A/C Repair

A/C Repair – Coils

For this a/c repair we are going to talk about your ac coils.  What they do and why they need to be kept clean before an unexpected a/c repair.  A typical unit will have 2 coils, the first being the condenser coil and the second the evaporator coil.  You can identify these coils by the aluminum fins running up and down them to remove heat.  Without these coils air conditioning would not be possible. Keeping these coils clean is the key to the ac units success and reliability.

A/C Repair – condenser

The location of the condenser coil is outside on your ac unit.  It usually surrounds everything else in the system and is either clearly visible or has a protective guard.  As the system is running this coil is filled with hot Freon gas, turning to warm liquid.  This is done by the compressor pumping Freon through the coil while the fan is moving air across the coil to remove the heat.  Just like turning steam into water it cools the Freon down turning it into a liquid.  If this coil is dirty, or obstructed, your system has a hard time cooling down the gas.  This can greatly effect you systems ability to cool your home.  It can even cause the compressor to overheat and shut down.  We use a garden hose to clean this coil, spraying in a downward motion at about 45 degrees.

A/C Repair – Evaporator

The evaporator coil is harder to find thus harder to clean.  It is underneath your furnace.  This coil starts off with the warm Freon liquid and as it passes thru a metering device it becomes a cold liquid through evaporation.  Then this cold liquid flows thru the coil and picks up heat from the air in your home thus causing a cooling effect.  When dirty this coil becomes less effective at passing air through it.  This can cause the system to freeze up into a block of ice that can be seen even at the condenser.  No air will pass through the ice that has formed causing an ac repair.  This coil should be cleaned by an HVAC professional as it is much harder to clean.  We remove this coil and clean it with chemical, then reinstall it.  It is far better to use a good quality filter and never have this type of ac repair done.

dirty indoor ac coil

Check out our blog on filters to learn more.