Can You Still Buy R-22 Refrigerant in 2026? What You Need to Know

R-22 cooled most American homes for decades. Since the phase-out, homeowners and technicians keep asking the same questions: is it still legal, can you still get it, and is a recharge worth it? Here are the answers.

Is R-22 banned?

Production and import of new R-22 in the United States ended on January 1, 2020, under the Clean Air Act phase-out of ozone-depleting HCFCs. Using R-22 is not banned. Existing systems can still be serviced with R-22 that was produced before 2020 or has been recovered and reclaimed to purity standards.

Who can buy R-22?

R-22 may only be sold to technicians certified under EPA Section 608, or to buyers who will resell to certified technicians. That is why we ask for your certification number at checkout and verify it before shipping. Details are on our EPA certification page.

Why is R-22 so expensive?

No new R-22 is being made for the US market, so all supply comes from existing stock and reclaimed refrigerant. As the installed base of R-22 equipment shrinks, so does reclamation volume, and prices stay high.

Recharge or replace?

A system that needs refrigerant has a leak. Before buying R-22, a technician should find and repair the leak, because topping off a leaking system just loses expensive refrigerant into the air, and knowingly venting it is illegal. As a rough rule:

• Repair and recharge if the leak is small and fixable and the system is otherwise in good shape.
• Consider replacement if the compressor or coil is failing, the system is past 15 years old, or leaks keep returning. New equipment uses lower-GWP refrigerants and is far more efficient.

Can you put a different refrigerant in an R-22 system?

Some systems can be converted to an approved retrofit refrigerant such as R-407C (for air conditioning) or R-449A and R-448A (for commercial refrigeration), but only following the equipment manufacturer’s retrofit procedure. That usually means changing the oil and adjusting the expansion device. R-410A, R-454B and R-32 can never go into an R-22 system.

Need R-22 for a repair? Browse R-22 cylinders or ask us for a quote.