Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine September 2023

HVACR NewsMagazine September 2023

Tech News

So as you can see in the ruling above, the EPA will not come after you or your company if the system has less than 50 lbs of refrigerant. And it is not against the law to refill a leaking system. Here are a few test questions directly from the EPA’s 608 practice exam, which might be easier to understand:

are ozone-depleting substances. There is a global initiative to reduce the use of HCFCs because of the “hole” found over Antarctica. We should consider that the strict regulations on R22 are at least partly a result of our previous and current actions in handling HCFCs and how we deal with leaking systems. To put it bluntly, we have screwed up as an industry. We have all brought these regulations on ourselves and must deal with them.

As mentioned above, it is not against the law to gas-and-go an old R22 system (under 50 lbs). Is adding 5 lbs of R22 really a big deal? If we all continue to refill repeat offender systems, then we are kind of knowingly venting refrigerant. By doing so, are we any better than the guy who uses a bucket of water in lieu of a reclaim machine? I am not here to try to change your morals; if you can sleep at night, you do you. Be knowledgeable of the law and refrain from misquoting it as a scare tactic to increase your company’s sales. It is our responsibility not to destroy the planet. We shouldn’t make a mess that our children and grandchildren will be forced to clean up. Bryan Orr, founder of “HVAC School For Techs by Techs”, generously allows the Association to reprint their articles. We encourage you to subscribe to Bryan’s Website and get all the great articles and podcast directly.

Let’s now look at the topic of mo rality. I think this can be a bit more sticky because technicians might encounter an infinite number of circumstances. One thing that is common knowledge is that hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) like R22