I had a problem with my AC units. I thought it was the freon which
was too low.
The AC guy came out and said that he first recommended cleaning the
outside AC units, at $80/unit. His partner says that my units look
clean. He says that they should be cleaned every year.
So he takes off the top casing, washes it with a lawn hose, sprays on
an A/C cleaner (sodium hydroxide based), and washes it off. $300
later, he says that the freon needs to be added too. Ok, another $150
later the problem is solved. I got the feeling I was hood winked and
robbed.
Two questions.
Is washing and cleaning the units standard practice? Is it even
necessary to do it once a year? On my old house, I haven't cleaned
them in 3 years and never noticed a higher than average bill for not
doing so.
How much efficiency is lost by not cleaning the units? The repair guy
quoted 50%, but I made a smart ass remark like 5%/yr.

I had a problem with my AC units. I thought it was the
freon which
was too low.

CY: yeah, everyone says that.

The AC guy came out and said that he first recommended
cleaning the
outside AC units, at $80/unit. His partner says that my
units look
clean. He says that they should be cleaned every year.
So he takes off the top casing, washes it with a lawn hose,
sprays on
an A/C cleaner (sodium hydroxide based), and washes it off.

CY: Hope he left the cleaner on long enough to foam up. I've
worked on plenty of units that "look clean" but aren't. You
have to get the system running, and check some temperatures
to find out if the coils need cleaning.

$300
later, he says that the freon needs to be added too. Ok,
another $150
later the problem is solved.

CY: Hope he left the system running long enough to dry out,
afterwards. The evaporative cooling can throw the numbers
and pressures and temperatures around a bit.

I got the feeling I was hood winked and
robbed.

CY: I can imagine that.

Two questions.
Is washing and cleaning the units standard practice?

CY: Yes, it is.

Is it even
necessary to do it once a year?

CY: Depends how much dirt and dust they pick up. I think
that most cases, every 3 to 5 years is good.

On my old house, I haven't cleaned
them in 3 years and never noticed a higher than average bill
for not
doing so.

CY: Well, if you take the energy bill from three dirty-coil
years of use, they will be about the same. Clean the coils,
and the energy bill should go down.


How much efficiency is lost by not cleaning the units?

CY: I've seen 100% loss of efficiency in units that were
dirty, but looked clean. I worked on one that was simply not
cooling the house at all. After cleaning, it worked great.
The home owner was talking about replacement, but was
willing to let me clean it and see if that helped. It did.

The repair guy
quoted 50%, but I made a smart ass remark like 5%/yr.

CY: The repair guy was a lot too low.

In article ,
"Stormin Mormon" wrote:

I had a problem with my AC units. I thought it was the
freon which
was too low.

CY: yeah, everyone says that.



Chris, finding a working newsreader and learning how to use it isn't
difficult. Since you're a regular here, why not take the plunge? After
you've gone cold turkey on top-posting, you could figure out how quoting
is supposed to work.

Deodiaus wrote:
I had a problem with my AC units. I thought it was the freon which
was too low.
The AC guy came out and said that he first recommended cleaning the
outside AC units, at $80/unit. His partner says that my units look
clean. He says that they should be cleaned every year.
So he takes off the top casing, washes it with a lawn hose, sprays on
an A/C cleaner (sodium hydroxide based), and washes it off. $300
later, he says that the freon needs to be added too. Ok, another $150
later the problem is solved. I got the feeling I was hood winked and
robbed.
Two questions.
Is washing and cleaning the units standard practice? Is it even
necessary to do it once a year? On my old house, I haven't cleaned
them in 3 years and never noticed a higher than average bill for not
doing so.
How much efficiency is lost by not cleaning the units? The repair guy
quoted 50%, but I made a smart ass remark like 5%/yr.

We recommend cleaning the outdoor condensing unit once
a year for a straight AC and twice a year for a heat pump.
The evaporator coil, "the cold part inside" should be
checked at the same time and cleaned if necessary. If you
change your filters regularly, you should have no problems
with the evaporator. I always tell customers to turn the
AC off when you are cutting the grass because the dust and
grass clippings will be sucked into the fins clogging them
up. You should keep hedges and landscaping plants away
from the outdoor unit. A lot of folks will pile mulch and
bark around the AC unit and that's a bad idea too. I like
to see a bed of pea gravel or rocks around them and the
grass/weeds pulled from around the units. Air flow, air flow
should be the AC mantra especially in this hot weather.

TDD

On Jun 28, 3:32*pm, The Daring Dufas
wrote:
Deodiaus wrote:
I had a problem with my AC units. *I thought it was the freon which
was too low.
The AC guy came out and said that he first recommended cleaning the
outside AC units, at $80/unit. *His partner says that my units look
clean. He says that they should be cleaned every year.
So he takes off the top casing, washes it with a lawn hose, sprays on
an A/C cleaner (sodium hydroxide based), and washes it off. *$300
later, he says that the freon needs to be added too. *Ok, another $150
later the problem is solved. *I got the feeling I was hood winked and
robbed.
Two questions.
Is washing and cleaning the units standard practice? *Is it even
necessary to do it once a year? *On my old house, I haven't cleaned
them in 3 years and never noticed a higher than average bill for not
doing so.
How much efficiency is lost by not cleaning the units? *The repair guy
quoted 50%, but I made a smart ass remark like 5%/yr.

