count toward Universal.
Which section is hardest?
EPA publishes no section results. Core is the broadest, and Type II and Type III carry the most rule numbers.