EPA 608 Core Study Guide (2026) — Certification, Ozone, Laws, Recovery & Safety, Full Review

Studying small appliances next? Continue with the EPA 608 Type 1 guide and practice questions:    • EPA 608 Type 1 Study Guide (2026) — Small ...   Core is the part of the EPA 608 exam every technician takes, whatever Type they want on their card, and it is scored on its own: 18 of 25 to pass. This guide covers everything Core tests in nine sections, one visual at a time, then a nine-question practice quiz and a cheat sheet of the numbers to remember. The rules are taught from the Section 608 regulations (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F) as they stand in 2026. The nine sections: • Certification — Core, Type I, II, III and Universal, scoring, apprentices, open-book against proctored, lost cards • Environmental impacts — the ozone layer, the chlorine chain reaction, CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs and HFOs, ODP against GWP • Laws and dates — Section 608, the Montreal Protocol, the phaseout timeline, the venting prohibition, penalties • Regulations — pressure categories, covered equipment, recovery equipment, AHRI 740 and 700, the sales restriction • Substitutes and oils — no drop-ins, mineral, alkylbenzene, POE and PAG oils, the R-12 to R-134a retrofit, fractionation • Refrigeration basics — the cycle, manifold gauges, refrigerant states, P-T charts, superheat, subcooling, psig and psia, leak detection • Recovery — recover, recycle and reclaim, mixing, recovery speed, the required recovery levels • Evacuation — moisture and air, the micron scale, evacuation practice, the hold test • Safety — PPE, the 80% fill rule, cylinders, nitrogen, ASHRAE 15, health hazards, emergency priorities How to use it: • Each quiz question holds a 10-second countdown. Answer before the timer ends; pause if you need longer. • Use the chapters to come back to any section; the cheat sheet is the last one. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:09 Section 1 — Certification 07:07 Section 2 — Environmental Impacts 13:55 Section 3 — Laws and Dates 19:59 Section 4 — Regulations 25:16 Section 5 — Substitutes and Oils 29:13 Section 6 — Refrigeration Basics 33:16 Section 7 — Recovery 36:51 Section 8 — Evacuation 40:16 Section 9 — Safety 46:34 Section 10 — Practice Quiz 53:41 Cheat sheet This is exam preparation only. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency or any EPA-approved certifying organization. #EPA608 #HVAC #HVACR #EPAcertification #refrigerant