1. Maytag Services Refrigerant Handling Standard Operating Procedures1

2. Federal EPA Refrigerant Recovery Guidelines

3. Licensing Requirements
Under section 608(c) of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, “… ( It is )unlawful for any person, in the course of maintaining, servicing, repairing or disposing of an appliance…. to knowingly vent or otherwise knowingly release or dispose of any Class I or Class II substance used as a refrigerant in such an appliance in a manner which permits such substance to enter the environment… “
The Act further establishes that any technician that can be reasonably expected to enter a sealed system during the course of repair of a refrigeration appliance must be certified in refrigerant handling by a Federal EPA approved certification organization.

4. EPA Penalties
A willful release of refrigerants or failure to follow EPA recovery guidelines carries stiff penalties for the technician
$30,000 per occurrence
Up to 5 years jail time
EPA offers a $10,000 reward to anyone reporting a violation

5. Certification Classifications
There are 4 certification classifications:
Type I- Allows technicians to perform service on refrigeration equipment containing less than 5 lbs. of refrigerant.
Type II- Allows technicians to work on refrigeration equipment containing more than 5 lbs. but less than 50 lbs. of refrigerant.
Type III-Allows a technician to work on refrigeration equipment containing more than 50 lbs. of refrigerant
Universal- Allows a technician to work on any refrigeration equipment, regardless of the amount of refrigerant.

6. Certification Guidelines
Type I or Universal certification is required to work on residential refrigeration appliances. Type II and Type III certifications do not permit working on small appliances.
Technicians are required to have valid certification cards on their person anytime that they are performing repairs on a refrigeration system.

7. EPA Restrictions
Purchase of refrigerant is restricted to certified technicians and Section 608(c) certified technicians can only purchase refrigerant in 30 lb. (minimum) containers.
Recovery of refrigerants must be accomplished with an EPA approved recovery device. Two types of recovery devices are allowed.
Active- a recovery pump that is able to pull a system into a minimum 4” vacuum.
Passive- a non powered device capable of capturing 80% of the system charge (such Recovery bag)

8. EPA Restrictions
Use of refrigerant recovery bags, such as the Whirlpool Ozone Saver® Bag, is regulated by the EPA. Compliance requires:
The technician must recover a minimum of 80% of the system charge. On a non working compressor, the base of the compressor must be heated and struck sharply with a hammer to free any refrigerant trapped in the compressor oil.
Recovery bags are designed as temporary refrigerant storage devices and should be removed from vans each night.
The bag can only be used 4 times before it is discarded.
The bag must be emptied within 48 hours
Torn or damaged bags must be discarded.

9. Recovered Refrigerant
All Refrigerants must be recovered and reclaimed
Mixed refrigerants cannot be reclaimed and must be destroyed
Some refrigerants (R-12, R-134a) have value on the reclaim market.
Every pound we have to destroy not only costs us $3-4 per pound to dispose of but we miss out on the reclaim income that would have been generated

10. Other EPA Recommendations
All leaks should be located and repaired
All hoses and manifold gauge sets must utilize low loss fittings

11. US Department Of Transportation (DOT) Guidelines

12. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Technicians are required to carry MSD Sheets for every type of chemical in their truck, including acetylene, oxygen, glues, cleaners and refrigerants.
Technicians should read and follow all recommended safety guidelines when handling refrigerants and other chemicals.

13. Transportation of Refrigerants and other Compressed Gasses
Refrigerant, acetylene, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. are all considered to be hazardous materials by US DOT. Shipping of these containers is highly regulated.
Before shipping any of these items by common carrier, check with the carrier to determine packaging and Bill of Lading requirements.
Air freighting of these items is strictly prohibited.
All compressed gasses such as refrigerant, acetylene, oxygen, aerosol and paint cans, etc. must be in DOT approved containers and secured in the van with chains or other significant restraints to prevent containers from falling over, rolling around in the truck, etc.

