Type I: Small Appliances
Type I certification covers small appliances, the household and light-commercial units that are factory-sealed and hold only a small charge. This chapter defines what counts as a small appliance and explains the recovery percentages, vacuum levels, and techniques that Type I work requires.
What Counts as a Small Appliance
A small appliance is any product fully manufactured, charged, and hermetically sealed in a factory with five pounds or less of refrigerant. Typical examples include domestic refrigerators and freezers, room air conditioners, window units, packaged terminal units, dehumidifiers, drinking-water coolers, and vending machines. Because these systems are sealed at the factory and rarely opened, they are treated as a distinct category with their own recovery rules. If a unit holds more than five pounds or was field-charged, it is not a small appliance and requires Type II or Type III work instead. Recognizing a small appliance on sight tells you which recovery percentages and equipment apply.
Recovery Requirements for Small Appliances
The required recovery level for a small appliance depends on when the recovery equipment was manufactured and whether the appliance's own compressor still runs. With recovery equipment manufactured before November 15, 1993, you must recover 80 percent of the charge. With recovery equipment manufactured on or after November 15, 1993, you must recover 90 percent of the charge when the appliance's compressor is operating, or 80 percent when the compressor is not operating. As an alternative to a percentage, the newer equipment may instead evacuate the small appliance to four inches of mercury (4 in Hg) vacuum. These numbers are among the most frequently tested Type I facts, so commit the 80/90 percent split and the 4 in Hg alternative to memory.
Recovery Techniques and Access
Small appliances are often recovered with system-dependent (passive) equipment, which relies on the appliance's own compressor or internal pressure to push refrigerant into the recovery device. If you use system-dependent equipment on an appliance with a working compressor, you must run that compressor during recovery. When the compressor does not work, you may have to access both the high and low sides of the system to remove the required amount, and self-contained (active) equipment with its own pump works better because it does not depend on the appliance. To reach a hermetically sealed system with no service valve, you install a piercing saddle or bolt-on access valve. Move slowly so you do not release liquid, and recover from both sides if a single access point will not reach the target.
Servicing, Leaks, and Disposal
Even though small appliances are exempt from the leak-rate repair rules that apply to 50-pound systems, you still may never vent their refrigerant. Before opening a sealed system, recover the charge to the required level. When a small appliance reaches the end of its life, the person who takes final custody before disposal — such as a scrap dealer or recycler — must verify the refrigerant has been recovered, unless it was recovered earlier by a certified technician. Technicians who dispose of small appliances must have recovery equipment and keep it certified. Many small appliances use HFC-134a or blends today, but older units may still contain CFC-12, which is valuable and must be recovered carefully. Always confirm what refrigerant a unit holds before you begin.
Last updated: July 2026