On May 29, 2:58*am, Evan wrote:

1. *5 years ? They need to be cleaned, even if you changed your
filter religiously stuff will still build up on the coils... *Even if
you
think they look clean...

Please. I'd bet that 95% of the coils in central AC systems
have never been cleaned, ever.





2. *You can't see in there very well and probably wouldn't see the
tiny stuff which builds up in the coils anyway... *Once people can
be able to "see" dust on the coils the have been wasting energy
in their cooling system for quite a long time... *Dust insulates the
coils making the system work harder to provide the same amount
of cooling capacity and provides a nice convenient medium where
any excess moisture in your home from humidity can condense
and freeze, icing up the coils... (which is *not* a good thing)

3. *Irrelevant questions, your condensate drain clearly does not
directly connect to a sewer line or it would have a trap in its
drain line -- nor does it drain directly outside...

Some manufacturers call for a trap to be installed without regard
to where the drain terminates. Not sure of the reason for this.
One could be to reduce air loss through it or keep bugs out.



As far as the coil being shipped charged with Nitrogen that is
how the coils are protected from damage during shipping and
installation... *All of that gas would have been recovered

You don't recover nitrogen.

and
evacuated from the system before it was charged prior to the
pressure testing which is done before any refrigerant is added,
without refrigerant your AC wouldn't cool your house at all...

To answer your question about how to get at the coil, here is
your answer:

You need to obtain a proper pair of steel metal shears to cut
the cover panel down in a straight line from where the refrigerant
lines exit the duct box to where the condensate line is located...
You would then need a piece of heavy gauge flat stock and some
gasket material... *One side of the flat stock gets attached to
the larger piece of the cover panel permanently... *With the
additional
joint you create you can remove the cover from both sides of flue vent
pipe without disturbing it's integrity which would cause a hazard, and
if you properly gasket and seal the new joint line you create in the
cover plate with real foil duct tape you will not impact or change the
level of static pressure in your duct work...

It would be interesting to hear from Derby if he thinks that's
feasible.



Want to keep your AC working at peak performance for years ?
Clean your inside coils with proper coil cleaner every year before
cooling season starts --

I'd like to see a manufacturer that recommends doing this. And
if it's so important, why don't the manufacturer's have a design
where you don't have the huge problems Derby is having?



don't forget to do the same with the coils
in the outside heat pump unit, all sorts of things can obstruct the
cooling fins in the coil outside from dirt to things left by bugs,
plants
or animals... *If the cooling fins in the outside unit are dirty or
have
lots of stuff clogging them, then the fan can't induce a proper draft
to transfer the heat into the outside air and the system won't run
very efficiently wasting energy...

That looks like a very nice and neat install on your furnace and
AC coils, the only thing your installer overlooked was how on
earth the next guy was ever going to be able to open the cover
up to service or clean the coils without having to cut out and
remove the vent pipe and repair the same every time someone
needed to open that cover plate...

~~ Evan- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I'd say it wasn't the installer that overlooked anything. It was
the manufacturer. That install looks exactly like the typical
install instructions from the manufactuer. Every one of
them I've seen shows the exhaust glued to the stub, and
glue joints the rest of the way to the outside. The
manufacturer designed the furnace and the cased coil.
So, if they wanted access, they could have planned for
it. I agree it would be a good idea to have access, but
you have to deal with the hand you're given. And what
I see here is the typical situation.