teecee

[teecee]

Just had new compressor installed outside house.technician says inside and outside coils need to be chemically cleaned as well as inside blower(fan).
Being on a fixed income (a/c company wants over $500.00 to do this),
can someone tell me where to get chemical cleaner and instruct me as to how to properly do the job.Guess i should have been more specific...by "inside" i mean the coil and blower located inside the house as well as outside coil.

[pushkins]

If your talking about an air conditioner compressor with I assume you are , then there should be no real need to "clean" anything. As long as you keep the leaves etc... away from the compressor it should be right to go.
I would be very wary of any company that tells you you need a $500 cleaning on a NEW compressor.

First time I've ever heard that one !!!!!!!

[teecee]

teecee

guess i wasn't very clear...it's the a/c coil and blower inside the house that needs cleaning.sorry for misleading.

[pushkins]

Did you not say that this unit is new ? New should mean there is a warranty.

If that is the case, it at worst will be due a "service call" in a year and that shouldn't even come close to $500. Most HVAC companies will offer a service call/general maintenance call for around $100.
As for a "chemical cleaning of the coils" on a new, a newish unit or even an older unit, it would be the first I've seen.
Most AC units are installed and forgotten (maintenance wise) for years and seldom have problems, your "blower" is part of your heating/furnace system and will be serviced with any furnace service agreement you might have.
I've had my HVAC guy install a great many HVAC systems over the years and never have we had the need to chemical clean anything, new or old.

[skintdigit]

Hi Teecee,
Sounds like you had a compressor failure and the A/c repair folks replaced just the compressor in an existing unit. If the furnace/A/C filters have not been changed regularly or if the system was operated for a time without filters, then you may have a clogged evaporator coil(that's the one inside the house...the cold one). Home improvement stores carry aerosol coil cleaner in the ventilation area...probably in or near the same aisle in which you'd find furnace filters. The stuff comes out of the can nozzle and then foams up to expand into the small gaps in between the coil fins. To clean the evaporator coil, turn off the circuit breakers that power the HVAC system, then find the sheet metal screws that hold the ductwork in place around the "upwind" side of the evaporator coil. You can find the coil by looking for the part of the A/C system that has the large and small copper tubes running into it from the compressor/fan assembly outside. There will also be a plastic(PVC) drain line leading away from the coil. This takes the water, which condenses on the coil and runs off into a catch pan, to a drain or outside the structure. Remove enough screws to get to the coil face...it will look a bit like a car radiator, with fins and tubing. If the coil face is clean, button it back up. If the coil fins are clogged with gray/black linty funk, then blast it off as best you can with a couple of cans of coil cleaner, give it a quick rinse if you wish, make sure the PVC drain line is clear, then put it together again and remember to always keep a clean filter in place so you won't have to deal with sharp sheet metal in your attic again. Clean the outside(condenser) coil the same way, SHUT THE BREAKERS OFF OR PULL THE SERVICE DISCONNECT BEFORE YOU CLEAN THE CONDENSER COIL. You will not like the new hairstyle that 240 volts can give you. Hose the condenser coil off spraying inside-out if you can, let it dry a bit, then reenergize the circuits. You might also find a commercial coil cleaner that is sold as a concentrate that you put into a pump-type garden sprayer. That'll do fine, as well. Some of these cleaners contain mild acids, so use them with care. Hope that helps!

[skintdigit]

