On May 30, 9:53*pm, WandererFan wrote:
Had a tech out to look over my 20 yr old central a/c today. *He said
the fluid level was "border line", but that he was not allowed to top
up the system as it used the old type of fluid (R22?). * He said if
the system couldn't keep up with the load it would have to be
replaced.

Since we are probably leaving this house in the next year or so, I'm
not enthusiastic about a new a/c plant. *A new, more efficient setup
would not pay us back in time.

A bit of googling seems to indicate that R22 is still going to be
around until 2015 or 2020 and that its use in existing equipment is
still ok.

Was the tech correct, or just trying to earn a commission?

TIA,
Chris

That's crap. He's just trying to sell you a new unit. What changed is
that as of 2010 manufacturers are no longer allowed to make new
equipment that uses r22. R22 can still be use dto service exitsing
equipment. R22 is being phased out. As of 2020 r22 it's self will
not be manufactured, only reclaimed/recycled r22 can be used. R22
will get real expensive then. It's possible someone will come up with
a substitute that can be used in r22 systems between now and then but
no one has so far. The newer refridgerants run at a significantly
higher pressure and can't be used in an r22 system.