We recommend cleaning the outdoor condensing unit once
a year for a straight AC and twice a year for a heat pump.
The evaporator coil, "the cold part inside" should be
checked at the same time and cleaned if necessary. If you
change your filters regularly, you should have no problems
with the evaporator. I always tell customers to turn the
AC off when you are cutting the grass because the dust and
grass clippings will be sucked into the fins clogging them
up. You should keep hedges and landscaping plants away
from the outdoor unit. A lot of folks will pile mulch and
bark around the AC unit and that's a bad idea too. I like
to see a bed of pea gravel or rocks around them and the
grass/weeds pulled from around the units. Air flow, air flow
should be the AC mantra especially in this hot weather.

TDD- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Some increase in use of air heat pumps here; noticing that most of
them are now mounted at least a foot above ground and often on some
sort of hard pad, not surrounded by bushes, flowers and other junk
that can shield them.
Also in winter homeowners seem to make make sure snow does not pile up
against them. Since a heat pump is just an AC in reverse and in fact
can be used as AC in summer and is airflow device that makes a lot of
sense.
After all no one (one hopes) would block off the radiator of a motor-
vehicle and then complain it wasn't cooling the engine properly!
Here in our windy climate that blows dust, autumn leaves etc. around
it would also makes sense to clean outside coils regularly.

On Jun 28, 9:47*am, Deodiaus wrote:
I had a problem with my AC units. *I thought it was the freon which
was too low.
The AC guy came out and said that he first recommended cleaning the
outside AC units, at $80/unit. *His partner says that my units look
clean. He says that they should be cleaned every year.
So he takes off the top casing, washes it with a lawn hose, sprays on
an A/C cleaner (sodium hydroxide based), and washes it off. *$300
later, he says that the freon needs to be added too. *Ok, another $150
later the problem is solved. *I got the feeling I was hood winked and
robbed.
Two questions.
Is washing and cleaning the units standard practice? *Is it even
necey essary to do it once a year? *On my old house, I haven't cleaned
them in 3 years and never noticed a higher than average bill for not
doing so.
How much efficiency is lost by not cleaning the units? *The repair guyar
quoted 50%, but I made a smart ass remark like 5%/yr.

I dont think you got hoodwinked. He was acting in your best
interest ; yes, the condensor and evaporator DO contribute to
efficiency if they are clean because maximum heat transfer takes place
thereby increasing cooling capacity over dirty coils, decreasing amp
draw due to the compressor not working as hard, making the units
life expectancy theoretically longer, and making your space cool
faster/better dehumidified. Now that you know how to clean the
coils, you can do that yourself each year prior to startup so it
functions at peak performance.

BTW, I have a follow up question.
I am buying a
AO Smith DL1056 1/2 HP Direct Drive Blower Motor
motor, which needs a 10 mF capacitor (according to manufacturer's
specs),
but the AC guy put in a 7.5 mF cap.
Any reasons why he would do that other than that's what he had
available (because he had to make a special run to grainger anyway?

On Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:56:48 -0700 (PDT), Deodiaus
wrote:

BTW, I have a follow up question.
I am buying a
AO Smith DL1056 1/2 HP Direct Drive Blower Motor
motor, which needs a 10 mF capacitor (according to manufacturer's
specs),
but the AC guy put in a 7.5 mF cap.
Any reasons why he would do that other than that's what he had
available (because he had to make a special run to grainger anyway?


It will likely work, but it is almost certain he got that because it
was all that was available or because he thought it was the right animal
for the job.

Can't think of any.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Deodiaus" wrote in message
...
BTW, I have a follow up question.
I am buying a
AO Smith DL1056 1/2 HP Direct Drive Blower Motor
motor, which needs a 10 mF capacitor (according to
manufacturer's
specs),
but the AC guy put in a 7.5 mF cap.
Any reasons why he would do that other than that's what he
had
available (because he had to make a special run to grainger
anyway?

The motor I had in there is
http://americanhvacparts.com/Merchan...ode=fasco-luxa
which as you can see here also comes recommended with a 7.5 MFD cap,
but the manufacturer suggests 10 MFD.

God is Dead
-Nietzsche

? "Deodiaus" ?????? ??? ??????
...
The motor I had in there is
http://americanhvacparts.com/Merchan...ode=fasco-luxa
which as you can see here also comes recommended with a 7.5 MFD cap,
but the manufacturer suggests 10 MFD.

That's a much better capacitor than the crap plastic ones we have in EU;_) I
have no idea why they recommend 10 uF, since the website has a link to a GE
7.5 uF, and the electrician put a 7.5 uF.

Gott ist tod.
(your signature in German).
(Pronounced toont).


--
Tzortzakakis Dimitris
major in electrical engineering
mechanized infantry reservist
hordad AT otenet DOT gr