[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 40, Volume 17]
[Revised as of July 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 40CFR82B App E]
[Page 561-564]
TITLE 40--PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER I--ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)
PART 82_PROTECTION OF STRATOSPHERIC OZONE--Table of Contents
Subpart B_Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners
Sec. Appendix E to Subpart B of Part 82--The Standard for Automotive
Refrigerant Recycling Equipment Intended for Use With Both CFC-12 and
HFC-134a
SAE J2211, Recommended Service Procedure for the Containment of HFC-
134a, as set forth under Appendix C of this subpart, and SAE J1989,
Recommended Service Procedure for the Containment of CFC-12, as set
forth under Appendix A of this subpart, also apply to this Appendix E of
this subpart.
SAE J1770, issued December, 1995.
Automotive Refrigerant Recycle Equipment Intended for Use With Both CFC-
12 and HFC-134a
Foreword
The purpose of this standard is to establish specific minimum
equipment requirements for automotive refrigerant recycling equipment
intended for use with both CFC-12 and HFC-134a in a common refrigerant
circuit. Establishing such specifications will assure that this
equipment does not cross contaminate refrigerant above specified limits
when used under normal operating conditions.
1. Scope
The purpose of this standard is to establish the specific minimum
equipment intended for use with both CFC-12 and HFC-134a in a common
refrigerant circuit that has been directly removed from, and is intended
for reuse in, mobile air-conditioning (A/C) systems. This standard does
not apply to equipment used for CFC-12 and HFC-134a having a common
enclosure with separate circuits for each refrigerant.
2. References
2.1 Applicable Documents--The following publications form a part of
this specification to the extent specified. The latest issue of SAE
publications shall apply.
2.1.1 SAE Publications--Available from SAE, 400 Commonwealth Drive,
Warrendale, PA 15096-0001.
SAE J2099--Standard of Purity for Recycled HFC-134a for Use in Mobile
Air-Conditioning Systems
SAE 1991--Standard of Purity for Use in Mobile Air-Conditioning Systems
SAE J2196--Service Hoses for Automotive Air-Conditioning
SAE J2197--Service Hose Fittings for Automotive Air-Conditioning
SAE J2210--HFC-134a (R-134a) Recycling Equipment for Mobile A/C Systems
SAE J1990--Extraction and Recycling Equipment for Mobile A/C Systems
2.1.2 Compressed Gas Association (CGA) Publications--Available from
CGA, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202.
CGA Pamphlet S-1.1--Pressure Relief Device Standard
Part 1--Cylinders for Compressed Gases
2.1.3 DOT Publications--Available from the Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402
2.1.4 UL Publications--Available from Underwriters Laboratories, 333
Pfingsten Road, Northbrook, IL 60062-2096.
UL 1769--Cylinder Valves
UL 1963--Refrigerant Recovery/Recycling Equipment
3. Specification and General Description
3.1 The equipment shall be suitable for use in an automotive service
garage environment and be capable of continuous operation in ambients
from 10 to 49 [deg]C.
3.2 The equipment must be certified that it meets this specification
by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), or by an equivalent Nationally
Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).
3.3 The equipment shall have a label which states ``Design Certified
by (Certifying Agent) to meet SAE J1770 for recycling CFC-12 and HFC-
134a using common refrigerant circuits'', in bold-type letters a minimum
of 3 mm in height.
4. Equipment Requirements
4.1 General
4.1.1 The equipment shall be capable of preventing cross
contamination to the level required by Section 9.2.1.G before an
operation involving a different refrigerant can begin. The equipment
must prevent initiation of the recovery operation if the equipment is
not set up properly.
4.1.2 If an operator action is required to clear the unit prior to
reconnecting for a different refrigerant, the equipment shall be
provided with a means which indicates which refrigerant was last
processed.
4.1.3 Means shall be provided to prevent recovery from both an CFC-
12 and HFC-134a mobile air conditioning system concurrently.
4.1.4 Transfer of recycled refrigerant--Recycled refrigerant for
recharging and transfer shall be taken from the liquid phase only.
4.2 Seat Leakage Test
4.2.1 Valves, including electrically operated solenoid valves, that
are used to isolate CFC-12 and HFC-134a refrigerant circuits, shall have
a seat leakage rate not exceeding 15 g/yr (\1/2\ oz/yr) before and after
100,000 cycles of operation. This Endurance Test shall be conducted with
HFC-134a at maximum operating pressure as determined by sections 8.1 and
8.2. The Seat Leakage Test shall be
[[Page 562]]
performed at 1.5 times this pressure at an ambient of 24 [deg]C.
