REFRIGERANT R22 PHASE OUT
Under Europe-wide regulations R22 is being phased out and from December 31st 2009 it will be illegal to supply and employ virgin (new) R22 refrigerant for maintenance and service of refrigeration plant, and further, the use of recovered and recycled R22 will be illegal from December 31st 2014.
If you have essential refrigeration plant operating on refrigerant R22 you should start planning for replacement now, so that the most appropriate solution can be applied to ensure continuity of operation, and that modifications and replacements can be budgeted for as part of planned maintenance.
Due to design complexities and problems with incompatible materials there is no “one size fits all” solution. Each refrigeration system requires to be examined and checks made with original equipment manufacturers, in order to determine the suitability of conversion to an approved, ozone friendly refrigerant.
The industry anticipates that due to the combination of a shortage of recycled refrigerant R22 and limited stocks of suitable control elements, what would in the past have been an inconvenience will now form a catastrophic failure with far reaching consequential losses.