14. Transportation of Refrigerants and other Compressed Gasses
All cylinder valves should be completely closed and OXY/Acetylene regulators removed whenever a cylinder is being transported
All cylinder must completely shut-off with no leaks

16. Transportation of Refrigerants and other Compressed Gasses
The acetylene cylinder must not have been fully closed and a small leak occurred
On the Monday morning when the van door was opened, a large explosion took place.
Tech suffered damage to his ear drums and face.

19. Transportation of Refrigerants and other Compressed Gasses
Transporting refrigerant in charging cylinders (such as Dial-a-Charge) is not permitted. Charging cylinders must be empty of refrigerant before transporting.
Some states go as far as requiring that refrigerant be removed from self sealing hoses on compound gauges. To assure compliance, technicians should be sure to recover refrigerant from gauges before transporting.

20. Cylinder Safety
New refrigerant is packaged in DOT 39 disposable cylinders. When empty, these cylinders must be disposed of properly. After evacuating the cylinder (to 0 PSIG), the valve must be removed. The tank can then be disposed of with other metal waste.
Reuse of DOT 39 disposable cylinders (such as storing or carrying compressed air) is illegal and carries a penalty of $25,000 and up to 5 years in prison.

21. Cylinder Safety
Recovered refrigerant can only be stored in DOT approved recovery cylinders (with the exception of temporary storage in a refrigerant recovery bag.)
US DOT regulates that recovery cylinders must not be filled beyond 80% capacity.
Many of these tanks are equipped with a ball or float switch that, when connected to a recovery pump, will shut the pump off when the 80% mark on the tank is reached.

22. Cylinder Safety
If the cylinder is not equipped with a ball or float switch, the tank must be weighed prior to each recovery to insure that it can accept additional refrigerant. Cylinders are marked with their empty or tare weight (TW) and water content weight (WC). This represents the total weight of the cylinder and contents when the cylinder is filled to capacity.
Sometimes the tank is marked with the tare weight and the “MAX. Gross WT ___ LB.” The max weight, again, represents the total weight of the cylinder when it’s filled to capacity.

23. Cylinder Safety
To insure that the recovery tank is not filled beyond 80%, the technician must determine the max fill level for each tank. To do that, the technician must compute the WC weight (if not listed) and multiply by .8
Example:
MAX weight= lbs, TW= 10.5 lbs.
Max WC weight= 13 lbs. ( )
Maximum refrigerant that can be put into tank= lbs. (13 lbs. WC X 80%)

24. Cylinder Safety
Overfilled cylinders present a serious safety hazard. Because liquids don’t compress, any rise in temperature can cause an over filled tank to explode. Technicians must avoid overfilling or exposing a tank to extreme temperatures.
In the summer, park in the shade whenever possible
If the truck is equipped with vents, open them
Never use an open flame to heat a refrigerant cylinder

25. Hydrostatic Cylinder Testing
Recovery cylinders must be hydrostatically tested every five years. The last test date will be stamped or embossed on the shoulder of the cylinder. In most cases, the tank will clearly be marked with the first retest date. For example,
FIRST RETEST DATE
06 07
RETEST EVERY FIVE YEARS
This means that the tank must be submitted for testing prior to June of 2007 and every five years after that (on or before the month of June).

26. Hydrostatic Cylinder Testing
Older tanks may have the date stamped on them in the pattern shown to the right. This stamp indicates the last retest date and the testing organization that completed the test.
In this example, this cylinder was last tested on May of 2002 by tester A253. The next retest date, therefore, is May of 2007. A2
05 02 53

27. Hydrostatic Cylinder Testing
Technicians carrying tanks that are beyond the required test date must discontinue use of the cylinder immediately.
Filling of cylinders with expired test dates is prohibited.
Any tank that has an expired test date must be submitted to a reclaimer for refrigerant processing and cylinder testing.

28. Labeling of Refrigerant Cylinders
All refrigerant cylinders, both new and recovered, must be properly labeled with their content.
If the recovery cylinder is in its original cardboard carton, there are boxes printed on the carton that allow placing an X or a √ mark next to the type of refrigerant that is being carried.
If out of the carton, most refrigeration supply houses supply stickers and/or tags that can be affixed to recovery cylinders to identify the contents.