4.3 Interlocks
4.3.1 Electrical interlock devices used to prevent cross
contamination of refrigerant shall be operated for 100,000 cycles and
there shall be no failure that would permit cross contamination of
refrigerant. Solid state inter lock devices shall comply with the
Transient Overvoltage Test and the Fast Transient (Electric Noise) Test
contained in the Standard for Tests for Safety Related Controls
Employing Solid-State Devices, UL 991.
4.4 Noncondensable Gases
4.4.1 The equipment shall either automatically purge noncondensables
(NCGs) if the acceptable level is exceeded or incorporate a device that
indicates to the operator the NCG level has been exceeded. A pressure
gauge used to indicate an NCG level shall be readable in 1 psig
increments. NCG removal must be part of the normal operation of the
equipment and instructions must be provided to enable the task to be
accomplished within 30 minutes.
4.4.2 Refrigerant loss from noncondensable gas purging, oil removal,
and refrigerant clearing shall not exceed more than 5 percent by weight
of the total amount of refrigerant through the equipment as detailed in
Sections 8.1, 8.2, and 9.2.
4.5 Filter
4.5.1 A 15 micron filter, or other equivalent means, to remove
particulates of 15 micrometers spherical diameter or greater shall be
located before any manual electrically operated valves that may cause
cross contamination.
4.6 Moisture and Acid
4.6.1 The equipment shall incorporate a desiccant package that must
be replaced before saturated with moisture, and whose acid capacity is
at least 5% by weight of the dry desiccant.
4.6.2 The equipment shall be provided with a moisture detection
means that will reliably indicate when moisture in the HFC-134a exceeds
50 ppm, or in the CFC-12 exceeds 15 ppm, and requires the filter/drier
replacement.
5. Operating Instructions
5.1 The equipment manufacturer must provide operating instructions,
including proper attainment of vehicle system vacuum (i.e., when to stop
the extraction process, and also to stop the extraction process if it is
noticed that the A/C system being serviced has a leak), filter/desiccant
replacement, and purging of noncondensable gases (air). The instructions
shall indicate that the correct sequence of operation be followed so
that the equipment can properly remove contaminates to the acceptable
level. Also to be included are any other necessary maintenance
procedures, source information for replacement parts and repair, and
safety precautions.
5.2 The equipment must prominently display the manufacturer's name,
address, the type of refrigerant (CFC-12 and HFC-134a), a service
telephone number, and the part number for the replacement filter/drier.
Operation manuals must cover information for complete maintenance of the
equipment to assure proper operation.
6. Safety Requirements
6.1 The equipment must comply with applicable federal, state, and
local requirements on equipment related to handling CFC-12 and HFC-134a
material. Safety precautions or notices related to the safe operation of
the equipment shall be prominently displayed on the equipment and should
also state ``CAUTION--SHOULD BE OPERATED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL''.
6.2 HFC-134a has been shown to be nonflammable at ambient
temperature and atmospheric pressure. The following statement shall be
in the operating manual: ``Caution: HFC-134a service equipment or
vehicle A/C systems should not be pressure tested or leak tested with
compressed air. Some mixtures of air and HFC-134a have been shown to be
combustible at elevated pressures (when contained in a pipe or tank).
These mixtures may be potentially dangerous, causing injury or property
damage. Additional health and safety information may be obtained from
refrigerant and lubricant manufacturers.''
7. Functional Description
7.1 General
7.1.1 The equipment must be capable of ensuring recovery of the CFC-
12 and HFC-134a from the system being serviced, by reducing the system
to a minimum of 102 mm of mercury below atmospheric pressure (i.e.,
vacuum).
7.1.2 The equipment must be compatible with leak detection material
that may be present in the mobile A/C system.
7.2 Shut Off Device
7.2.1 To prevent overcharge, the equipment must be equipped to
protect the tank used to store the recycled refrigerant with a shutoff
device and a mechanical pressure relief valve.
7.3 Storage Tanks
7.3.1 Portable refillable tanks or containers shall be supplied with
this equipment and must be labeled ``HFC-134a'' or ``CFC-12'' as
appropriate, meet applicable Department of Transportation (DOT) or
NRTL's Standards and be adaptable to existing refrigerant service and
charging equipment.
7.3.2 The cylinder valve shall comply with the Standard for Cylinder
Valves, UL 1769.
7.3.3 The pressure relief device shall comply with the Pressure
Relief Device Standard
[[Page 563]]
Part 1--Cylinders for Compressed Gases, CGA Pamphlet S-1.1.
