Air Conditioning - Cleaning the Condenser Coil

Air Conditioning works by exchanging heat from inside a building to the surface air. To do this some very basic refrigeration ideas need to take place. One of the most significant pieces that make this happen is the condenser coil. This is usually the aluminum coil the surrounds the air conditioning compressor.

What happens inside this outdoor unit is a very basic state change of the refrigerant inside the air conditioning unit. The refrigerant that changes from a liquid to a gas inside the indoor coil moves to the surface where the compressor compresses the gas under high pressure. When this happens the gas also becomes very hot. The hot gas then leaves the compressor to start traveling through the many feet of tubing in the condenser coil. As the gas cools it changes back to a liquid form going back indoors to start the cycle all over again.

Air conditioner

Big problems start when the condenser coil becomes so blocked up with dirt that the hot gas in the condenser coil does not cool adequate to change the hot gas back to a liquid form. If this happens the cooling process does not happen and then air conditioner runs but is not cooling. The compressor starts to get very hot and the extreme ensue will be the death of a compressor. For these reasons the condenser coil must be kept clean and free of debris at all times when the air conditioner is running. Cleaning the coil is a fairly easy process, Here are a few guidelines to ensue when doing this.

To clean the coil a few easy tools are needed. A orchad hose with a nozzle, wrenches to remove the condenser fan, a orchad sprayer for applying the cleaning solution. The first thing is to disconnect the power to the outdoor unit. There should be a disconnect switch of some type near the condenser. Then remove the fan from the condenser unit. usually this will be the top of the unit. The fan can usually be laid aside considered without disconnecting the wires to the motor. considered wet down the coil with the orchad hose. If you have very high pressure water where you live be truthful that the water pressure does not bend over the fins on the coil. These are very thin and fragile. If they get bent over the air will not be able to freely flow through them. Using the cleaning solution from the orchad sprayer, coat he inside and the surface of the coil. Let the solution work on the dirt build up before washing it off. If you use a foaming type coil cleaner then let the foam cook the dirt out of the coil. Then use the orchad hose to wash the dirt out of the coil. I often work from the inside spraying out through the coil. This is the reverse of the usual air flow and it washes the dirt out easier. Rinse the coil with water till it is clean with no more dirt or cleaner advent out. Replace the fan and start the unit back up.

The cleaning solution for the condenser coil can be any good household cleaner. Many automotive type radiator cleaners will work well. For very dirty condensers it would be good to buy a foaming coil cleaner made specifically for cleaning condenser coils. A local plumbing and heating contribute house should stock coil cleaning solutions. Most of these solutions are very strong chemicals. Be sure to wear gloves and eye safety when working with them.

By holding your air conditioning condenser coil clean, you will help to have your air conditioner running at the best efficiency possible. A clean condenser coil is one of the easiest ways to save electric while running your central air conditioning system. A clean coil will allow your compressor to run cooler and help it to last longer. Your condenser coil should be fully cleaned at least once a year. If in you live in very dirty areas like along a dirt road you may need to clean the condenser coil more often. Also do not do things that would clog up the coil. Blowing grass clippings into the condenser coil is one common thing that happens. Keep shrubbery from growing into and nearby the condenser coil. This stops the air flow to the coil. Large flowers planted too close to the coil can do the same thing.

As you can see there are many things that can cause your air conditioner to work harder and cost you more money. By taking a the time to look over things and give it a cleaning you can save a lot of money.

Air Conditioning - Cleaning the Condenser Coil

How Often Should You change Your Air Conditioner Filter

There are some very foremost things that you should do to expand the life of your air conditioner and keep it working at peak efficiency at all times. One of the most foremost things that you can do is turn your air conditioner or furnace filter every three to six months.

Every home is dissimilar and there are many factors that succeed how long you should wait between filter changes. Wait too long and the efficiency of the tool will deteriorate and operating costs go up. turn your filter too often and it's like throwing money away. inspecting the cost of some filters that could add up to a lot of money over time.

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It is foremost to keep in mind that the more sufficient your air conditioner filter is the more often it will have to be cleaned or replaced. For most population pleated filters will do an adequate job. These filters are ten to sixty percent sufficient and some manufacturers claim even higher efficiencies.

Pleated filters should be changed every three to six months. If you live in an area with lots of dust then you should probably turn your filter about every three months.

If you wish more sufficient air filtration you may want an electrostatic, electronic or even a Hepa filter. The more sufficient the filter is the more often it will have to be cleaned or replaced.

