EPA 608 Type II (High-Pressure) — practice test

EPA's test topics: Type II · High-pressure appliances

EPA publishes the topics each Section 608 certification test covers. This is EPA's list for Type II · High-pressure appliances, in EPA's words: its 6 areas and 24 topics. Every one of our 175 E608T2 questions ends with the regulation section or practice it rests on.

The real test, per 40 CFR 82 Subpart F, Appendix D: 25 questions from this part alongside the 25 Core questions; 70 percent passes; closed book.

From EPA's Section 608 test topics, read October 20, 2026. All four 608 topic lists, and the test format in the regulation's words →

High-yield EPA 608 Type II (High-Pressure) topics

The material that shows up year after year. If you're short on time, start here.

• Table 1 sets the recovery level by charge. A high-pressure appliance with a full charge under 200 pounds needs 0 inches Hg vacuum. At 200 pounds or more, which includes exactly 200, it needs 10 inches Hg with equipment made on or after November 15, 1993.
• Equipment made before November 15, 1993 only has to reach 4 inches Hg on a high-pressure appliance of 200 pounds or more. Very high-pressure appliances need 0 inches Hg either way. Check the charge, the equipment date and the pressure class before you answer.
• Leak repair rules apply to appliances of 50 pounds or more of a class I or class II (ozone-depleting) refrigerant such as R-22 (40 CFR 82.157), and since January 1, 2026 to appliances of 15 pounds or more with covered HFC refrigerants, except residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps (40 CFR 84.106). The trigger leak rates are 20 percent for commercial refrigeration, 30 percent for industrial process refrigeration, and 10 percent for comfort cooling and other appliances. Above the rate, you identify and repair leaks within 30 days of adding refrigerant, or 120 days if an industrial process shutdown is required.
• A major repair removes the compressor, condenser, evaporator or an auxiliary heat exchange coil, or uncovers an opening of more than 4 square inches of flow area for more than 15 minutes. Before you open the appliance for a major repair, evacuate to the Table 1 level. A non-major repair that will not be followed by evacuation to the atmosphere only needs the appliance at 0 psig before you open it.
• Every repaired leak gets an initial and a follow-up verification test. The initial test comes before any refrigerant goes back in if the repair needed evacuation, and after the work but before any added refrigerant if it did not. The follow-up test is due within 10 days of a successful initial test, or of the appliance reaching normal operation if it was evacuated.
• Leak test gas order of preference: nitrogen alone is best, nitrogen with a trace of R-22 is next, and pure refrigerant is last. System-dependent recovery equipment may not be used on an appliance with a full charge of more than 15 pounds. The one exception is a pump-out unit permanently attached to the appliance.

Where techs lose points on EPA 608 Type II (High-Pressure)

Good technicians miss these — not from lack of skill, but because the question is built to catch them.

• Trap: you can leave a leak alone until the system is empty. Once a covered appliance goes over its trigger rate (10, 20 or 30 percent by type), the owner has 30 days to repair, or 120 with an industrial process shutdown. The other choice is a retrofit or retirement plan, with the work finished within one year of the plan's date.
• Trap: 10 inches Hg applies to every high-pressure appliance. It applies only at 200 pounds or more with equipment made on or after November 15, 1993. Under 200 pounds it is 0 inches Hg, and older equipment on a 200-pound-plus system needs 4.
• Trap: a busy schedule or a high repair bill earns more time on a leak. The rule lists only radiological contamination, other regulations that make repair within the period impossible, and replacement parts that are not available in time. Cost and scheduling are not on the list.
• Trap: a pressure or vacuum decay test finds the leak. It only shows the appliance is losing refrigerant. EPA's leak inspection definition says to pair it with a method that locates the leak, such as an ultrasonic test, bubble test or leak detection device.

A study plan that works for EPA 608 Type II (High-Pressure)

Roughly two weeks of real preparation, in the order that actually builds on itself.

1. Day 1: Leak detection. Learn the signs of a leak (excess superheat, oil traces on hermetic systems), why you leak test before charging, and the test gas order.
2. Day 2: Leak repair rules. Drill the 10, 20 and 30 percent rates, the 50-pound and 15-pound thresholds, the 30 and 120 day clocks, the listed extensions, the verification tests and the three-year records.
3. Day 3: Recovery. Memorize Table 1 by charge and equipment date, the definition of a major repair, the 15-pound system-dependent rule, and the techniques for speeding recovery and clearing the machine between refrigerants.
4. Day 4: Refrigeration and safety, then practice. Work pressure-temperature charts (add 14.7 to turn psig into psia), know why you never energize a hermetic compressor under vacuum, then take practice sets and review every miss.

Sample EPA 608 Type II (High-Pressure) questions

Straight from the bank — answers highlighted, with the explanation underneath.

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