7.3.4 The tank assembly shall be marked to indicate the first retest
date, which shall be 5 years after the date of manufacture. The marking
shall indicate that retest must be performed every subsequent 5 years.
The marking shall be in letters at least 6 mm high.
7.4 Overfill Protection
7.4.1 During operation, the equipment must provide overfill
protection to assure that during filling or transfer, the tank or
storage container cannot exceed 80% of volume at 21.1 [deg]C of its
maximum rating as defined by DOT standards, 49 CFR 173.304 and American
Society of Mechanical Engineers.
7.5 Hoses and Connections
7.5.1 Separate inlet and outlet hoses with fittings and separate
connections shall be provided for each refrigerant circuit.
7.5.2 All flexible hoses and fittings must meet SAE J2196 (for CFC-
12) and SAE J2197 (for HFC-134a).
7.5.3 Service hoses must have shutoff devices located within 30 cm
of the connection point to the system being serviced.
7.6 Lubricant Separation
7.6.1 The equipment must be able to separate the lubricant from the
removed refrigerant and accurately indicate the amount of lubricant
removed during the process, in 30 mL (1 fl oz) units. Refrigerant
dissolves in lubricant and, as a result, increases the volume of the
recovered lubricant sample. This creates the illusion that more
lubricant has been recovered that actually has been. The equipment
lubricant measuring system must take into account such dissolved
refrigerant removed from the A/C system being serviced to prevent
overcharging the vehicle system with lubricant.
(Note: Use only new lubricant to replace the amount removed the
recycling process. Used lubricant should be discarded per applicable
federal, state and local requirements.)
7.6.2 The equipment must be provided with some means, such as a
lockout device, which will prevent initiation of the recovery operation
after switching to the other refrigerant, if the lubricant has not been
drained from the oil separator.
8. Testing
8.0 Equipment shall be tested in sequence as noted in sections 8.1,
8.2 and 9.2. The filter/drier may be replaced only as noted by section
4.6.2.
8.1 CFC-12 Recycling Cycle
8.1.1 The maximum operating pressure of the equipment shall be
determined when recycling CFC-12 while conducting the following tests.
This pressure is needed for the Seat Leakage Test, Section 4.2.
8.1.2 The equipment must be preconditioned with 13.6 kg of the
standard contaminated CFC-12 (see section 8.1.2a) at an ambient of 21
[deg]C before starting the test cycle. Sample amounts shall be 1.13 kg
with sample amounts to be repeated every 5 minutes. The sample method
fixture, defined in Figure 1 to Appendix A, shall be operated at 21
[deg]C.
8.1.2a Standard contaminated CFC-12 refrigerant 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 viscosity nominal and 770 ppm
by weight of noncondensable gases (air).
8.1.3 The high moisture contaminated sample shall consist of CFC-12
vapor with 1000 ppm (by weight) moisture.
8.1.4 The high oil contaminated sample shall consist of CFC-12 with
200,000 ppm (by weight) mineral oil 525 suspension viscosity nominal.
8.1.5 After preconditioning as stated in section 8.1.2, the test
cycle is started, processing the following contaminated samples through
the equipment.
A. 13.6 kg (1.13 kg per batch) of standard contaminated CFC-12.
B. 1 kg of high oil contaminated CFC-12.
C. 4.5 kg (1.13 kg per batch) of standard contaminated CFC-12.
D. 1 kg of high moisture contaminated CFC-12.
8.1.6 The CFC-12 is to be cleaned to the minimum purity level, as
defined in SAE J1991, with the equipment operating in a stable ambient
of 10, 21, and 49 [deg]C and processing the samples as defined in
section 8.1.5.
8.2 HFC-134a Recycling Cycle
8.2.1 The maximum operating pressure of the equipment shall be
determined when recycling HFC-134a while conducting the following tests.
This pressure is needed for the Seat Leakage Test, Section 4.2.
8.2.2 The equipment must be preconditioned by processing 13.6 kg of
the standard contaminated HFC-134a (see section 8.2.2a) at an ambient of
21 [deg]C before starting the test cycle. 1.13 kg samples are to be
processed at 5 minute intervals. The text fixture shown in Figure 1 to
Appendix A shall be operated at 21 [deg]C.
8.2.2a The standard contaminated refrigerant shall consist of liquid
HFC-134a with 1300 ppm (by weight) moisture (equivalent to saturation at
38[deg][100 [deg]F]), 45,000 ppm (by weight) HFC-134a compatible
lubricant, and 1000 ppm (by weight) of noncondensable gases (air).