Electrostatic filters probably offer the best mixture of value and efficiency. You will pay between two to six times what a good quality disposable filter would cost but you just wash them with water when they become dirty and reuse them.

Electronic filters will never become dirty adequate to succeed airflow. They just become inefficient and there quality to take off dust from the air deteriorates as they become dirty. To clean these filters you have to take off the electronic cells and soak them in some like Hvac cleaner and then rinse them and let them dry.

Hepa filters are the most sufficient filters available and become plugged very quickly. They need to be checked monthly and often cause too much restriction to airflow to be used at all. An air conditioner contractor will be able to tell you if it is worth trying one of these in your system.

If you are using cheaper panel filters from your local hardware store and getting a pack of four for five or ten dollars, you are not doing yourself, your house or your air conditioning tool any favours. When it comes to rating filters, these are at the bottom of the list.

These filters do such a poor job you could leave one in your air conditioner for a year and it would not derive adequate dust to wish changing. The unfortunate thing is the evaporator coil of your air conditioner would need to be cleaned every year to take off the dirt that should have been stopped by the filter.

How Often Should You change Your Air Conditioner Filter

The Ways An Air Conditioner Compressor Can Fail, and What To Do About It

Air conditioner compressors commonly fail due to one of two conditions: time and hours of performance (wear out), or abuse. There are some failures that can occur elsewhere in the theory that will cause a compressor failure, but these are less common unless the theory has been substantially abused.

Usually abuse is a follow of extended running with improper freon charge, or as a consequence of improper aid along the way. This improper aid can consist of overcharging, undercharging, installing the wrong starter capacitor as a replacement, removing (rather than repairing/replacing) the thermal limiter, insufficient oil, mixing incompatible oil types, or wrong oil, installing the compressor on a theory that had a major burnout without taking permissible steps to take off the acid from the system, installing the wrong compressor (too small) for the system, or installing a new compressor on a theory that had some other failure that was never diagnosed.

Air conditioner

The compressor can fail in only a handful of different ways. It can fail open, fail shorted, sense a bearing failure, or a piston failure (throw a rod), or sense a valve failure. That is pretty much the entire list.

When a compressor fails open, a wire inside the compressor breaks. This is unserviceable and the indication of illness is that the compressor does not run, though it may hum. If the compressor fails open, and following the steps here does not fix it, then the theory may be a good candidate for a new compressor. This failure causes no additional failures and won't damage the rest of the system; if the rest of the theory is not decrepit then it would be cost effective to just put a new compressor in.

Testing for a failed open compressor is easy. Pop the electrical cover for the compressor off, and take off the wires and the thermal limiter. Using an ohmmeter, portion the impedance from one concluding to someone else across all three terminals of the compressor. Also portion the impedance to the case of the compressor for all three terminals.

You should read low impedance values for all concluding to concluding connections (a few hundred ohms or less) and you should have a high impedance (several kilo-ohms or greater) for all terminals to the case (which is ground). If any of the concluding to concluding connections is a very high impedance, you have a failed open compressor. In very rare cases, a failed open compressor may show a low impedance to ground from one concluding (which will be one of the terminals connected with the failed open). In this case, the broken wire has moved and is contacting the case. This condition - which is quite rare but not impossible - could cause a breaker to trip and could follow in a misdiagnosis of failed short. Be careful here; do an acid test of the contents of the lines before choosing how to go forward with repair.

When a compressor fails short, what happens is that insulation on the wires has worn off or burned off or broken inside the compressor. This allows a wire on a motor winding to touch something it should not touch - most generally itself a turn or two additional along on the motor winding. This results in a "shorted winding" which will stop the compressor immediately and cause it to heat up and burn internally.

Bad bearings can cause a failed short. Either the rotor wobbles adequate to sense the stator, resulting in insulation damage that shorts the rotor Either to ground or to the stator, or end bearing wear can allow the stator to shift down over time until it begins to rub against the stator ends or the housing.

Usually when one of these shorts occur, it is not immediately a hard short - meaning that initially the sense is intermittent and comes and goes. Every time the short occurs, the compressor torque drops sharply, the compressor may shudder a bit visibly as a result, and this shudder shakes the winding adequate to cut off the short. While the short is in place, the current through the shorted winding shoots up and a lot of heat is produced. Also, commonly the short will blow some sparks - which produces acid inside the air conditioner theory by decomposing the freon into a aggregate of hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid.

