Cylinder, Quarter Pallet or Full Pallet? Sizing Your Refrigerant Order
Buying refrigerant by the pallet is cheaper per pound. Buying refrigerant by the pallet also ties up cash, floor space and a forklift. The right answer depends on your run rate, not on the headline price per pound.
What the pack sizes mean
- Single cylinder — disposable and recovery cylinders from 2.5 lb up to 30 lb depending on the gas.
- Quarter pallet — 10 cylinders.
- Half pallet — 20 cylinders.
- Full pallet — 40 cylinders.
Cylinder weight varies by refrigerant because the fill is set by density and cylinder rating. R-410A commonly ships in 25 lb, R-134a in 30 lb, R-404A in 24 lb, R-32 and R-454B in 20 lb. Compare on price per pound of gas, not price per cylinder.
The freight maths
Refrigerants are DOT-regulated hazardous materials. They move by LTL freight, not parcel, and that cost does not scale down neatly — shipping two cylinders costs a lot more per pound than shipping forty. Freight is usually where single-cylinder buying quietly loses money.
A useful rule of thumb: if you get through more than a pallet of one gas in a quarter, pallet buying almost always wins once freight is included. Below that, the tied-up cash and storage rarely justify it.
Storage and handling
Before ordering a full pallet, check you can actually receive it. Freight deliveries need someone on site to inspect the shipment and sign the bill of lading, and a 40-cylinder pallet needs a forklift or a liftgate booked in advance. Store cylinders upright, secured, out of direct sun and away from heat sources, and keep them within the temperature range on the cylinder label.
A practical approach
Most contractors land on a mix: pallet quantities of the one or two gases they use constantly, and single cylinders for everything else. Look back at twelve months of usage by gas, then buy pallets only where the volume genuinely supports it.
If you send us your usage list we will quote the mix — pallets where they pay, cylinders where they do not — and consolidate it onto one freight shipment so you are not paying for the same truck twice.