8.2.2b The HFC-134a compatible lubricant referred to in section
8.2.2a shall be a polyalkylene glycol based synthetic lubricant or
equivalent, which shall contain no more than 1000 ppm by weight of
moisture.
8.2.3 Following the preconditioning procedure per section 8.2.2,
18.2 kg of standard contaminated HFC-134a are to be processed by
[[Page 564]]
the equipment at each stable ambient temperature of 10, 21, and 49
[deg]C.
8.2.4 The HFC-134a is to be cleaned to the purity level, as defined
in SAE J2099.
9. Refrigerant Cross Contamination Test
9.1 General
9.1.1 For test validation, the equipment is to be operated according
to the manufacturer's instruction.
9.1.2 The equipment shall clean the contaminated CFC-12 refrigerant
to the minimum purity level as defined in Appendix A, when tested in
accordance with the requirements in section 8.1.
9.1.3 The equipment shall clean the contaminated HFC-134a
refrigerant to the purity level defined in Appendix C, when tested in
accordance with the requirements in section 8.2.
9.2 Test Cycle
9.2.1 The following method shall be used after the tests and
requirements in Sections 8.1 and 8.2, respectively, are completed.
Following the manufacturer's instructions, the equipment shall be
cleared of HFC-134a, prior to beginning step A. The only refrigerant
used for this is noted in steps A, C, and E of section 9.2.1. The test
fixture shown in Figure 1 to Appendix A shall be used and the test shall
be conducted at 10, 21, and 49 [deg]C ambients.
A. A 1.13 kg standard contaminated sample of CFC-12 (see section
8.1.2a) shall be processed by the equipment.
B. Follow manufacturer's instructions to clear the equipment of CFC-
12 before processing HFC-134a.
C. Process a 1.13 kg, standard contaminated sample of HFC-134a (see
section 8.2.2a) through the equipment.
D. Follow manufacturer's instructions to clear the equipment of HFC-
134a before processing CFC-12.
E. Process a 1.13 kg standard contaminated sample of CFC-12 (see
section 8.1.2a) through the equipment.
F. Follow manufacturer's instructions to clear the equipment of CFC-
12.
G. The amount of cross contaminated refrigerant, as determined by
gas chromatography, in samples processed during steps C and E of section
9.2.1., shall not exceed 0.5 percent by weight.
10. Sample Analysis
10.1 General
10.1.1 The processed contaminated samples shall be analyzed
according to the following procedure.
10.2 Quantitative Determination of Moisture
10.2.1 The recycled liquid phase sample of refrigerant shall be
analyzed for moisture content via Karl Fischer coulometer titration or
an equivalent method. The Karl Fischer apparatus is an instrument for
precise determination of small amounts of water dissolved in liquid and/
or gas samples.
10.2.2 In conducting the test, a weighed sample of 30 to 130 g is
vaporized directly into the Karl Fischer anolyte. A coulometer titration
is conducted and the results are calculated and displayed as parts per
million moisture (weight).
10.3 Determination of Percent Lubricant
10.3.1 The amount of lubricant in the recycled sample of
refrigerant/lubricant is to be determined by gravimetric analysis.
10.3.2 Following venting of noncondensable, in accordance with the
manufacturer's operating instructions, the refrigerant container shall
be shaken for 5 minutes prior to extracting samples for test.
10.3.3 A weighed sample of 175 to 225 g of liquid refrigerant/
lubricant is allowed to evaporate at room temperature. The percent
lubricant is to be calculated from the weight of the original sample and
the residue remaining after the evaporation.
10.4 Noncondensable Gas
10.4.1 The amount of noncondensable gas is to be determined by gas
chromatography. A sample of vaporized refrigerant liquid shall be
separated and analyzed by gas chromatography. A Propak Q column at 130
[deg]C and a hot wire detector may be used for analysis.
10.4.2 This test shall be conducted on liquid phase samples of
recycled refrigerant taken from a full container as defined in 7.4
within 30 minutes following the proper venting of noncondensable gases.
10.4.3 The samples shall be shaken for at least 15 minutes prior to
testing while at a temperature of 24 [deg]C 2.8
[deg]C.
10.5 Refrigerant Cross Contamination
10.5.1 The amount of cross contamination of CFC-12 in HFC-134a or
HFC-134a in CFC-12 shall not exceed 0.5 percent by weight as determined
by gas chromatography. A sample of vaporized refrigerant liquid shall be
separated and analyzed by gas chromatography. A 1% SP-1000 on Carbopack
B (60/80 mesh) column may be used for the analysis.
[62 FR 68053, Dec. 30, 1997]