Over time (possibly a incorporate of weeks, commonly less) the shuddering and the sparking and the heat and the acid cause insulation to fail rapidly on the winding. Ultimately, the winding loses adequate insulation that the inside of the compressor is absolutely burning. This will only go on for a few minutes but in that time the compressor destroys itself and fills the theory with acid. Then the compressor stops. It may at that time melt a wire loose and short to the housing (which can trip your house main breaker) or it may not. If the first cause of the failure was bad bearings causing the rotor to rub, then commonly when the thing finally dies it will be shorted to the housing.

If it shorts to the housing, it will blow fuses and/or breakers and your ohmmeter will show a very low impedance from one or more windings to ground. If it does not short to the housing, then it will just stop. You still create the type of failure using an ohmmeter.

You cannot directly diagnose a failed short with an ohmmeter unless it shorts to the housing - a shorted winding won't show up with an ohmmeter though it would with an inductance meter (but who has one of those?) Instead, you have to infer the failed short. You do this by establishing the the ohmmeter gives general readings, the starter capacitor is good, power is arriving at the compressor, And an acid test of the freon shows acid present.

With a failed short, just give up. Change everything, including the lines if possible. It is not worth fixing; it is full of acid and therefore is all junk. Further, a failed short could have been initially induced by some other failure in the theory that caused a compressor overload; by replacing the whole theory you also will get rid of that inherent other problem.

Less commonly, a compressor will have a bearing failure, piston failure or a valve failure. These mechanical failures commonly just signal wear out but could signal abuse (low lubricant levels, thermal limiter removed so compressor overheats, chronic low freon condition due to un-repaired leaks). More rarely, they can signal someone else failure in the theory such as a reversing valve question or an expansion valve question that winds up letting liquid freon get into the suction side of the compressor.

If a bearing fails, commonly you will know because the compressor will sound like a motor with a bad bearing, or it will lock up and refuse to run. In the worst case, the rotor will wobble, the windings will rub on the stator, and you will wind up with a failed short.

If the compressor locks up mechanically and fails to run, you will know because it will buzz very loudly for a few seconds and may shudder (just like any stalled motor) until the thermal limiter cuts it off. When you do your electrical checks, you will find no evidence of failed open or failed short. The acid test will show no acid. In this case, you might try a hard-start kit but if the compressor has failed mechanically the hard-start kit won't get the compressor to start. In this case, replacing the compressor is a good plan so long as the rest of the theory is not decrepit. After replacing the compressor, you must determined analyze the performance of the entire theory to decree Either the compressor question was induced by something else.

Rarely, the compressor will sense a valve failure. In this case, it will Either sit there and appear to run happily but will pump no fluid (valve won't close), or it will lock up due to an inability to move the fluid out of the compression room (valve won't open). If it is running happily, then once you have established that there is absolutely fullness of freon in the system, but nothing is moving, then you have no selection but to Change the compressor. Again, a theory with a compressor that has had a valve failure is a good candidate for a new compressor.

Now, if the compressor is mechanically locked up it could be because of a incorporate of things. If the compressor is on a heat pump, make sure the reversing valve is not stuck half way. Also make sure the expansion valve is working; if it is blocked it can lock the compressor. Also make sure the filter is not clogged. I once saw a theory that had a locked compressor due to liquid lock. Some idiot had "serviced" the theory by adding freon, and adding freon, and adding freon until the thing was thoroughly full of liquid. Trust me; that does not work.

Should pathology show a clogged filter, then this should be taken as definite evidence of some failure in the theory Other than a compressor failure. Typically, it will be metal fragments out of the compressor that clogs the filter. This can only happen if something is causing the compressor to wear very rapidly, particularly in the pistons, the rings, the bores, and the bearings. Either the compressor has vastly insufficient lubrication Or (and more commonly) liquid freon is getting into the compressor on the suction line. This behavior must be stopped. Look at the expansion valve and at the reversing valve (for a heat pump).

Often an old theory experiences adequate mechanical wear internally that it is "worn in" and needs more torque to start against the theory load than can be delivered. This theory will sound just like one with a locked bearing; the compressor will buzz loudly for a few seconds then the thermal limiter will kill it. Occasionally, this theory will start right up if you whack the compressor with a rubber mallet while it is buzzing. Such a theory is a good candidate for a hard-start kit. This kit market energy and, when the compressor is told to start, dumps extra current into the compressor for a second or so. This overloads the compressor, but gives some extra torque for a short time and is often adequate to make that compressor run again. I have had hard-start kits give me an extra 8 or 9 years in some old units that otherwise I would have been replacing. Conversely, I have had them give only a few months. It is your call, but inspecting how cheap a hard-start kit is, it is worth trying when the symptoms are as described.

