Derek Cole explains why drop-in replacements for R-22 refrigerant don't work as advertised. The chemical differences change how the system behaves and temperature readings, leading to repeated service calls. His advice: stick with R-22 if you can, or replace the whole unit.
You cannot duplicate R-22, okay? If you have a drop-in that acts very similar to it, it's not going to act just like it because it's not R-22. So when you use a drop-in, you have to measure temperatures. There's a whole bunch of variables that really— it gets to be a problem because you have to kind of guesstimate as to what the temperatures are or how much you might need because the readings aren't the same. It's not made to be the same, it's not going to be the same. I would use the original R-22 if you have to, and at that point I would replace it if it becomes too costly. Because when you use a drop-in, it can also be costly because you're having service call after service call because whoever's dropping in the refrigerant is never going to get it correct 100% of the time because it's not the same chemical makeup. The manufacturer made that unit to work on R-22. It didn't make it to work on the drop-in refrigerant for R-22. It didn't make it to work on R-410A refrigerant. Okay, you can't put a foreign refrigerant into that system and expect it to act the same. It's kind of, you know, if we talk about your body and the blood a lot, if you put in ketchup just because it was the same color is your blood, your system would not operate the same. Okay, so it's kind of, it's kind of ridiculous, but I mean, think about drop-in refrigerants. Yes, they're drop-ins for R-22, but never think that is going to be the solution to your problem because drop-ins could cause more problems, could be more expensive over time because you're having to go back and check that over and over again.
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