Cleaned My Central A/C Condenser (photo thread)

[sciphi]

I knew that the HVAC systems on my house had not been maintained too well when I purchased it. Little did I know how little attention they had received. The amount of dirt on the central A/C condenser was disgusting. I'm glad it was cleaned, since it was pretty well blocked.

To clean it, I flipped the breaker off, pulled the disconnect, disassembled the outer case, gently brushed off the debris, sprayed the coils with water-soluble A/C coil cleaner, then hosed it off and re-assembled. Total time involved was about 2.5 hours, most of that on disassembly and re-assembly.

Before cleaning:

Front of unit:



Side:



Back (looking down):




After cleaning:

Front:



Side:



Just a little bit of a difference...

I tested it, and the system was spitting cold air out immediately. Granted it was only 65*F inside the house. We'll see once the house gets up to 80*F or so in a few weeks.

 

[stephen9666]

I've been planning on doing this same thing this spring. We just bought our house last year and I haven't checked it out yet.

I wasn't aware there was a spray cleaning product specifically for this purpose. I was just planning on cleaning off the debris and hosing off the condenser.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

What's central A/C?

Looks like someone was mulching the lawn and not picking up the clippings right off.

 

[sciphi]

AC-Safe Air Conditioner Coil Foaming Cleaner is what I used. I got it at a big orange box store for about $6 per can. I've used about 1 can up on cleaning the condenser and evaporator.

That stuff really works. Well worth the $6, since it dissolved a lot of dirt out of the coils. The rinse water ran brown for a little bit after using it. The top of the can has a little scrub brush on it. That will straighten slightly bent fins also.

Based on the condition of the lawn, I'm betting side-discharge, a low deck height, and cutting the lawn when the grass was long.

 

[Kira]

Good job! Pat on the back, and all hat. Kira

 

[user52165]

Good post and pics.

You've just made a lot of enemies from the AC service crowd.

 

[dernp]

You"ll save alot of money now. Looks good.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Looks pretty good, much different between before and after cleaning. I'm glad we don't have air conditioning, central or window, to maintain. In previous house we turned on air conditioning for less than 10 days the first 2 years, didn't turn on for the next 4-5 years, tried to turn on after that and it didn't work, had to get it serviced.

Bought the current house 17 years ago without air conditioning, on average we wish to have air conditioning about 3-5 days a year. Too few days a year to justify paying thousands for it.

 

[KrisZ]

Good work, the AC performance should increase by quite a margin, seeing how restricted the fins were.

For cleaning the fins I just use a spray bottle filled with water, with few drops of dish washing detergent. It probably would not cut it with the amount of dirt you had, but for annual maintenance, it works like a charm at dissolving grime.
Mine always looks clean, but after spraying the condenser down with the solution, the rinse water is always brown.

 

[Phishin]

Nice!!!

My AC unit isn't like yours and most others. My fins are vertical....meaning, they only face the ground and the sky.

Every spring, I just spray the snot out of out of the top of the fins with Simple Green, let it set for 3 minutes, and rinse them off really well with the hose.

Also, my AC condenser surrounded by hostas, so there is very little chance for grass clipping to get sucked up.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
To clean it, I flipped the breaker off, pulled the disconnect, disassembled the outer case, gently brushed off the debris, sprayed the coils with water-soluble A/C coil cleaner, then hosed it off and re-assembled.


Was your vacuum cleaner broken?

 

[sleddriver]

Yikes!! Kudos to you for knowing this is a problem. Good thinking. The condensor has to be able to reject heat to function.

I'd suggest you check the evaporator coil as well. I'll relate a short story. Over the years, I've cleaned, maintained and sealed up my system. I discovered that unsealed air return plenums cause the blower to pull air from wall cavities, etc. that are not filtered.

I was discussing this with a neighbor when she complained of high electric bills. I looked at her A/C vents and could see black dust on them. Further, there were several cobwebs on her ceilings. When I checked her air return filter, it was clogged. Inside the plenum box was dirt & cobwebs! IOW, it wasn't sealed either.

When I mentioned this, she quickly replied that it's all taken care of by _____ company. I pointed to the obviously clogged filter and said "This is very dirty and inhibiting your airflow. When was the last time your coil was cleaned?" "I don't know. It's all taken care of though" nervously came the reply. So I dropped it.

Guess what? She recently had the whole system replaced. Cost $6000 + tax. She mentioned how much better the airflow is now! (Ya think?)The evap coil was clogged with mold, dog hair, dust, dirt and thus blocked airflow, rendering it near useless at absorbing heat.

It was obvious her 'people' weren't taking care of her A/C. She didn't know what to do/say when presented with evidence that contradicted her belief. Result? High bills, clogged evap. coil, shortened system life, greatly reduced airflow and ~ $6500 out of the bank. I wonder what her husband thinks about that?

Glad to hear you're one that understands these things and knows better. Down here, A/C is a 12-month job. Who would want to live here without it?

 

[Mud]

I've installed access panels into the return air box in the attic on either side of the evaporator coil. I'm then able to clean the evap coil once every year or two with green coil cleaner and low pressure water. The excess runs out the drainline. Seems to work well.
The access panels are specifically designed for pressurized air systems.

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: sleddriver
...

I'd suggest you check the evaporator coil as well. ...

Already did!

I cleaned it a few weeks ago when I disassembled the blower's squirrel cage fan to get all the dust out of it. IIRC there are photos around of that. Here they are: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...wer#Post3341879 I didn't see a point in making a clean fan work hard pushing air through a dirty evaporator coil. That, and I was waiting for the squirrel cage to dry before putting it back together.

I've put a fair number of hours into sealing/cleaning the HVAC system. It works much better than when we moved in, that's for sure.

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: sciphi
To clean it, I flipped the breaker off, pulled the disconnect, disassembled the outer case, gently brushed off the debris, sprayed the coils with water-soluble A/C coil cleaner, then hosed it off and re-assembled.


Was your vacuum cleaner broken?


I don't have a shopvac yet, or it would have been used with the brush attachment.

 

[DBMaster]

I've been in the habit of doing the same cleaning annually and, in fact, did mine two days ago. Even though it did not look like yours, the water running off looked like mud for several minutes. I occasionally (every few years) vacuum the evaporator coil in the winter when it's dry. Using decent filters seems to keep mine very clean.

Cleaning the condenser coil will definitely reduce the head pressure (high side). If you have a gauge you can see the difference before and after cleaning.

It is also a very good idea to clean the condenser coil for your car's A/C as well.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Nice work. I hate dealing with our HVAC. It's to the point where I would not mind if lightning burned down the house. LOL.

 

[EA82]

Nice clean Rheem/Ruud unit.

 

[sleddriver]

Sounds like you're good to go then! Congrats.

Last time I cleaned mine, I ran out of 'coil cleaner' in-a-can, so I went searching for something else that might work. I spied a can of Tuff Stuff multi-purpose foam cleaner. It works very well on a variety of surfaces, including carpet, so I always have some around. Contains some very effective ingredients: 2-butoxyethanol and sodium metasilicate + some surfacants. Turns out the coil cleaner I bought was nearly the same thing. TS is readily available and inexpensive ~ $4/can.