And this, in a nutshell, is what can happen to an air conditioner compressor and what you can do about it.

The Ways An Air Conditioner Compressor Can Fail, and What To Do About It

Air Conditioner Cages - safe Your Air Conditioner From Theft

Can you imagine waking up to ultimate heat and wondering what is going on with your air conditioner. You call the air conditioning citizen to come out and see why your air conditioner is no longer working. And they have to post you that your air conditioner has been vandalized, and that the copper and steel parts within the unit have been stolen. There is no longer any hope for the unit. You regularly have to replace the whole air conditioning unit. On the other hand if you had protected yourself with some Kind of air condition security you would not have had this problem.

In the United States there is a new tendency in robbery and theft. Because air conditioners have large amounts of steel and copper, and because there is a large scrap value for these materials, they have come to be an easy target for thieves. Many thieves are stealing air conditioner units and selling them for their scrap value. What is the clarification to this problem? Many air conditioning associates are using Ac cages, air conditioner cages to safe their customer's air conditioner.

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Ac cages, or air conditioner security was not something we indubitably needed to think about a few years ago, but today this type of vandalism can cost thousands of dollars in mend nowadays. The best thing you can do is get some kind of ac security and that can either be in the form of ac cages or an ac alarm. The benefit of ac cages is that they are not as costly as ac alarms, and air conditioner cages are much easier to install.

So many every day citizens have been harmed by this type of vandalism, and it has affected everyone, residential, and business units alike, even rooftop air conditioning units have been stolen. Senior citizens, citizen on fixed incomes, renters, homeowners and even builders have been affected by these vandals. No ones air conditioner is safe unless they have an ac cage installed.

Cost of Ac Cages

Air conditioner cages run a couple of hundred dollars, which may seem like an unnecessary expense, but when you are faced with having to replace your whole air conditioning unit because man has decided to steal the copper core out of it, you will soon realize that the hundred or two you have to spend on an ac cage is well worth the investment.

What are Ac Cages Made of?

Air conditioning cages are regularly made of some kind of steel or iron work. Some cages are even ornamental. They are specially made to allow breathing room for your air conditioner. Ac cages are not very costly and yet they give you the security of knowing that your Ac unit will never be vandalized.

Air Conditioner Cages - safe Your Air Conditioner From Theft

Air Conditioners - How to Cut Running Costs in Half

In today's world, most population have invested in one form of an air conditioner or another. We have either window air conditioners in our homes or central air conditioners. They keep us cool in the ultimate summer heat without fail; however, have you ever set back and looked at the costs of running an air conditioner? When compared to the base household fan the estimate of electricity required to run an air conditioner is phenomenal.

When using an air conditioner there are many distinct factors that can directly work on the cost of running it. These factors include the geographical location of your home, where you live and the estimate of work the air conditioner has to do greatly work on the cost. If you live in an area that has mild summers and highly cold winters, obviously your air conditioner will not have to work as hard. However, if you live in an area, that has warm winters and boiling summers the air conditioner will have to work double time to allege comfort.

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The variation in weather conditions from year to year will work on the costs as well. This is basically geared towards the variation in costs per year. One summer might be cooler than the next, which will lead to a greater bill.

The efficiency rating of your air conditioner plays an prominent role in the estimate of electricity used. Most all appliances in today's world are rated, when you buy an air conditioner it will have a tag telling you the estimate of electricity that appliance uses. Look for air conditioners that use minimal electricity, which will save you money each year. If you have a model that is 10 years or older, it is undoubtedly time to think a new one.

Another prominent factor is the size of the air conditioner versus the house-cooling load. All air conditioners come in distinct sizes, and each will state the estimate of space it is designed to cool. For example, an apartment could do with just one or two window air conditioners, while a three-bedroom house could not. Closely think the estimate of space you need to cool when considering an air conditioner. While larger air conditioners will cost more money, it will typically save you money in the long run on usage.

The setting on your thermostat greatly effects the cost. A higher setting will corollary in the air conditioner running less, while lowering the setting will cause it to run more often. One galvanic firm suggests keeping the thermostat above 78 degrees. This can save you 10 to 20% on cooling costs.

Finally, the local cost of electricity influences the general cost of running your air conditioner. This is something you have no control over, however, you can control your own cost by saving energy.

Here is a general look at the variation of running an air conditioner vs. Running a Ceiling or oscillating fan, at medium speed.

