Bottle feeding R-22 Refrigerant

With the MFG of R-22 being limited in production less each year until it is discontuined I have noticed the cost of R-22 has shot out the roof. Thus it brings out the less than honest contractors and home sellers.

I have encountered A/C units lately during my inspections that I suspected had refrigerant leaks that were never repaired and the contractor just kept adding refrigerant every year. This is very hard to determine and most of the time is speculation only as there is no real proof bottle feeding is taking place.

As the owner of bottle fed A/C units it would be a requirement to disclose this in a Real Estate contract, but it would be rare for full disclosure.

I got the word last week that the price of R-22 should come down soon. The gov. released more of their held back Refrigerant (for one reason or another) ( all is BS no matter how you look at it).

Does not mean that the end user will see the drop. Like gas at the pump, once you get the price up there is no reason to drop it back down any time soon…

Back when I was in the business the word on the street was R-22 would not be phased out until 2030. I never worried about it because I will be dead and gone appears I will have to deal with the phase out anyway.

Talked to a Trane service rep down near the Tx line a couple of weeks ago he was telling me they have developed an alternative to R-22 its called R-22-A & B but stated you cannot mix the two types and have any decent super heat but stated some techs are mixing them anyway. Me thinks this is going to be a cluster **** before it ends