AC Maintenance - DIY

_CY_ · Jul 20, 2016

saddlebum said:
I have been washing them out while they are running for 32 years and must say you are full of ****

oh come on now .. outside AC units are designed to run in the rain. but I wouldn't push my luck and spray one off with the power on. if you've been doing it that way for 32 years, nothing wrong with how you are doing it

just that others may have different designed outside condensers.

usually electrics are protected from the rain, but not all. I've seen units with lots of wires exposed. but newer condensers are usually protected better. still the first thing I'll do when hosing coils off is to flip the main breaker off. but it's silly to wait overnight before turning back on.

always spray from the inside out and have a fin comb handy. nothing wrong with doing your own maintenance. but be really careful cleaning inside evaporator coils, which are really fragile. best to keep your filter changed.

Dale00 · Jul 20, 2016

_CY_ said:
oh come on now .. outside AC units are designed to run in the rain. but I wouldn't push my luck and spray one off with the power on. if you've been doing it that way for 32 years, nothing wrong with how you are doing it just that others may have different designed outside condensers.

usually electrics are protected from the rain, but not all. I've seen units with lots of wires exposed. but newer condensers are usually protected better. still the first thing I'll do when hosing coils off is to flip the main breaker off. but it's silly to wait overnight before turning back on.

always spray from the inside out and have a fin comb handy. nothing wrong with doing your own maintenance. but be really careful cleaning inside evaporator coils, which are really fragile. best to keep your filter changed.

Sounds like solid advice in general. Definitely turn off the power before spraying. One exception is that certain outside condensers are a different design having "spikes" rather than fins so a fin comb is of no use. I was also surprised to learn that on a Trane the outside condenser coil should be sprayed from the outside.

dennishoddy · Jul 20, 2016

I think some may have said to wait 24 hours before washing.
Possibly because of the motor start capacitor? I've never seen one not discharge immediately, but if one has a concern, just short across the terminals to see if you get a spark.
It won't hurt the capacitor.

tyromeo55 · Jul 20, 2016

Ive probably handled literally thousands of them and have only encountered one that did not discharge itself. It was on an old dinosaur and Lit me up like a x-mas tree. It was completely disconnected and I carried it around for quite a few minutes before my hand let it go. I'd rather get hit by 277V then that again.

As far as turning off a unit to wash it out... I'd never call anyone out for cutting power to a piece of equipment before they do service to it of any kind. If it makes you feel better then go to town.

dennishoddy · Jul 20, 2016

tyromeo55 said:
Ive probably handled literally thousands of them and have only encountered one that did not discharge itself. It was on an old dinosaur and Lit me up like a x-mas tree. It was completely disconnected and I carried it around for quite a few minutes before my hand let it go. I'd rather get hit by 277V then that again.

As far as turning off a unit to wash it out... I'd never call anyone out for cutting power to a piece of equipment before they do service to it of any kind. If it makes you feel better then go to town.

That hurts. Now, DC capacitors are a different ball game. They can keep a charge for years. Back in the day of points and condensers in distributors that ran our car engines, it was common practice in auto mechanics class to catch somebody walking by and toss them a capacitor. Unless you were a really fast runner, it cost you a beating, but well worth it at times. lol
The old tube TV's have surprised many technicians with some latent voltage in the circuitry years after the tv was unplugged.

saddlebum · Jul 21, 2016

tyromeo55 said:
Ive probably handled literally thousands of them and have only encountered one that did not discharge itself. It was on an old dinosaur and Lit me up like a x-mas tree. It was completely disconnected and I carried it around for quite a few minutes before my hand let it go. I'd rather get hit by 277V then that again.

As far as turning off a unit to wash it out... I'd never call anyone out for cutting power to a piece of equipment before they do service to it of any kind. If it makes you feel better then go to town.

I have worked on thousand myself and I pull disconnects while exposing myself to electrical components unless i'm testing them, but the notion you have to kill power and leave it off for 24 hours after washing is nonsense,same with washing from inside out depends entirely on the coil design on how I wash it. most residential units can be washed from the outside

_CY_ · Jul 21, 2016

coil design determines direction of air flow .. since most residential condensers pulls air inwards. if you spray high pressure water from the outside first, there's a high probability of forcing debris deeper into fins. so it's best to spray water from inside out first to loosen junk, then hose off from the outside.

sorry didn't mean to imply one doesn't wash coils from the outside.

twoguns? · Jul 23, 2016

I bet you left the pilot lit when you changed out the thermocouple ....hahaha

steelfingers · Jul 23, 2016

I have an HVAC check my heating system every year before the cold set in. AC I do myself. Not hard. If you just keep your filter clean and hose of coil. I use a commercial cleaner on it as well.

saddlebum · Jul 24, 2016

twoguns? said:
I bet you left the pilot lit when you changed out the thermocouple ....hahaha

if the pilot was lit why would you change out the thermocouple?

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