29. Contaminated Refrigerants
Normal contaminants, such as air, refrigerant oil and water that are mixed with refrigerants in a recovery cylinder are not an issue. Care should be taken, however, to insure that no other contaminants are added to the refrigerant.
If a reclaimer suspects that a refrigerant tank is contaminated with unidentified chemicals, regulations require that the contents of the tank be analyzed and the refrigerant be disposed of. Reclaimers charge a fee for this service.

30. Mixed Refrigerants Mixing of refrigerants should be avoided.
Refrigerants are considered to be mixed when more than 3% of a second refrigerant is added to the base refrigerant. For example, adding 1 lb of R-22 to a cylinder that contains 20 lbs of R-134a will render the entire tank as mixed.
Mixed refrigerants cannot be easily or economically reclaimed and thus, must be destroyed. Instead of the usual $25 or $30 handling fee for accepting used refrigerant, the price to dispose of mixed refrigerants can exceed $100 per cylinder ($3-4 per pound).

31. Tracking of Refrigerant Usage and Recovery
The Federal EPA has the ability to subpoena refrigerant usage records of an individual and/or a company to compare refrigerant purchases against recovery levels.
Since the minimum recovery level for any system is 80%, a discrepancy between refrigerant purchased and refrigerant recovered could indicate that technicians are not recovering at mandated rates.
Technicians must maintain logs to track refrigerant usage

32. Refrigerant Tracking Log
Technician____________________________________
Customer Last Name Address
Serv. Ticket #
Refrigerant
Oz. Recvrd
Oz.
Comments
Recovered
Installed
Used
R-134a
R-22
R-12
Other
Drop-in
other
Directions: Track all refrigerant usage. Place √ next to refrigerant recovered or installed. Use comment area to denote discrepancies between amount used and amount recovered. I.e. System leak, system flat.

33. Refrigerant Handling Process

34. Required Equipment
Over the next few months, each White Goods technician will be supplied whatever equipment they’re missing to insure they all have:
Scale
R-134a Charging Cylinder
R-134a Manifold Gauge set
Recovery pump
30 lb. recovery cylinder
Electronic Leak Detector
Hand valves (2)
Process tube adapter kit
Pinch off pliers
Recovery Bags (2)

35. Required Equipment
Over the next few months, each “specialty” technician will be supplied whatever equipment they’re missing to insure they all have:
Scale
R-134a Charging Cylinder
R-134a Manifold Gauge Set
CFC Manifold Gauge Set
Micron Gauge
Recovery pump
Vacuum pump
30 lb. recovery cylinder
Electronic Leak Detector
Hand valves (2)
Process tube adapter kit
Pinch off pliers
Recovery bags (2)

36. Required Equipment
Over the next few months, each PTAC** technician will be supplied whatever equipment they’re missing to insure they all have:
Scale
CFC/HCFC Manifold
Vacuum Pump
Micron gauge
Recovery pump
30 lb. recovery cylinder
Electronic Leak Detector
Hand valves (2)
Process tube adapter kit
Pinch off pliers
**PTAC techs who also work on White Goods will also carry R-134a refrigerant and related tools

37. Refrigerant Handling Process
Virgin refrigerant
Technicians serviced by land based currier will continue to receive new refrigerant from RPDC
Technicians serviced by air currier must purchase refrigerant locally. (Use Refron facilities when possible to get quantity preferred pricing)

38. Refrigerant Handling Process
Used refrigerant
Technicians serviced by land based currier will return full cylinders to RPC
RPC will replace with empty, clean cylinder
Technicians serviced by air currier must find local parts supplier that is willing to accept used refrigerant
Work with virgin refrigerant supplier
Set up cylinder exchange program

39. Bag vs. Pump
Use recovery pump and tank on all Major Brand refrigeration that
can be swept
uses R-134a
Use the bag when servicing systems with
Burnouts
Unknown refrigerant
Drop-in refrigerant

