Is it legal to sell Refrigerant 12 without a license to someone without a license?

Question

I am specifically interested about NY.

Answer 1

My understanding about R12 freon is that you cannot sell the small cans of freon to someone who isn't licensed to purchase it. You can sell the drums(about the size of a propane tank) of it to people without a license, but they are fairly expensive.

The reason behind this is that people wanted to re-charge their A/C's in their vehicles, would buy the little can and the kit, but didn't know how to do it properly, and it had some serious environmental repercussions.

NY specific or not, I remember when the law passed. I worked in the automotive section of wal-mart. We ordered a bunch, and it would not even make it on the shelf. People were basically stock piling.

From what I understand, they also might be lifting that "ban" soon. Most vehicles are now using the R134, and there aren't than many left on the old freon. Now, there wouldn't be as many people out there "leaking" some of the freon out. The problem is that it was the masses out there leaking a little bit of freon. Given there wouldn't be near as many people doing this, it may be different.

But, short answer, yes, it is still illegal to sell the small canisters of R12 Freon to an unlicensed person.