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Cleaning condensers...

K

Kris

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Here in the midwest we are having a heat wave. After the kitchen finally peaked at about 100 and the cooler outside was going warm we decided it was time to clean the condesers.

You would think after 16 years we would remember how important this is. It was truly amazing. So thought I would give everyone a reminder to clean your condensers.

Between the 5 air conditioning units, 2 maketables, 2 walk in coolers, 2 walk in freezers, and 2 indoor refridge units…we probably saved a huge problem cuz they were DISGUSTING! Both stores are cooling way better!

Just realized we probably need to clean the ice machines too. 😃
 
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Kris:
Here in the midwest we are having a heat wave. After the kitchen finally peaked at about 100 and the cooler outside was going warm we decided it was time to clean the condesers.

You would think after 16 years we would remember how important this is. It was truly amazing. So thought I would give everyone a reminder to clean your condensers.

Between the 5 air conditioning units, 2 maketables, 2 walk in coolers, 2 walk in freezers, and 2 indoor refridge units…we probably saved a huge problem cuz they were DISGUSTING! Both stores are cooling way better!

Just realized we probably need to clean the ice machines too. 😃
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Remember to change the air filters as well. With out proper air flow the A/C coil can freeze up.(Don’t ask how I know :oops: )
 
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For Sale: One Ice Pick… free international shipping ( ie: Canada ) no vat…at least not yet :shock: Perfect for all your frozen a/c coil needs… and other assorted tasks 😛

Note: Ice Pick was a joke…not seriously for cleaning of coils :roll:
 
qcfmike:
For Sale: One Ice Pick… free international shipping ( ie: Canada ) no vat…at least not yet :shock: Perfect for all your frozen a/c coil needs… and other assorted tasks 😛
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not included: repairs to damage by aggravated people chipping ice off… 😛

In all seriousness, I always used a hair dryer to thaw out a frozen evap coil. I’ve heard ice picks and chisels are not a good weapon on frozen evaps as they can damage them very quickly and easily.

On a side note, I always tried to blow out all of my refridgeration equipment condensers at least once every 2 weeks (once a week during super hot weather). You’d be surprised how much flour can accumulate in those in that short period of time. Kitchen A/C unit air filters got changed just as often. It was actually a once every 2 week late night event, get the compressor out and blow everything out and then climb up on the roof and change out the filters. surprised the cops never showed up wondering what I was doing on the roof at 1am.
 
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If you get behind on the coikl cleaning, he get hold of some foaming coil cleaner from your refrigeration guy. Talk about some magic stuff. Dilute as directed and spritz a little on, then step back and watch it foam up like crazy. Rinse THOROUGHLY with a garden pump water sprayer and you are in business. The foam dissolves and pushes out the gunk and debris build-up.
 
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You can always use an air compresser. For ice a hot gun or even a leaf blower.
 
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Daddio:
Remember to change the air filters as well. With out proper air flow the A/C coil can freeze up.(Don’t ask how I know :oops: )
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Thank you! We tuned up the swamp coolers on the make-up air units, but I forgot to change the A/C filters. After rebuilding the swamp coolers this year our kitchen remained a comfy 78 yesterday while it was 92 outside 🙂 It should be even more efficient once I get those A/C filters changed.
 
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Piper:
Thank you! We tuned up the swamp coolers on the make-up air units, but I forgot to change the A/C filters. After rebuilding the swamp coolers this year our kitchen remained a comfy 78 yesterday while it was 92 outside 🙂 It should be even more efficient once I get those A/C filters changed.
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I am envious of your swamp coolers! Our average 92% humidity here in summer just kills any chance of using them for cooling. LOVED them in the dry Oklahoma air.
 
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Figured I’d bump this rather than start new. We noticed our make table (rebuilt 3 months ago) was not cooling very well. I pulled the cover off and the coils were filthy. Lots of garlic skin and plenty of gunked up flour. I used an air compressor to blow it out and it works better but it’s pretty filthy. My GM mentioned a coil foaming cleaner from Home Depot and it looks promising (it’s a no-rinse product). Does this stuff work? Am I better off just spraying it with a garden hose or pump sprayer? Also, is there any benefit to cutting a high-flow furnace filter to put over the front and back of the unit to help alleviate this problem in the future?

Thanks,

Patrick
 
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If you have any chance of oil or film built up on the coils, then you HAVE to get a coil cleaner. I use a foaming coil cleaner that is outrageous at cleaning the coils. I got a gallon from my refrig guy, and it dilutes down, then spray onto coils. It gets foamy like a Mentos in a coke bottle! Rinse thoroughly . . .I mean thoroughly. Use a pan of some sort to catch the run-off.

AS for filters, I had one of my early refrig guys recommend getting simple filter material for window AC units . . .the black lightweight foam kinda stuff. Cut to fit the coils, and attach. I pull it off and rinse every month, dry and replace. Soooooo much better performance from the coolers this way. I have a fryer in house, so I get grease buildup on everything that isn’t covered.
 
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There are a quite a few cottonwood trees in my area - every year I have to clean my A/C coils once a week in early summer to get all the fuzz from those trees that gets sucked into the coils. Kinda sucks, but what else can we do?
 
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