Whether we like it or not, R-22 is going away, and technicians need to look at their best options and solutions to work with the phaseout. One option available to all competent service technicians is to recover and recycle refrigerant.
If and when contractors step up their commitment to reclamation, they will find plenty of places ready to perform the process that brings questionable refrigerant back to ARI-700 purity standards. And contractors will also find plenty of incentives to do so.
What will it take to jump-start more use of reclaimed HCFC-22 to service the huge inventory of equipment running on that refrigerant? The EPA and the dozens of companies offering reclamation services are hoping the most recent announcement of a potential 45 percent reduction in virgin R-22 coming to market.
How ready are contractors to embrace refrigerant reclamation? The answer depends on who you talk to. But some contractors are already plugged into the reclamation option — and hoping their colleagues, who might not be doing so, will soon join them.
This issue of The NEWS has an extended focus on refrigerant reclamation in the context of the announcement that it appears there will be a significant drop-off in supplies of virgin R-22.
