Field Pressure Test: Pressure, Test Gas and Declaration (CMC 1116)
"Field Pressure Test: Pressure, Test Gas and Declaration (CMC 1116)" is lesson 4 of 8 in the Refrigeration (C-38) Learning Hub. It opens with "What Gets Tested and at What Pressure" and works through 5 short steps, then a worked example you can check yourself against.
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Steps in this lesson
What Gets Tested and at What Pressure
Test Gas and Gauge Setup
The Exceptions to Know
Declaration, Brine and Vessel Tests
Cal/OSHA and Fire Code Follow-Up
The worked example in the course applies this lesson to a realistic job in 6 steps, from "High-side test pressure" through "Brine loop".
What you'll be able to do
Explain the main idea of "Field Pressure Test: Pressure, Test Gas and Declaration (CMC 1116)" in plain language you can use on the exam.
Apply this step with confidence: "The Exceptions to Know".
Apply this step with confidence: "Declaration, Brine and Vessel Tests".
Apply this step with confidence: "Cal/OSHA and Fire Code Follow-Up".
Test yourself on the worked example and the quick-check quiz inside the classroom.
The diagram for this lesson, exactly as it appears in the Learning Hub.
The first steps of this lesson
Step 1: What Gets Tested and at What Pressure
2025 CMC Section 1116.2 requires the refrigerant-containing parts of a field-erected system to be tested and proved tight after complete installation and before operation. The high and low sides are each tested at not less than the lower of the design pressure or the setting of the pressure-relief device. Compressors, condensers, evaporators, coded pressure vessels, safety devices, gauges, controls and systems that were factory tested are excepted. For factory-assembled systems, Section 1116.1.2 uses the design pressure of each side, and Section 1116.1.3 sets 1.33 times design pressure for units of 15 psig or less.
Step 2: Test Gas and Gauge Setup
Section 1116.3 requires dry nitrogen or another nonflammable, nonreactive, dried gas. Oxygen, air, or mixtures containing them shall not be used, except as the Exceptions allow. The means used to build up the test pressure must have a pressure-limiting or pressure-reducing device and a gauge on the outlet side, and the relief device on the test setup is set above the test pressure but low enough to prevent permanent deformation of the system components.
The remaining 3 steps, the worked example and the quiz are in the course. This is a preview. The full lesson, with the step-by-step explanations, a worked example and a quick-check quiz, is inside the classroom.
Independent exam preparation. Contractors Classroom is not affiliated with the Contractors State License Board, and no course can guarantee a passing result.
