If your air conditioner was installed before roughly 2010, odds are it runs on R-22 — and R-22 occupies a strange place in 2026: production and import ended back in 2020, so every pound sold today comes from reclaimed or stockpiled supply, priced accordingly. That one fact reshapes every repair decision on these systems, and it deserves straight numbers instead of upsell theater.
First: not every R-22 repair involves refrigerant
This is the part replacement-happy sales pitches skip. Capacitors, contactors, fan motors, control boards — the parts that most often fail — don't care what refrigerant is in the lines. A 2007 system with a dead capacitor needs a capacitor, not a $12,000 conversation. If the sealed circuit is intact, an R-22 system can be repaired like any other, and often should be.
Where the math turns
The moment the refrigerant circuit is involved — a leak, a failed compressor, a burst coil — R-22 pricing enters the room. Recharging several pounds of reclaimed R-22 can cost what a minor repair used to cost in total, and that's before fixing the leak that let it out. On a 15–20 year old system, pouring premium refrigerant into corroding coils is paying vintage-wine prices to fill a cracked glass.
The three honest scenarios
Electrical/mechanical fault, sealed system healthy: repair it, run it, enjoy the years. Small, findable leak (valve core, fitting) with modest refrigerant loss: often still worth one proper repair — we'll say so when it is. Major leak or compressor failure: this is where replacement wins on math, not on salesmanship — a new system runs on modern refrigerant, cuts power draw substantially, and stops the R-22 tax forever. In our mild marine climate, that replacement conversation increasingly lands on a heat pump, which also covers your heating — we'll show that option's numbers alongside.
What we won't do
We won't top off a leaking R-22 system annually and call it maintenance, and we won't quote a replacement for a system that needs a $-modest part. You get the diagnosis, the R-22 line-item priced transparently if it applies, and both paths costed — then it's your call, made with real numbers.
