Type II — medium, high and very high-pressure appliances

25% of the EPA 608 · blueprint 40 CFR part 82 subpart F, appendix D, section d (test content)

Short answer

Type II certifies work on medium-, high- and very high-pressure appliances other than small appliances, MVACs and MVAC-like appliances. Its 25 items are the densest on the exam: the Table 1 evacuation levels, which change with charge size and with whether the recovery machine predates 15 November 1993, the leak rate thresholds, major versus non-major repairs, and the prohibition on system-dependent equipment above 15 pounds.

Why it matters on this exam

Type II is where the numbers are, and where most candidates lose marks. Nearly every question reduces to identifying two things first — what pressure class the appliance is, and how big its charge is — before any rule can be applied.

Note the scope mismatch you will see elsewhere: EPA's website labels Type II "High-Pressure", but 82.161(a)(1)(ii) covers medium-, high- or very high-pressure appliances. The regulation is the authority.

Key concepts

The pressure classes, defined at 82.152 by liquid-phase saturation pressure at 104 °F:
low — below 45 psia (R-11, R-123, R-113, R-245fa)
medium — 45 to 170 psia (R-114, R-124, R-12, R-134a, R-500)
high — 170 to 355 psia (R-22, R-407A, R-407C, R-410A, R-502)
very high — above 355 psia, or a critical temperature below 104 °F (R-13, R-23, R-503, R-508A, R-508B)
Table 1 evacuation levels, in inches of mercury vacuum, for equipment manufactured before / on or after 15 November 1993:

| Appliance | Before 15 Nov 1993 | On or after | |---|---|---| | Very high-pressure | 0 | 0 | | High-pressure, charge under 200 lb | 0 | 0 | | High-pressure, charge 200 lb or more | 4 | 10 | | Medium-pressure, charge under 200 lb | 4 | 10 | | Medium-pressure, charge 200 lb or more | 4 | 15 | | Low-pressure | 25 mm Hg absolute | 25 mm Hg absolute |

The non-major repair shortcut, 82.156(a)(1). If the repair is not major and the appliance will not be evacuated to the atmosphere afterwards, a medium-, high- or very high-pressure appliance need only reach 0 psig before opening. For an oil change the figure is 5 psig.
Leaking appliances, 82.156(a)(2). If leaks make Table 1 unattainable, isolate leaking from non-leaking components, evacuate the non-leaking ones to Table 1, and take the leaking ones to the lowest level attainable without substantially contaminating the refrigerant — which may not exceed 0 psig.
Leak rates, 82.157(c)(2), for appliances with a full charge of 50 pounds or more: 20 percent for commercial refrigeration, 30 percent for industrial process refrigeration, 10 percent for comfort cooling and everything else. Over the threshold, repair within 30 days, or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is needed.
The 15-pound rule. System-dependent recovery equipment may not be used on an appliance with a full charge of more than 15 pounds of refrigerant, unless it is permanently attached to the appliance as a pump-out unit.
Recovery technique. Recovering liquid first speeds the job; so does chilling the recovery vessel or heating the appliance. After reaching the required vacuum, wait a few minutes and watch for the pressure to rise — that means liquid refrigerant is still in the system or dissolved in the oil.
Do not energise a hermetic compressor under vacuum.

Common mistakes

Mixing up the two leak-repair regimes. Section 82.157 (Part 82) applies only to appliances with a full charge of 50 pounds or more of a class I or class II refrigerant, and since April 2020 not to appliances containing solely substitute refrigerants. Since 1 January 2026, though, a separate AIM Act rule, 40 CFR 84.106, applies the same 20/30/10 percent leak rates to appliances with a full charge of 15 pounds or more of an HFC or a substitute with a GWP above 53, with residential and light commercial AC and heat pumps excluded. A 30-pound HFC system is outside 82.157 but may be inside 84.106.
Reading the 200-pound row as being about the whole plant. Table 1 says "appliance, or isolated component of such appliance", so an isolated component with its own charge is assessed on that charge.

