Home A/C helper

[Snprhed]

So I came across this the other day. Its like a mister for your a/c unit, supposed to cool the air on its way in. Seems like it would work well. They want $100 for what looks to be $12 worth of parts. Does anyone make a better quality kit? Im sure it wouldn't be too difficult to assemble the same parts individually.

Am I crazy, I think this would work. My A/C is 1995 vintage and something like this could probably reduce the workload.

http://www.coolnsave.com/

 

[Riverbound]

it will drastically increase how quickly the coil corrodes and you find your system needing to be replaced.......that's got to be one of the dumbest ideas put to market. LOL

great for us AC contractors though....

regardless of the age of the unit if its not cooling correctly there's something causing it, might want to look into having someone come out and verify the system does in fact have proper charge, proper airflow, and make sure there are no other issues causing your lack of performance.

 

[Snprhed]

it will drastically increase how quickly the coil corrodes and you find your system needing to be replaced.......that's got to be one of the dumbest ideas put to market. LOL

great for us AC contractors though....

regardless of the age of the unit if its not cooling correctly there's something causing it, might want to look into having someone come out and verify the system does in fact have proper charge, proper airflow, and make sure there are no other issues causing your lack of performance.

They face outward and are supposed to cool the air coming in, its not supposed to be spraying water into the unit. Next Im not sure you actually read what I wrote.

 

[CLdrinker]

it will drastically increase how quickly the coil corrodes and you find your system needing to be replaced.......that's got to be one of the dumbest ideas put to market. LOL

great for us AC contractors though....

regardless of the age of the unit if its not cooling correctly there's something causing it, might want to look into having someone come out and verify the system does in fact have proper charge, proper airflow, and make sure there are no other issues causing your lack of performance.

I have seen worse ideas put market .

My cousins housing tract that she lived in had the AC condenser on the rear porch by the slider.

A super nice wood craftsman lived in the neighborhood and he designed a enclosed decorative cover for all the condensers.

Thanks to him I made a bunch of side money replacing condensing units

 

[River Lynchmob]

They face outward and are supposed to cool the air coming in, its not supposed to be spraying water into the unit. Next Im not sure you actually read what I wrote.

Whether or not it sprays directly onto the coils or away from them them fan will draw air through the coil as it is designed to do. As that is happening it WILL draw the moisture/water in through along with the cooler air.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

The moisture in the air is what causes the corrosion. This is not a new idea. It's an old, very bad, idea. I'll try to find some pictures of condenser coils that people tried to cool them down with adding water in one way or another.

They face outward and are supposed to cool the air coming in, its not supposed to be spraying water into the unit. Next Im not sure you actually read what I wrote.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[CLdrinker]

They face outward and are supposed to cool the air coming in, its not supposed to be spraying water into the unit. Next Im not sure you actually read what I wrote.

It’s not going to do jack shit.

 

[Riverbound]

They face outward and are supposed to cool the air coming in, its not supposed to be spraying water into the unit. Next Im not sure you actually read what I wrote.

and knowing a thing or two about AC I'm telling you its a horrible idea.....your AC contractor will thank you.

not sure how familiar you are with misters but they aren't really precise and the design of the system most absolutely will soak the coil itself, drastically speeding up corroding the condenser coil, resulting in you having to change the condenser out.

look at the numerous you tube videos and go through the comments.....its very entertaining to say the least.

 

[Riverbound]

The moisture in the air is what causes the corrosion. This is not a new idea. It's an old, very bad, idea. I'll try to find some pictures of condenser coils that people tried to cool them down with adding water in one way or another.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

This customer had one of those lawn sprinklers the oscialte back and forth on their roof, the units were 6 years old. their maintenance guy told them to do the sprinkler thing to make the units more efficient and save money. ......$40k in repairs later they have new coils, new condenser fans and properly running units. no sprinklers needed. due to the damage to the condenser they had also replaced 3 compressors at a cost of $7keach.

 

[rvrrun]

Maybe try cooling the coils with nitrogen?

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

 

[Riverbound]

It’s not going to do jack shit.

it actually will on a very temporary basis. we have had to do it as a last ditch effort to keep a unit running through the weekend of for an event, etc. until the new unit could be installed. but its by no means a long term solution.

 

[dezertrider]

The moisture in the air is what causes the corrosion. This is not a new idea. It's an old, very bad, idea. I'll try to find some pictures of condenser coils that people tried to cool them down with adding water in one way or another.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

I know you have them. I used to see sprinklers on condensers in the IE. It worked for about a year then the coils were smoked

 

[Flying_Lavey]

I know you have them. I used to see sprinklers on condensers in the IE. It worked for about a year then the coils were smoked

I looked and I think I just delete them now since they are so frequent and no real need to save them now.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Also, another note...... Humdity is great for helping an A/C's efficiency......[emoji849]

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Riverbound]

Also, another note...... Humdity is great for helping an A/C's efficiency......[emoji849]

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Kinda like running the AC and swamp cooler at the same time. [emoji6]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[2Driver]

Me and another guy made precoolers for ac units back in the 80’s in Havasu out of our garage.

It was a Cool-deck swamper pad that was kept slightly wet and it mounted to the ac unit. It didn’t wet the ac at all and dropped temps considerably which translated to cooler temps blowing in the house. The ac thought it was 90 out when it was 115. They were also very cheap to make and ac efficiently sucked back then so it was a ok solution

Back then most AC’s drew air from one side so it was easy to install one and make a difference.

