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Time for HOME AC Maintenance:

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by edthefox5, Jun 24, 2021.

  1. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I periodically clean the coils on all my home and car ac units using a bug sprayer and coil cleaner. The home outside unit which is only about 6 years old was not getting as cool as it used too and actually got worse after spraying the coils.

    I got a flashlight and looked closely and was pretty shocked how dirty the coils had become and its on a custom metal stand about 2 feet off the ground.

    On a recommendation from a friend I bought some spray coil cleaner off Amazon. The best part of it is the cap is a coil comb/cleaner.
    Took all the side panels off. You spray the coils with its foamy cleaner then you use the cap to make one vertical pass down the condenser combing the coils and the comb captures all the dirt and debris and was full of dirt and then you rinse that cap off and do another vertical row,. Really works great. After that I sprayed it out from the inside and flushed all the coils and they looked brand new when done. I can clearly see through it now.

    While i was in there I got the model number off the condenser fan as its the original fan so its getting a little worrisome age wise. Probably get a Gentec off Amazon and throw it in.

    Dirty condenser coils is very hard on the compressor. Check your outside unit condenser coils. Going to be an extremely hot summer. Especially the side towards the wall. Mine was completely blocked.

    AC back to super cool again! I have 62 degrees at my first vent.

    Coil cleaner spray can with comb off Amazon. Blue can in pictures.

    Evap coil cleaner local from Grainger.

    Good Luck!
     

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    #1 edthefox5, Jun 24, 2021
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks for the reminder ed!

    i have the hvac company doing it annually, but i'm still changing the interior filter due to covid
     
    #2 bisco, Jun 24, 2021
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  3. Ronald Doles

    Ronald Doles Active Member

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    In Ohio the condenser coil gets matted with cottonwood tree lint. I swear there are no cottonwood trees near me but that stuff magically drifts around my house like large snowflakes in the Spring. If we have our whole house fan on and open the windows, the screens get matted with the stuff.

    Our heatpump is a pain to clean because it has an outer shell over the coil. You have to remove the top shell/fan first. The fan has no disconnects so you have to hang the fan/cover off to the side, out of the way, and then remove the outer shell. My hvac guy told me to just remove the top grille including the fan and use a garden hose to spray the coil from the inside which should flush all the stuff stuck to the outside of the coil.
     
    #3 Ronald Doles, Jul 7, 2021
  4. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Hmmm I have a heat pump on my Trane and just a simple 360 condenser coil.
    Never seen a shell.

    Btw after much experimentation I have found down here in Fla if you can keep direct sunlight off the condenser it really helps. Mine is on the correct north side of my building but still getting all day direct sun on it. Chassis gets super hot.
    I got some old metal doors painted them and prop one on each side of the condenser at a good angle where the condenser is not blocked. Really big difference in cooling. Chassis now very cool.

    Next door neighbor his is directly across from me on the south side of his house just cooks all day direct sunlight. He’s on his 3rd compressor in 5 years. Still makes a really bad noise when it kicks on.
     
    #4 edthefox5, Jul 7, 2021
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    mine is on the east side, so the house shades it in the heat of the afternoon
     
    #5 bisco, Jul 7, 2021
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  6. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Same here:).

    This is the 7th summer we've had our dual stage Carrier system running. I usually blow the coils off once a year;).

    Works so far with that plan(y).
     
    #6 Raytheeagle, Jul 8, 2021
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  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I did too but the corners of the frame panels hide a big portion of the condenser coils you can’t get too or even see so a full disassemble is important.
    plus when you spray from the outside your just driving the dirt deeper into the coil. Sometimes spray cleaning makes it worse.
    This is what the cheapo ac cleaning is you see on ads. Does very little
    Except makes you feel better.

    It’s easy take the fan top panel off first disconnect it’s 2 wires off starter cap put aside. Then take side panels off and clean and hose from inside out. Your compressor will thank you.

    You will be horrified to see how clogged your coils are.

    some fan motors have lube holes you can lubricate. 3 in 1 sells a little tube of oil with injector nozzle of oil made for electric motors. Says it right on the label. Little white bottle.

    Whenever I start working on anything I take pictures with my iPhone of all connections and circuit boards.Then I don’t have to worry about remembering polarity colors.

    And turn off both breakers if you wiring them. 5 minute delay for compressor to come on after power up.
     
    #7 edthefox5, Jul 8, 2021
  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Is this the ancient and archaic style that just snaps from Off to full On, without the variable speed drive that starts softly and slowly ramps speed up and down as needed?
     
    #8 fuzzy1, Jul 9, 2021
  9. lech auto air conditionin

    lech auto air conditionin Senior Member

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    If you are worried about the condenser fan motor after six years. Your bigger worry should be the capacitor that keeps your fan starting and running.

    Capacitors are the biggest failing component on air conditioning.
    Before the capacitors actually fail all the way they start getting weak. A week capacitor causes a hard labor start on any motor whether it’s the condenser or the compressor motor.

    This causes any motor to draw more amps in heat up shortening the life of the insulation on the windings.
    Most people do not know this until one day the AC is not working because the capacitor has 100% completely failed and either the condenser fan motor will not start or the compressor motor will not start.

    And sometimes on the capacitors way out of ending it’s like it also ends the life of the condenser fan motor or the compressor fan motor.

    Failing capacitors are the main problem of failed motors not the motors themselves the motors are just a symptom of the problem.
     
    #9 lech auto air conditionin, Jul 9, 2021
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  10. TinyTim

    TinyTim Active Member

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    I just replaced my capacitor that failed after 5 years. I bought an extra to have on hand. Always use a garden hose 3x-4x per year on your coils.
     
    #10 TinyTim, Jul 9, 2021
  11. Ronald Doles

    Ronald Doles Active Member

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    It is a louvered shell that wraps around the coil making access to the coil that much harder. As I said, our HVAC guy said to just remove the top grill and condenser fan and rinse the coil out from the inside with a water hose. Problem is that you can't see if you removed the debris or not because of the louvered shell.
     
    #11 Ronald Doles, Jul 9, 2021
  12. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    By shell do you mean the louvered side panels of the chassis? If so they just come right off. Screws along the bottom. Should be able to take the chassis
    Cover right off to get to the outside of the coils and clean it like I did.

    take a picture please and post it. Thanks.
     
    #12 edthefox5, Jul 9, 2021
  13. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    And yes the start up cap is a maintenance issue. Should have one of those in stock.
    I have replaced the contactor on my condenser unit too. The motor in the air handier has failed on it too replaced that with a new Gentec.

    I installed my system myself and had a custom stand made for the condenser at a welding shop. It’s nice it’s about 2 feet off the ground. I built a nice concrete pad for it too.
     
    #13 edthefox5, Jul 9, 2021
  14. lech auto air conditionin

    lech auto air conditionin Senior Member

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    Hey six-year-old system and the compressor has went out already that means somebody did something wrong on the installation or there was a failure of something that caused the compressor to go out.
    Compressors are just a symptom of the problem just like a Prius compressor does not burn out unless something happened to cause it to go out.

    A properly installed system usually compressors last 15 or 20 years easily and even longer when prevent and contacted fan motor performed before they are needed.

    A big culprit of shortening the life have a compressor is when somebody allows it to have a small leak and every year or two they have to fill it up a little bit.

    During that time that it is slowly running low on refrigerant the superheat gets really high and the compressor suffers and overheats every time compounding the problem shortening his life.
     
    #14 lech auto air conditionin, Jul 9, 2021
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