R-22 (HCFC-22) was banned from new manufacturing on January 1 2010 and from import on January 1 2020. It remains legal to purchase and use for servicing existing equipment with no end date. We stock virgin R-22 from US-based stockpiles and Section 605 reclaim suppliers — every cylinder is purity-tested and AHRI-700 certified.
Yes — for service. The Clean Air Act and 40 CFR Part 82 have prohibited US manufacturing of new R-22 since 2010 and US import since 2020, but explicitly preserve the right to service existing equipment forever. EPA Section 608 certification is required to purchase, handle, and recharge R-22, the same as for any HFC. There is no calendar deadline that makes R-22 illegal for service.
Roughly 8-12% of US residential AC equipment is still R-22 — pre-2010 split systems and packaged units that have been kept in service. Commercial refrigeration is the bigger consumer: walk-in coolers, supermarket cases, and some industrial process cooling installed before 2005. Any time you crack a service valve on a pre-2010 system, you'll likely be working with R-22 unless the original equipment was a R-410A early adopter.
R-22 prices have stabilized after the 2018-2020 spike. Today virgin 30 lb cylinders typically run $40-65/lb depending on source — substantially higher than R-410A but well off the 2018 peak of $90-110/lb. We source from EPA-certified reclaim houses and US-stockpile distributors; our pricing reflects current market rather than the panic-spike mythology that still circulates in older trade publications.
If a customer asks whether to keep recharging a leaky R-22 system, the math usually favors replacement once the system is 12+ years old and the leak rate exceeds about 1 lb/year. R-22 retrofit refrigerants (MO99 / R-438A, R-407C, NU-22) exist but they require oil-flush procedures and may not perform as well at extreme conditions. Most contractors are now recommending R-410A or R-454B replacement once a R-22 system needs more than nuisance recharge.
If you recover R-22 from a system, you can sell it to an EPA-certified reclaim center for credit — typical reclaim payouts run $8-15/lb depending on purity. Don't vent R-22 (federal violation, $25K+ fines per occurrence). We can refer you to reclaim partners in the Houston metro and nationally if your shop generates significant recovered volume.
Suppliers like Delta Refrigerants stock virgin and reclaimed R-22 sourced from US stockpiles and EPA-certified Section 605 reclaim houses. EPA Section 608 certification is required to purchase. We ship 30 lb cylinders nationwide with free UPS Ground.
R-22 has been banned from new manufacturing since 2010 and from import since 2020 under the Clean Air Act. Available supply is limited to existing US stockpiles plus EPA-certified reclaim, which keeps per-pound pricing 4-6x higher than R-410A.
R-407C is one of the EPA-approved retrofit refrigerants for R-22 systems but requires an oil change to POE and may need expansion-device recalibration. It's a true retrofit, not a drop-in. Performance is typically 3-7% below original R-22. Other options include MO99 / R-438A and NU-22.
Call us with your SKU + qty and we'll lock pricing within an hour. Net-30 contractor accounts ship without prepay.