Today ac unit are so much nicer and more efficient it just pays to install a 15+ seer unit and be done or do a split system.

 

[rrrr]

.

This customer had one of those lawn sprinklers the oscillate back and forth on their roof, the units were 6 years old. their maintenance guy told them to do the sprinkler thing to make the units more efficient and save money. ......$40k in repairs later they have new coils, new condenser fans and properly running units. no sprinklers needed. due to the damage to the condenser they had also replaced 3 compressors at a cost of $7keach.

View attachment 645726 View attachment 645727 View attachment 645726 View attachment 645727

.

You're obviously correct about the damage a continuous water spray will do. My comments are just general in nature, not directed at you. I just wanted to add sometimes corrosion is also accompanied by a buildup of minerals on the fin surface, just like the stuff that accumulates on pool tile in LHC.

It looks like the damage to condenser coils in the photos you posted above could have been caused by chemical corrosion. Although I'm not a HVAC-R tech by trade, over the years of working in the data center construction business I've looked at thousands of Liebert/Emerson condensers and drycoolers. Damage to coils like those you photographed often occurs because of faulty maintenance practices.

For those of you unfamiliar with such practices, periodically washing condenser coils is an important maintenance procedure. It removes dirt and other contaminants from the coil surface, increasing heat transfer efficiency. Some techs use chemical cleaning compounds for washing the coils. Two popular brands are Acti-Brite, a strongly acidic fluid with a pH lower than 2.0, and Alki-Foam, a strongly alkaline formula with a pH above 13.5. These cleaners can cause serious problems if not used properly. The compounds in the fluids react with coil contaminants and minerals, resulting in a foaming reaction which lifts the debris from the coils.

The problem with using these fluids is that while water dilutes them, unless they are completely rinsed off the chemical reaction continues. A strong spray of water is needed to thoroughly clean the voids in the coil structure. If the technician doesn't properly perform this important part of the cleaning process, the remaining acid or alkaline compound will continue to react with the aluminum. After several rounds of this, the coil is reduced to a flaky shards that crumble into pieces at the lightest touch, just as the photos above illustrate.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

.



.

You're obviously correct about the damage a continuous water spray will do. My comments are just general in nature, not directed at you. I just wanted to add sometimes corrosion is also accompanied by a buildup of minerals on the fin surface, just like the stuff that accumulates on pool tile in LHC.

It looks like the damage to condenser coils in the photos you posted above could have been caused by chemical corrosion. Although I'm not a HVAC-R tech by trade, over the years of working in the data center construction business I've looked at thousands of Liebert/Emerson condensers and drycoolers. Damage to coils like those you photographed often occurs because of faulty maintenance practices.

For those of you unfamiliar with such practices, periodically washing condenser coils is an important maintenance procedure. It removes dirt and other contaminants from the coil surface, increasing heat transfer efficiency. Some techs use chemical cleaning compounds for washing the coils. Two popular brands are Acti-Brite, a strongly acidic fluid with a pH lower than 2.0, and Alki-Foam, a strongly alkaline formula with a pH above 13.5. These cleaners can cause serious problems if not used properly. The compounds in the fluids react with coil contaminants and minerals, resulting in a foaming reaction which lifts the debris from the coils.

The problem with using these fluids is that while water dilutes them, unless they are completely rinsed off the chemical reaction continues. A strong spray of water is needed to thoroughly clean the voids in the coil structure. If the technician doesn't properly perform this important part of the cleaning process, the remaining acid or alkaline compound will continue to react with the aluminum. After several rounds of this, the coil is reduced to a flaky shards that crumble into pieces at the lightest touch, just as the photos above illustrate.

The pictures RB posted are almost always caused purely by water and excessive moisture in the air. I can't even count how many condenser could I've seen EXACTLY like those.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Riverbound]

.



.

You're obviously correct about the damage a continuous water spray will do. My comments are just general in nature, not directed at you. I just wanted to add sometimes corrosion is also accompanied by a buildup of minerals on the fin surface, just like the stuff that accumulates on pool tile in LHC.

It looks like the damage to condenser coils in the photos you posted above could have been caused by chemical corrosion. Although I'm not a HVAC-R tech by trade, over the years of working in the data center construction business I've looked at thousands of Liebert/Emerson condensers and drycoolers. Damage to coils like those you photographed often occurs because of faulty maintenance practices.

For those of you unfamiliar with such practices, periodically washing condenser coils is an important maintenance procedure. It removes dirt and other contaminants from the coil surface, increasing heat transfer efficiency. Some techs use chemical cleaning compounds for washing the coils. Two popular brands are Acti-Brite, a strongly acidic fluid with a pH lower than 2.0, and Alki-Foam, a strongly alkaline formula with a pH above 13.5. These cleaners can cause serious problems if not used properly. The compounds in the fluids react with coil contaminants and minerals, resulting in a foaming reaction which lifts the debris from the coils.

The problem with using these fluids is that while water dilutes them, unless they are completely rinsed off the chemical reaction continues. A strong spray of water is needed to thoroughly clean the voids in the coil structure. If the technician doesn't properly perform this important part of the cleaning process, the remaining acid or alkaline compound will continue to react with the aluminum. After several rounds of this, the coil is reduced to a flaky shards that crumble into pieces at the lightest touch, just as the photos above illustrate.

Incorrect coil cleansing will cause similar damage but generally the coils will be severely miscolored and almost white in color.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk