It's April. Do You KnowWhere Your R-22 Is?

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“It's happened over time, because contractors were getting charged for refrigerant. Common refrigerant return programs were charging cylinder-handling fees, from $30 to $50 per cylinder. If it was mixed, they added a disposal fee of $3 to $5 per pound. This is what killed reclamation. Conscientious contractors wanted to do the right thing, but were bearing a huge cost burden,” Ludwig says.

As a solution to the contractor's pricing dilemma, Pure Chem is able to separate mixed R-22. “By doing so, we can pay $2 per pound currently for 99.5% R-22. Even if R-22 is mixed we still pay for it. We can take in R-22 down to 70% impurity, without penalizing the contractor,” Ludwig says.

Wholesaler Program Benefits

Airgas entered the refrigerant market when it acquired CFC Refimax in 2006, followed by purchases of Gartech Refrigerant Reclamation and Refron — all of which are involved in refrigerant recycling and reclamation.

This year, Airgas Refrigerants, Inc. has embarked on a campaign in concert with industry wholesalers, to allow HVACR contractors to return used refrigerants directly to those wholesalers. Jodi Crawford, marketing manager for Airgas, says over 260 wholesalers currently participate in the ReKlaim program, which allows wholesalers to accept reclaimed refrigerant in a variety of sizes, including 30- and 50-pound cylinders.

Airgas Refrigerants' ReKlaim program is supported by a direct mail message that tells contractors to “turn those used refrigerants into cash,” by finding a participating wholesaler near them.

“We encourage wholesalers to share the money they make on the gas with the contractor directly. It's a growing business, and part of our new strategic thrust to assist smaller contractors by providing them with a resource for returning used refrigerants,” Crawford says.

Purity requirements do apply, and the level of compensation changes, depending on refrigerant purity. However, Crawford says Airgas pays top dollar for refrigerant with a purity level of 95 to 100%. Crawford finds financial incentives are the most effective method of gaining contractor participation.

“We've reduced our fees, and we pay one of the top payback rates in the industry. Cylinder evacuation fees are falling, or being eliminated all together, depending on the details of the program,” Crawford says.

On larger industrial units, Airgas field service technicians will also visit a site to correct any problems related to system contamination. If a system has oil or water contamination, they'll bring equipment on-site to correct the problem.

For an Airgas store locator, visit: reklaim.airgasrefrigerants.com/.

Fast and Efficient Cylinder Exchange

Refri-Claim, a division of ICOR International, Inc., Indianapolis, IN, provides a cylinder exchange program (refri-claim.com). Marc Richburg, national sales manager for Refri-Claim, says the key advantages to this method are speed and efficiency.

“There's no waiting for someone to get your cylinder pumped down. You're not burdened with maintaining more cylinders than you really need. The refrigerant user receives a clean, operable, DOT-certified cylinder with every exchange,” Richburg says. (See Richburg's guest editorial on p. 6).

All-Industry Effort

“Contractors are becoming more aware of the necessity to recover and reclaim R-22, through programs such as our own and those of others,” says Michael Mulligan, vice president, refrigerant reclamation programs, USA Refrigerants, Nanuet, NY.

“The contractor education process regarding R-22 recovery and buyback began about three years ago, and we're seeing increased activity,” Mulligan says. He's encouraged by increased recovery efforts of contractors, as well as changes in attitudes across other industry sectors related to contractor support.

USA Refrigerants is a nationally recognized refrigerant distribution company that also specializes in the reclamation of R-22. In September of 2008, USA became the Affinity Partner with ACCA as it relates to the buyback of recovered R-22 from ACCA Contractor Members. (USARefrigerants.com)

“Contractors are becoming more aware, and new programs are working to their benefit,” Mulligan says.