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[email protected] clare@snyder.on.ca is offline
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Default All aluminum versus copper/aluminum coils for air conditioner?

On Thu, 23 Jul 2015 23:44:01 +0000, DCB
wrote:

replying to Robert Green , DCB wrote:
robert_green1963 wrote:

"Ed Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

http://www.conditionedairsolutions.c...1-20345-25.pdf
I am sure that there are enough posters here to sustain *any* argument,

with
or without facts.
When I saw the word formicary (formica means ant in Italian) I decided to

go
look it up to see if it was related to ants (or Formica - which people

tell
me stands for "FORmerly MICArta). This is another site that describes the
problem and claims it can occur within two months after manufacture.
http://www.microchannelfacts.com/formicary-corrosion
Formicary corrosion is a type of corrosion also referred to by HVAC
contractors as "ant's nest" corrosion.
They say it can't be seen with the naked eye but I assume if any kind of
corrosion gets bad enough, it will become visible to normal vision.
Learn something new every day!





Formicary Corrosion can never been seen, it is the very definition of the
pin hole mesh; It is rare and is usually caused internally not externally
with the introduction of a acidic contaminant in the system.

Copper is tried an true, lasts for decades, provides 2X the heat exchange.
(it is the reason that ALL computer CPU cooling is COPPER)


You'd be surprized how many CPU heat sinks have absolutely NO copper
in them. I've even got a pile of them tat a magnet will stick to -
not very well, being stainless steel of all things (very poor thermal
conductivity, but goot thermal mass - with heat pipes to stainless
steel fins, plus folded fins that appear to be aluminum (definitely
not copper) fused to the stainless plate.

These all came from P4 and Core Duo equipped Lenovo desktop units.

Most of the rest of my stask are extruded aliminum -I had a couple
copper ones from ancient Dell PCs (Inspiron 2400??)

Aluminum is cheaper and easier to bend; which is important because the
MFG's have to come up with creative solutions to make up for the reduced
heat transfer.

Additionally, copper is easier to repair and unless the Aluminum system
does not have copper anywhere it is more likely to see corrosion where
Aluminum touches copper then copper has of Formicary Corrosion


Cheers