Robinair is partnering with the Mobile Air Conditioning Society (MACS) Worldwide to provide a free Section 609 test prep webinar for training and certification for up to 100 technicians on Wednesday, May 6, at 4 p.m. EST. The webinar will take approximately 90 minutes. Technicians can become Section 609 certified to work on vehicles using R-12, R-134a and R-1234yf refrigerant when they take the written test provided, mail it back to MACS and pass the test.
Interested technicians can register at www.macsw.org
When technicians register, a test and study guide will be sent to them free of charge, courtesy of Robinair. Technicians should take the test immediately after viewing the webinar and return it to MACS for grading. When they pass the test, Section 609 credentials will be sent to them. Should a technician fail the test, one re-test will be issued.
The R-1234yf refrigerant is gaining popularity among vehicle manufacturers because it reduces the environmental impact of A/C systems in vehicles, helping manufacturers meet stringent vehicle emissions standards. Automakers can receive emissions credits for using environmentally friendly refrigerants, meaning aftermarket technicians will begin to see an increase in vehicles using R-1234yf. The number of vehicles using R-1234yf is expected to increase exponentially in the coming years as the refrigerant replaces the current industry-standard R134a.
The MACS refrigerant recovery and recycling program was developed to meet the requirements under Section 609 of the Clean Air Act and was formally approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), effective Aug. 13, 1992. Since then, more than 1 million technicians have achieved Section 609 certification through its program. Throughout the years, MACS has continually expanded its certification program to reflect industry changes in technology, service equipment, procedures, tools, alternative refrigerants and changing government regulatory requirements.
“It’s a very natural fit for Robinair to partner with the MACS certification program to educate, train and certify today’s technicians on the latest breakthroughs and advancements in the mobile air conditioning industry,” said Tim Wagaman, senior product manager, air conditioning fluid products, Robinair. “As R-1234yf becomes more prevalent in vehicles on the road, technicians and shop owners need training to recognize which refrigerant is being used, how to handle it safely and how to make sure they are properly equipped with the right machines and tools to service them.”
The Robinair AC1234-6 is the only commercially available A/C recovery machine in North America to fully meet the SAE’s current requirements for recovering, recycling and recharging vehicles’ A/C systems that use the latestR-1234yf refrigerant. The AC1234-6 is a fully automatic recovery machine that features a standard, integrated refrigerant identifier that samples the refrigerant in the vehicle’s system prior to recovery.