40. Bag Handling Process Technicians serviced by land based currier
Return bags to RPC with tag identifying contents as
Unknown refrigerant
R-134a Burnout
R-22, MP-39, etc
RPC will replace with empty, clean bag
Technicians serviced by air currier
Transfer contents of bag to a cylinder every night
R-134a burnouts to R-134a tank
R-22 to R-22 tank
If enough R-410 is encountered, R-410 to its own cylinder
All other refrigerants to “mixed refrigerants” tank

41. RPC refrigerant handling
Each RPC responsible to
Maintain supply of empty tanks on hand to replenish tanks when a full tank is received
Empty bags within 24 hours into appropriate recovery tank
R-134a
R-22
R-410
All other refrigerants to “mixed refrigerants” tank

42. Approved Sealed System Repair Process

43. Why Change to Sweep Vacuum pumps require constant maintenance
Oil changes every 3 or 4 normal evacuations
After processing every burnout
Dirty oil renders pump incapable of pulling system to required vacuum levels to assure complete dehydration
Without ability to gauge dehydration level, there is no way to gauge how effective a vacuum was pulled, even with a well maintained vacuum pump
Properly performed sweep superior to deep evacuation with poorly maintained pump or without measuring micron levels in system

44. Why is proper dehydration important?
PSIG
5 PSIG
11.6
in Hg
29.92 in Hg
19.74
Pressure Affect on Boiling Point of Water 34 84
134
184
234
284
334 2 6 10 14 18 22 26 30
Temperature
Atmospheric Pressure
10 PSIG
15 PSIG
1.4 PSIG
In order for water to boil at normal room temperatures, system pressure must be dropped below 27” vacuum (About 3,000 Microns or less)
Vacuum must be held over system until Micron levels drop below 300 microns
Depending on pump conditions, proper dehydration could take several minutes or several hours.
Unless system pressure is dropped to 300 microns or less, there is still water left in the system.

45. What happens when water is left in the system?
Moisture and refrigerant create acids
Acids eat away at compressor winding insulation
Acids and oil create sludge which plugs cap tubes

46. Why is proper dehydration even more important with R-134a?
R-134a systems do not mix well with with mineral oils and require the use of Ester oils
Ester oil are hygroscopic, meaning that they have a great affinity for moisture (actually pull and absorb moisture out of the air)
Ester oils are made from acids that have been dehydrated
When exposed to atmospheric moisture, the oil actually pulls vapor out of the air
The airborne moisture combines with the ester oil and returns it to its original acidic state
Acids eat away at the compressor windings
Acids combine with R-134a to form salts and gels which can plug the capillary tube.
Moisture in the system will eventually destroy the compressor (not a matter of if but when)

47. Why Change to Sweep
Sweep has been used in the industry for over 30 years (Maytag, GE, Whirlpool, Sears, Montgomery Wards and a slew of independents)
Over the 30 year period, no conclusive proof has ever surfaced that sweep results in any more repeat failures than deep evacuation
In fact, laboratory testing has shown that a properly performed sweep is superior to deep evac that is performed with poorly maintained vacuum pump or without an accurate method of measuring dehydration levels in system

48. Processing R-134a systems
R-134a requires dedicated equipment to prevent cross contamination
R-134a systems should not be open to the atmosphere for longer than 20 minutes (max)
Verify compressor is nitrogen charged
Keep plugs in compressor until ready to make final connections to system tubing

49. Processing R-134a systems
Low side leaks
Find and repair leak
Replace compressor and dryer
High side leaks
Replace drier
Compressor burnout
Flush system
Replace compressor and drier

50. Processing R-134a systems
Because of the small system charges of modern refrigerators, accurate charging is critical
On a 5 oz. system, overcharging by ½ oz. results in 10% overcharge
Because of energy and cooling capacity issues, it’s better to be slightly undercharged than to be overcharged by any amount.

