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what a PITA job
varian
Member Posts: 2,258 ✭✭✭✭
i just finished cleaning my AC outside unit. first time in several years and really needed doing. it had a good many leaves, spiders, and a fire ant nest but i got them all out. ordered some foaming cleaner off line three weeks ago for this job but it never showed up. it was delayed in shipping a couple of times but finally made it to my small town. then it got delivered to someone who refused shipment and was returned. wasnt me because i live alone and even as forgetful as i am i think i would have remembered that. anyway i found some locally and it did a good job on the coils. so now i should be ready for the rest of the summer which lasts till the middle of oct here.
Comments
Glad you got it done. It surprises me, but probably shouldn't, how many people never do this. About 7 years after moving into a new house he had built a friend was complaining about his air conditioner not working. I asked him if it had ever been cleaned and just got a blank look from him. A few days later he called and told me about the $1000 repair bill he got and sheepishly told me the tech told him it was because the condenser was completely blocked. Kind of an expensive lesson for him. Bob
Next year my 21 year old TRANE unit will be old enough to buy an AR-15🤗
My Trane unit was still running after 23 years. We recently decided to replace it while we had the money.
Outside unit had never been cleaned and was not very dirty when they took it out.
Don't forget the evaporator coil..........I do AC work and I can tell you that lack of maintenance will reduce the system life in half.
Right about the Evaporator coil.
I just got through putting down plastic over carpet inside a house and laying on my back with a covid mask on and a face shield and looked like a coal miner after I got the in side of evaporator coils clean, then I had to go for the outgoing air side. (I could use de-greaser cleaner carefully on that side to wet the fins. What a mess. this was stuff that had got past the cheaper filters and clogged the fins. The unit worked like new afterwards. Do pay little more and use the better filters on your HVAC systems.
I've also seen condenser coils clogged really bad, but very few people will take a flashlight and look at their evaporator coils, especially the ingoing air side.
Then they call the AC man saying their unit must be low on freon and usually it's not low on freon, but they will get what they asked for and little bit water squirted on their condenser coils and they are happy for little while.
Dirty coils will really shorten the life of the compressor. I've seen some people that do not even listen or care when they are told they should clean their AC coils more often.
(these types also get to vote)
What mohawk said.............
Keeping the evaporator clean, not to mention the blower vanes, is key in controlling/eliminating corrosion and mold build-up. If ya don't.......all kinds of heck can happen.
Key, to the above, is using a GOOD filter..........I use a MERV 11 rated filter(anything denser, and you may need to upgrade the blower motor).
Also maintain a reasonably clean filter...........my thermostat has a system hour-counter. It's real handy, in that it flags "change filter" when the pre-set is reached........in my case, 800 hours. In the summer that equates to 6 weeks..........in winter, 4 months. Like I said......real handy!
Hope this helps.
For about $250 a year, our HVAC company comes out and does a complete systems check and cleanout of our furnaces (we have two) in the Autumn, and our A/C in the Spring. Money well spent for professional preventative care.
I was in the HVAC business for about 40 years,mostly commercial and industrial with a little residential.I wouldn't even try to estimate how many coils I have cleaned.One of the ones I remember most was a residential job on a package unit that the condenser was filthy and the evaporator looked like a black wool blanket and you couldn't even see the fins.I used the good coil cleaner in a pump up sprayer and plenty of water.The coils cleaned up and the next day the home owner called to tell me that his AC unit was blowing hard enough to unroll the toilet paper in the bathroom.