Where Should I Purchase My Refrigerants?
There are a variety of refrigerant wholesalers throughout the United States. The question is, which ones should you buy from? Who’s providing the best product for the best value? I have complied a list of all of the major refrigerant distributors that I am aware of throughout the United States. Now, I may have missed some but this list should still highlight the key players today. Please note that most of these distributors ship in pallet quantities only. (40 jugs on one pallet)
eRefrigerants.com
eRefrigerants.com is one of the fastest growing online retailers of refrigerants and is based out of Austin, Texas. They have a big selection of refrigerants that will certainly meet your needs and they offer free continental US shipping. Whether you are looking for just one cylinder of refrigerant or a full pallet, their pricing is very competitive and their customer service is excellent.
A-Gas
A-Gas was founded over twenty years ago and is now a global distributor of refrigeration. They have facilities on five continents and just recently purchased the companies known as CoolGas and RemTec International. CoolGas was founded in 1994 and is now one of the largest distributors in the United States. The new partnership between CoolGas and A-Gas will provide better coverage and service to their customers in 2015. I’ve dealt with CoolGas in the past and have had nothing but good experiences.
Refrigerant Depot
Refrigerant Depot, formerly known as Automart Wholesale, was founded in 1995. They are based out of Orlando and provide very competitive pricing on pallets nationwide. All of their products are produced in the United States by major manufacturers. I’ve bought from these guys in the past and have had no issues.
Weitron Inc
Weitron is a worldwide distributor of refrigerants. They were founded in 1992 in Maryland and have since expanded to supplying locations all over the United States and globally. Weitron is committed to quality product and great customer service. Again, I’ve bought from Weitron in the past and did not have any issues or complaints.
Refrigerants Inc
Refrigerants Inc was founded in 1997 and have now expanded to three hub locations across the United States. Their locations in Denver, Omaha, and Chicago provide same or next day shipping to most areas of the United States. Customer sanctification is their goal and they work to earn their customers.
Altair Partners
Altair was founded in 1991 as an importer of industrial chemicals and have expanded to other chemicals, refrigeration ,and oils. Altair is committed to providing the best quality products as well as the most competitive price. Altair prides itself on it’s numerous international connections and breadth.
Hudson Technologies
Hudson Technologies is one of the larger distributors in the United States. They hold many patents in the refrigeration industry and claim to be one of the biggest reclamation companies in the country. They offer ON-SITE refrigeration services no matter where you are in the country.
TulStar
Tulstar was founded back in 1986 and have built up to a leader in industrial chemical and oil distribution. They sell many other products as well as refrigerants.
Dynatemp Refrigerants Company
Dynatemp International, Inc. is a privately held supplier of refrigerants and refrigerant recovery services founded in 1983. Dynatemp has locations in Arizona, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania serving an HVAC/R wholesale customer base of 550+ companies representing over 4,100 HVAC/R wholesale locations nationwide.
JohnStone Supply
I am sure everyone had heard of JohnStone Supply. They are one of the leaders in HVAC distribution, not just in refrigerants but in all manners of tools, parts, and accessories. JohnStone was founded way back in 1953 and is now a recognized name throughout the HVAC industry. They average over $1.5 billion in sales and growing. They are the go to for a large portion of HVAC contractors.
AirGas Refrigerants
AirGas Refrigerants is another one of the larger distributors in the country. Some of you may have heard of a company called ‘Refron Refrigerants.’ I used to buy from these guys about ten years ago but they were acquired in 2008 by AirGas. This allowed AirGas to have the industry experience and Refron to have the financial backing of a larger company such as AirGas. This is a great company and they will even ship in less than pallet quantities. Only thing I can say is back when I bought from Refron I’d get a nice tie every year for Christmas… they stopped doing that after the acquisition! I miss those ties! I bought from these guys back in 2013 when I had my online business, they were very helpful and I had no issues with product quality.
RGAS Refrigerants
RGAS is also a very noteworthy distributor. The owner of RGAS has been one of the pioneers in the refrigerant business and actually found the aforementioned Coolgas as well. They can deliver all standard refrigerants in bulk and offer fast shipping options.
Another thing to note is that they offer other refrigerant-related services. They can certainly be your one-stop partner.
Lenz Distributing
Lenz Distributing has been in business since 1996 and sells over three million pounds of refrigerant annually.
Lenz is centrally located in Illinois, where they have a huge warehouse. This enables them to have super-competitive pricing and usually next-day delivery in the whole US.
Chinese Product
Yes, of course Chinese product is available… but it is tough to know exactly what product you are getting if you decide to import product yourself. Manufacturing refrigerant is complex and some imported refrigerants will not have the exact same chemical formula as locally made product. Now, this could be due to ignorance or the exporting company trying to get their cost as low as possible. Some of these concoctions are harmless but others can result in increased flammability which could lead to injury to you or technicians. Best advice I can give is to do your research and to know exactly what you are getting.
Conclusion
As you can see there are A LOT of refrigerant distributors throughout the country and I know that I have missed some. If you know of some companies that I missed let me know and I will get them added to this listing. My attempt was to make this as unbiased as possible and to just provide a listing of possible vendors for your company.
One thing to mention is that if your company is big enough you should try contacting the manufacturers and attempt to setup a direct program with them. This will save your company money and you have one less channel to go through. (Manufacturers include HoneyWell, DuPont, an MexiChem here in the United States.)