Running a central air conditioner that is three ton (and of average efficiency) for 8 hours per day for 15 days per month, with the average rate per kWh (kilowatt per hour) being 0.17, the average cost per month for the air conditioner alone will be .92. Phenomenal isn't it? This does not even include washer, dryer, lights, refrigerator, or stove, only the air conditioner.

On the other hand, running a ceiling fan or oscillating fan at medium speed, for 8 hours per day, for a full 30 days, at an average rate per kWh of 0.035 is only .43. With this comparison you could run 68 ½ fans for a full month before you would reach the cost of the central air conditioning unit.

There are many other things you can do to lower you galvanic bill. Things such as, inspect, clean, or replace your air conditioner filters monthly. When you are not in your home, raise the temperature on your thermostat, keeping in mind pets when you do. Lower the temperature of your water heater to 120 degrees, wash only full loads in your dishwasher or clothes washer, and use the power saving cycle on the dryer.

Other steps you can take include, replacing incandescent bulbs with fluorescent lamps, this could save up to 75% on lighting costs. You should also caulk all windows, doors, and pipes to prevent air leaks in or out, use weather stripping around windows, doors and pipes as well. Have your ducts tested for air leaks; leaking ducts can reduce the efficiency of your air conditioner by up to 20%.

Air Conditioners - How to Cut Running Costs in Half

Why Does My Air Conditioner Keep frosty Up? Quick Tips to Fix This

If your air conditioner is constantly frozen up, it may be time for a maintenance check as it can constantly damage your unit.

Many citizen complain about their air conditioners freezing. There may be numerous reasons why this happens. There could be a constant leakage due to low refrigerant or Freon levels in the unit.

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Due to this the coil starts to become very cold and sometimes ice starts forming on it. The ice acts as an insulator and it keeps growing gently and there comes a time when it becomes a block of solid rock ice. If you keep running the unit in this health it may damage the compressor of your air conditioner. The refrigerant levels should be checked once in a while to avoid such problem.

You can also turn off the compressor and let the fan run in order to melt the ice.

Another leading tip to prevent frozen is that you should also make sure that the evaporator coil has a proper place to drain. Regularly a hose or pipe is attached for draining. If the question gets worse you must call for a repairman to find exactly where the leakage is and fix the problem.

One intuit for the ice formation could be if the coil filter or the blower wheel in the furnace which needs to be kept clean for sufficient cooling, becomes dirty.

A dirty filter restricts air flow which drops the cooling point of the coil below frozen point. All the vents should be oftentimes checked and kept clean. Changing the filters oftentimes is also a solution to avoid air conditioner from freezing. Using ducts that are too small for your unit can also be one of the reasons for the unit to freeze. Air conditioners may not control well if the climatic characteristic at night gets too low.

Freeze up may occur in such cases also. Since outdoor climatic characteristic cannot be controlled, a climatic characteristic controlling device can be installed to make sure the unit works fine.

Why Does My Air Conditioner Keep frosty Up? Quick Tips to Fix This

Mr Slim Air Conditioner - 2 Reasons to Have One

Nothing beats the hot summer heat quite like air conditioning. If you are lucky adequate to have central air, you are probably the envy of your less lucky friends (and your house is probably the "go-to" house for gatherings). If you do not have a home with central air you probably have a few window units that you haul out of storage every year. But what if you could have air conditioning without having to deal with those leaky window units? Mitsubishi's Mr. Slim line may be a clarification you're seeing for.

The Mr. Slim air conditioner is currently the most favorite ductless air conditioning law offered by Mitsubishi. Why is that? There are two major reasons why this is one of the more sought after air conditioning units artificial by Mitsubishi.

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1. It offers homeowners the opening to have "installed" air conditioners without having to pay for costly duct work and a perfect central ac unit. The Mr. Slim line is installed into the walls above your windows and Hvac experts associate the indoor unit (which blows the cool air) to the outdoor unit (which brings in air from the face for cooling) by copper tubing as well as copper and operate wiring.

2. The Mr. Slim ac law is an energy sufficient air conditioning unit. This means that it will not raise your galvanic bill the way that other transportable air conditioners will. Even better, installing the Mr. Slim air conditioner will make your family eligible for the energy sufficient home revising tax reputation that is ready for next year's taxes. This reputation could save you as much as fifteen hundred dollars on your 2010 taxes!

Dealing with the heat is one of the most problematic issues of summer, but Mitsubishi's Mr. Slim air conditioner allows you to deal with that heat in a comfortable and affordable manner!

Mr Slim Air Conditioner - 2 Reasons to Have One