Worked example

A supermarket rack using R-22 holds 260 pounds and needs a compressor replaced; the shop's recovery machine is from 2018. R-22 is high-pressure, the charge is 200 pounds or more, and the machine is post-1993, so Table 1 requires 10 inches of mercury vacuum. If instead the job were a non-major repair with no later evacuation to atmosphere, 0 psig would do. And because the charge exceeds 50 pounds and this is commercial refrigeration, a leak rate above 20 percent would start a 30-day repair clock for the owner.

Original practice questions

Type II — medium, high and very high-pressure appliancesDifficulty 4/5

A high-pressure appliance holds a full charge of 260 pounds and the recovery machine was made in 2018. What evacuation level does Table 1 require?

AFifteen inches of mercury vacuum, because the recovery machine postdates the rule
BZero inches of mercury vacuum, because high-pressure appliances have no requirement
CTen inches of mercury vacuum, because the charge is two hundred pounds or more
DFour inches of mercury vacuum, because the appliance operates at high pressure

Show answer and rationale

Correct: C. Table 1 splits high-pressure appliances at two hundred pounds. Under that figure the requirement is zero; at or above it the requirement is four inches for pre-1993 equipment and ten inches for later equipment.

D — Four inches is the pre-15 November 1993 equipment figure; this machine was built in 2018.
A — Fifteen inches applies to medium-pressure appliances of two hundred pounds or more.
B — Zero applies only to high-pressure appliances with a charge under two hundred pounds.

Type II — medium, high and very high-pressure appliancesDifficulty 3/5

Under 40 CFR 82.157, what annual leak rate triggers the repair requirement for commercial refrigeration equipment?

AThirty percent, for appliances with a full charge of fifty pounds or more
BTen percent, for appliances with a full charge of fifty pounds or more
CFifteen percent, for appliances with a full charge of twenty pounds or more
DTwenty percent, for appliances with a full charge of fifty pounds or more

Show answer and rationale

Correct: D. Section 82.157(c)(2) sets three thresholds: twenty percent for commercial refrigeration, thirty percent for industrial process refrigeration, and ten percent for comfort cooling and everything else. All are gated on a fifty-pound full charge.

A — Thirty percent is the industrial process refrigeration threshold, not the commercial one.
B — Ten percent covers comfort cooling and other appliances not in the first two categories.
C — Fifteen percent is not a threshold in the rule, and the charge gate is fifty pounds.

Type II — medium, high and very high-pressure appliancesDifficulty 3/5

After reaching the required recovery vacuum, the system pressure rises again over the next few minutes. What does this indicate?

ALiquid refrigerant remains in the system or is dissolved in the compressor oil
BThe recovery machine has failed and its internal valves are leaking backwards
CThe required level was exceeded and refrigerant is being drawn back into the system
DNon-condensable gases have entered and must be purged before work can continue

Show answer and rationale

Correct: A. Refrigerant dissolved in oil boils off slowly, raising the pressure after the gauge first reaches target. This is why the topic list tells you to wait and watch rather than disconnect immediately.

B — A machine fault would show as a failure to reach the level, not as a slow rise after it.
C — Recovery machines do not push refrigerant back into an appliance once the level is reached.
D — Non-condensables are a low-pressure system concern and would not appear at this point.

All 5 Type II — medium, high and very high-pressure appliances questions →

Tools for this topic

EPA 608 certification type finder — Type I, II, III or Universal is decided by the equipment you work on and what you do to it, not by your job title. This walks the rule at 40 CFR 82.161(a)(1) and gives you the type, with the citation.

6 flashcards for Type II — medium, high and very high-pressure appliances

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Primary references

40 CFR Part 82 Subpart F — Recycling and Emissions Reduction — Office of the Federal Register (eCFR) · government · retrieved 2026-09-22, verified 2026-09-22
Section 608 Test Topics — United States Environmental Protection Agency · primary · retrieved 2026-09-22, verified 2026-09-22

Last reviewed: 2026-10-18Next review by: 2026-12-17Reviewed by: Openverse editorial team, Authoring and fact verificationHow we verify facts