51. Affect of Over/Undercharge on 950 BTU Compressor
Percent Correct Charge
115
110
105
100 95 90 85 80 75 .5
600 .6
650 .7
700 .8
750 .9
800
1.0
850
1.2
900
1.3
950
1.4
1000
Amp Draw
BTU’s
(Cooling Efficiency)

52. Problem with using a scale to charge small systems
One quarter ounce resolution could undercharge or overcharge a system by as much as % (depending on system charge)
Unless scale is calibrated on a regular basis, there is no way to determine accuracy of scale
Movement of the cylinder during charging changes the reading on the scale and could cause the final charge to be off by as much as 50%

53. Adding system charge Use Dial-a-Charge for all R-134a products.
Charging scales should be used for
Drop-ins
R-22
To weigh recovery cylinders if cylinder is not equipped with a ball float valve

54. Approved Sealed System Process
Sweep charge is the only approved method of refrigerator and freezer system processing for most product lines
Exceptions
PTACS
Samsung 4 drawer side by side
Refrigerator technicians will need to turn in their vacuum pumps
Note: Vacuum pumps will be re-allocated to commercial and specialty techs

55. Sweep Charge

56. Sweep Charge Steps Reconfirm need for the sealed system repair
Verify that new compressor is nitrogen charged (should hear a pop when line plug is removed from compressor)
Reinstall plugs on compressor to prevent excess air from entering system while old compressor is removed from the system
Attach temporary line taps to low side and drier process stubs
Attach gauges and recovery pump. Recover refrigerant per pump manufacturer’s recommended procedures

57. Sweep Charge Steps Cut out and remove old compressor Install new drier
Install and plumb new compressor in place (keep compressor tubes plugged until ready to attach to system. This will assure that the system does not stay open longer than the recommended 20 minutes.)
Attach process stub adapters to new compressor and drier process stubs
Reattach gauges. High and low side hoses should have hand valves attached at end of each hose

58. Sweep Charge Steps
Fill Dial-a-Charge with system charge plus 8 oz. and heat refrigerant until pressure on Dial-a-Charge is 30 lbs. over ambient. Remember to capture refrigerant if bleeding of the cylinder is necessary (EPA reg)
Attach Dial-a-Charge to common hose on manifold gauge set.
Purge air out of all hoses and pre-charge high side hose with liquid.
Charge 4 oz of refrigerant into the system using the hand valve at the end of the high side hose to meter the refrigerant into system.

59. Sweep Charge Steps
Check all joints for leaks with a mirror and electronic leak detector
Turn compressor on and allow charge to circulate for 5 minutes
Close hand valve at drier
Reattach pump and recover sweep charge as a liquid from the drier process stub while the compressor is running.
Continue to run recovery pump until the system is down to the pump design pressure (usually around 20 inch vacuum on most pumps)

60. Sweep Charge Steps
Close hand valve at drier and turn off compressor and pump
Recheck pressure on Dial-a-Charge to make sure it is still at 30 lbs. over ambient. Reheat if necessary
Disconnect pump and reattach Dial-a-Charge to center hose of gauge set
Purge hoses and pre-charge high side hose with liquid
Using the hand valve, meter system charge into the system Important: Once the charge is added and the hand valve is closed, DO NOT reopen.

61. Sweep Charge Steps
Using pinch off pliers, pinch off the high side process stub.
Remove the hand valve and process tub adapter and braise the stub shut
Repeat process with low side process stub
Check for low side leaks.
Restart the compressor and check high side for leaks.
Check current draw and feel compressor discharge for heat movement. Check air supply in freezer. If air is cold and current draw is normal, repair was successful.

62. R-12 and Replacements

63. Processing R-12 Systems with Drop-in Refrigerants
MP-39 only approved R-12 substitute
Hot Shot should not be purchased or used due to safety concerns (flammable- contains 6% methane)
As with all blends, the sweep and final charges of MP39 must go into the system as a liquid
Requires that refrigerant be heated to 30 lb. over ambient
If no heater blanket available for MP-39 tank, tank can be submersed into a partially filled 5 gallon bucket of warm water.
Water should be no hotter than your skin can tolerate (125º F)
Charge must go into high side to prevent slugging of compressor
Some older refrigerators have direct suction pumps and adding liquid to low side could dump refrigerant into compression chamber