THE first engineers to undergo F-gas accreditation have passed with flying colours.
The seven engineers successfully completed the course on December 19 at the premises of Ellis Training in Cuffley, Hertfordshire.

These are the first of what is estimated to be as many as 40,000 engineers who will be required by law to undergo F-gas accreditation by July 2011.

The seven pioneering individuals with varying degrees of experience were drawn from three very diverse companies: EMCOR Facilities Services, a division of the multi-national m&e contractors, MacWhirters, the well-respected air conditioning contractor, and ACSD, a small father and son business based in South London.

The five-day course culminated in both practical tests and an on-line theoretical exam to achieve the City & Guilds 2079 F-gas qualification.

Prior to this the students, all fully qualified air conditioning and refrigeration engineers, were taken through a refresher course on the theory to prepare them for the dreaded on-line exam. This consists of 40 randomly selected questions with multiple choice answers to be completed in 90 minutes.

The successful candidates were reported to be both relieved and elated at having passed first time and were grateful for the initial refresher course to help them through the theoretical exam.

The practical test involves brazing, pressure testing, refrigerant charging, inspecting for leaks, rectifying and re-checking, connecting and disconnecting gauges and refrigerant recovery.

The theoretical assessment covers such areas as:

-basic thermodynamics,

-refrigeration cycle,

-determining operating conditions and efficiency,

-monitoring system performance for indications of refrigerant leakage,

-understanding the environmental impact of F-gases,

-knowledge of equipment record keeping requirements

-knowledge of key components and associated risk of leakage.

Ellis Training was approved to offer the F-gas accreditation in November and following this exam, which was witnessed by an external verifier, the company is ready to go with a series of F-gas courses starting in January.

For more details contact info@ellistraining.co.uk