Hi Teecee,
Sounds like you had a compressor failure and the A/c repair folks replaced just the compressor in an existing unit. If the furnace/A/C filters have not been changed regularly or if the system was operated for a time without filters, then you may have a clogged evaporator coil(that's the one inside the house...the cold one). Home improvement stores carry aerosol coil cleaner in the ventilation area...probably in or near the same aisle in which you'd find furnace filters. The stuff comes out of the can nozzle and then foams up to expand into the small gaps in between the coil fins. To clean the evaporator coil, turn off the circuit breakers that power the HVAC system, then find the sheet metal screws that hold the ductwork in place around the "upwind" side of the evaporator coil. You can find the coil by looking for the part of the A/C system that has the large and small copper tubes running into it from the compressor/fan assembly outside. There will also be a plastic(PVC) drain line leading away from the coil. This takes the water, which condenses on the coil and runs off into a catch pan, to a drain or outside the structure. Remove enough screws to get to the coil face...it will look a bit like a car radiator, with fins and tubing. If the coil face is clean, button it back up. If the coil fins are clogged with gray/black linty funk, then blast it off as best you can with a couple of cans of coil cleaner, give it a quick rinse if you wish, make sure the PVC drain line is clear, then put it together again and remember to always keep a clean filter in place so you won't have to deal with sharp sheet metal in your attic again. Clean the outside(condenser) coil the same way, SHUT THE BREAKERS OFF OR PULL THE SERVICE DISCONNECT BEFORE YOU CLEAN THE CONDENSER COIL. You will not like the new hairstyle that 240 volts can give you. Hose the condenser coil off spraying inside-out if you can, let it dry a bit, then reenergize the circuits. You might also find a commercial coil cleaner that is sold as a concentrate that you put into a pump-type garden sprayer. That'll do fine, as well. Some of these cleaners contain mild acids, so use them with care. Hope that helps!

[teecee]

teecee

Thank you for your response.Please allow me to further explain my situation.
The entire system is well over 20 years old.We have a contract with AHS
(American Home Shield) and on friday they sent their contractor out to replace
a burned out fan motor in the outside compressor unit.We paid the $55.00 service fee and the installer strongly advised us to have the "A" coil and
blower chemically cleaned.(thus the $500.00 plus estimate).The a/c worked
fine until monday 4/17. Today 4/19 AHS sent their man out who replaced a
burned out compressor. This new guy took a look at the "A" coil inside the
house and also said it was very dirty and needed cleaning to get the greatest
benefit from my a/c. My service agreement with AHS stipulates that any item
that would normally be covered must show no sign of neglect on our part and
in other words, if for instance the compressor should fail they would not be
obliged to replace it unless I show proof that the coil etc. was cleaned prior
to the failure.
Several years ago when we felt the a/c wasn't cooling sufficiently,a friend
suggested I purchase a certain chemical spray and with all power turned off,
I sprayed this foamy stuff all over the blower and coil and allow it to soak in
and run off. It worked amazingly well.Now I can't remember what it was or
where I purchased it.I would appreciate any info on this that you or anyone
else can provide.Thank you for taking the time to help.

[skintdigit]

Teecee, trot on down to your local hardware store or home improvement center, go to the aisle with furnace filters, look around a bit, you'll find the coil cleaner. Ask a salesperson if you can't locate it.

[skintdigit]

Oh, and don't bother with cleaning the blower in the air handler, it's probably fine, concentrate on the evaporator coil(the A coil).

[teecee]

skintdigit...Thank you so much...You have been very helpful.Tomorrow I"m
going to start with Home Depot and go from there.
Best Wishes,teecee

[suprheat]

Normally I clean the coil first with a coil brush which looks sort of like a woman's hair pick except there stiff bristles in place of the comb. Then I spray a cleaner like 409 on it and use the coil brush again. Then I put the foaming coil cleaner on it. You need to place a piece of wood or cardboard on top of the heat exchanger in the furnace to keep debris from falling into furnace. I would clean the blower also. I've never tried to clean a blower assembly in place. You need to remove it from the furnace, take it apart motor and all, and spray a cleaner on it like 409. The most important part is to clean the "cups" of the squirrel cage blades. Those blades are what "grab" the air and "throw" it so to speak. Keep the motor dry of course but you can use the coil brush to clean the ventilation holes taking care to not brush debris into the motor. You may use compressed air to clean out the motor but keep the pressure down so you don't blow off internal wire ties and insulation. Now is a good time to oil that inner bearing (as well as the outer one) if the motor has oil ports.
You said that several years ago you cleaned it. You must not change the filters enough or you're buying the cheap ones or the filter and/or filter rack in your ductwork is not installed properly. Spend a little more on the corrogated type filter but you don't have to buy the 10 dollar one.