The Good, The Bad and The Ozone-Depleting – R-22 Refrigerant Outlaw, Part One

You hear the spurs clinking as the Outlaw R-22 kicks open the swinging doors of the saloon in the hit new Western, “The Good, The Bad and the Ozone-Depleting.” Wyatt Earp is played by the EPA, ready to shoot down R-22 in his tracks…

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The Good, The Bad and The Ozone-Depleting? R-22 is the new “outlaw” in the world of refrigerants. 

I know, I’m shamelessly mixing my movie references. Just goes to show you how much I know about Western movies. I almost referred to Doc Holliday as Doc Hollywood – the names are similar, so that makes sense, but confusing Val Kilmer and Michael J. Fox characters concerns me. I’m clearly out of my territory.

The real story of R-22 is told in the Montreal Protocol – which sounds like a cool movie, but definitely isn’t. The Monteal Protocol lays out a schedule for stopping production of R-22 completely by 2020. Wait, What?!? No more R-22? Should we freak out and run screaming for the hills? Nah, no need to panic yet. You need to be aware of the R-22 situation to make smart choices, but I like to think of R-22 as one of those dashingly handsome outlaws who inadvertently causes trouble but deep down is just really misunderstood.

So here’s what you need to know. There are two big questions that keep coming up… Should I remove the R-22 from my existing HVAC-R unit and switch to an alternative refrigerant? And what should I do if my R-22 unit dies? So here goes…

Should I remove R-22 from my existing HVAC-R unit and switch to a replacement refrigerant?

There are several “direct replacement” refrigerants available. I use quotes when I write this because I think the term “direct replacement” is a little misleading. Almost all of the supposed “direct replacement” options require “tweaks” to make them work, like changing refrigerant oils or removing pressure controls. Some replacement refrigerants can cause a reduction in cooling capacity. There are different versions for comfort cooling (regular AC) vs.  medium temp refrigeration (cooler/refrigerator) and they can’t be used interchangeably. And perhaps most importantly, you need to know that refrigerants do not play well with others. When doing a changeover, it is IMPERATIVE that none of the old refrigerant stays in the system. If it’s not removed completely, the system simply won’t work correctly and the only way to fix it is to remove all of the contaminated refrigerant and start again. No one wants that. So, long story short, IF you have a really good reason to change refrigerants, you need to make sure your contractor knows what they’re doing.

Never mix refrigerants, even a little. Talk about ugly...
Never mix refrigerants, even a little. Talk about ugly…

So what’s a good reason to change refrigerants? Well, right now, I’m not sure there is one. At this point, R-22 and the direct replacements are still fairly close in price. If your R-22 system is running fine with no leaks and no problems, I can’t see any reason to do anything at all. (YAY! Permission to do nothing! How often do you get that?) As long as it stays inside your system, R-22 can’t do any damage to the ozone layer and it isn’t costing you a thing. This brings up another related point…you should NOT need to “top off” your system annually. In fact, you should NEVER have to top off your system. A refrigeration system is a closed system, meaning it just keeps recirculating the same refrigerant. It doesn’t leave the system, it just goes round and round doing its thing. If your system needs “topping off”, it has a leak. And the leak should be repaired ASAP per the orders of Wyatt “EPA” Earp.

R-22 production continues to be reduced every year, so perhaps someday there might be a good reason to change refrigerants in your system, but for now, I think it still falls under the “If it ain’t broke…” philosophy.

Now as for what to do if your R-22 unit has died? I’m going to end on a typical Western cliffhanger…

To be continued in next week’s blog…