Will Misting the Outside Condenser Coils Make Your Air Conditioner Colder Inside?
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- čas přidán 21. 04. 2024
- I show the result of putting misters on my condenser coils of the air conditioner.
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@becausestuffbreaks, you've likely got a number of problems going on simultaneously here:
1) If you have never cleaned your condenser coil, disconnect the electrical shut off, take off the shroud, and using a foaming coil cleaner, clean your coil, as well as any debris that has built up in the base of the unit. BTW, there needs to be a disconnect within sight of the condenser unit, which your installation seems to be lacking.
2) You appear to have two condensate drains (the two 3/4" copper elbows with tailpieces coming out through your brick veneer. At 54% outdoor relative humidity from the weather station(?) that makes a cameo in your video, those drains should be constantly dripping, which likely means the condensate drain line(s) are clogged, so your evaporator coil is just sitting a a pan of (likely cold) water, which will damage the evap coil, your furnace/AC, and reduce efficiency dramatically; you will be extracting Thoroughly clean the pan under the evap coil and clean any clogs with a drain brush. If the drain like is not too long, you can make your own with a piece of rag twisted into the end of a loop on a straightener coat hanger.Clean the pain and the drain with vinegar to get rid of any organic material. A clogged HVAC drain (and backed up pan) is a breeding ground for Legionnaire's disease.
As someone else mentioned in the thread, you should be seeing a 20 degree F temp drop across your A coil, while you are only getting a 12F(76F-68F) drop. Get better measurements by putting your thermal probe in the air return, and then above the A-coil to get a proper delta-T measurement. If you have a borescope(aka inspection camera) take a look at your A-coil, and if it's dirty, clean it as well with a foaming coil cleaner. This is where the heat from the air circulating past A-coil(aka evap coil) is extracting the heat from the air, to eject it outside.
3) Replace your HVAC filter, and don't get sucked into buying one of the high MERV filters for it. If you've only got a 1" filter, MERV 8 would likely be the highest I would go. The furnace filter is to protect the equipment, not your lungs, so if you are looking for HEPA filtration, do it either with standalone units, or a bypass unit on your air handler. Don't rely on your blower for ventilation
4) Get a roll of good quality foil tape (NOT duct tape) and seal any leaks you can feel with the air on the back of your palms downstream of your blower. Leaks closest to the cabinet mean you lose the most conditioned air out of the system. Clean the area before you apply foil tape, as any dust/grease will mean it will not adhere well.
5) From the sounds of it, I think you have a low refrigerant charge. If you don't get result with the steps I've outline above, get a *good* HVAC tech to come out, FIND THE LEAK and then properly charge the system. Most cowboys will just "top up" your refridgerant charge, meaning your system will continue to leak. The tech **must** have a sniffer. If not, call another company that does. There's no excuse in this day and age to not have a sniffer; they've come down massively in price. Make sure the tech drains down the system, brazes in a new section of lineset where the leak was an pulls it down to vacuum to make sure there aren't any other leaks before he charges the system.
6) While they are going that, look over your supply vents for leaks, and patch them all with the foil tape. In the southern states, especially with slab-on-grade construction, the HVAC lines are usually in the attic where they suffer all kinds of abuse, from being pinched by stacked boxes, disconnected by someone bumping into them, and even gnawed at by rats. Patch and unkink what you can, and replace what you can't Critically: The ducts that run through the unconditioned attic space must be insulated with a continuous sleeve, otherwise you are just wasting energy and money from extracting heat from the uninhabited attic space, instead of your living space.
You can check yourself what size your system is, by looking at the service plate on the condenser unit. They are measured in BTUs (British Thermal Units), so photograph the plate, and look for a number like 24, 30, or 36. There are 12,000 BTUs in one ton of cooling, so 24=2-ton; 30=2.5-tons; 36=3-tons. I think your condenser unit is likely a 2 ton unit, based on its size, so you should be fine once it's working properly. BTW, What is the square footage of conditioned space in your house?
Not to kick you while you are down (and sweating), but the mist likely does reduce the temperature at the condenser coil, but at the same time the liquid water is also obstructing air flow. If you want better results, you are better off hosing down your roof to lower the solar heat gains through evaporation. Solar heat gains are your enemy, so tinfoil on the windows that get the most sun, and lightly hosing down the roof periodically will lead to a more comfortable interior.
If you could get back to us with an update, that would be great! Best of luck!
Ok. Thanks for all the info. 2400sq ft house. I am using a high MERV. I already had an AC guy out that inspected, cleaned coils from the outside, and topped off the coolant. I think the drain is plumbed into the sewer. I have an overflow drip pan and nothing has come out of the unit. The outside pipes are for the hot water heater drip pan. I can't tell what size unit it has, but I believe it's 2.5 ton. I'll try some of the suggestions you told me and see if I can find the exact ton of unit.
@@becausestuffbreaks2.5 ton unit is only meant for 1500 square feet you need at least a 4 ton
@@Joshuam808. I just looked up my air handler and it's a 3.5 ton. Still too small
Switching to MERV 8 worked! Thanks! Here's the video to prove it: czcams.com/video/6eY0fmOUi4M/video.htmlsi=P7GCNj2NDD1g7a3f
Amp pull by compressor will decrease significantly.
The air is being regulated by the thermostat....not mist.
I saw an add on FB for a product that does this and claimed it would cool your house better, so I figured I would make my own from crap I have laying around. I would assume the AC is performing as it should but not moving enough air through to regulate the whole house. The builders always put undersized ACs in out here.
Put in a water filter to prevent scaling on the condenser
Good idea
Cooling comes from the expansion of the refrigerant so cooling off the hot compressed refrigerant shouldn't make it blow colder, right? I would assume the system would be more efficient and use less energy.
Several people in the comments agree with you. That makes sense
Your house will cool down faster on hot days, but the hard water will break down the aluminum fins over time
Yikes! Glad I didn't do it
@@becausestuffbreaks we run this set up frequently on large scale condensers when the ambient temperature exceeds the designed max ambient of 90 degrees F, at that point heat cannot be rejected.
You should measure the temp coming up out the condenser before and after. That will tell if you are efficient in what you are trying to do
I may have to do a more extensive test of this.
The problem may be more significant than what you think. Your A/C may be undersized for your house which means the A/C is running constantly all day. That's not good for the equipment and your electric bill. Another thing, it's 76 in your house and it's only blowing 68. The system regardless of its size should have a temp split across the return and supply of 15-20 degrees, and you are only getting 8 degrees. So putting misters on the condenser isn't doing much to cool the system down. I would definitely get In touch with your local HVAC technician to see what needs to be done to fix this.
It's definitely undersized. New home and the builders always put in an undersized AC.
I’m a couple months late but it appears your condenser coil needs to be cleaned. If the exhaust fan has trouble freely bringing the air in through the coils it can’t cool properly.
Measuring the cooling temperature of the refrigerant exiting the condenser coils is calling subcooling.
Long story short, the refrigerant leaves the compressor at high temp (in vapor state) and should drop in temperature by the time it exits the coils (in liquid state). If the coils aren’t clean air can’t move through the coils via the condenser fan.
I've done everything. It's an undersized unit for the house
@@becausestuffbreaks that’s some bad news $$$. Starting in January 2025 all new units installed will have a new refrigerant which changes their designs - and I’m hearing we will pay dearly.
@10speed4 😬
That means that your unit is just fine your problem is the house insulation
The unit is undersized. It's a brand new house
Sadly they save money building and we suffer
Yep
You have some kind of other problem. I would check the windows and duct work for leaks for one. A duct leak will REALLY cause cooling problems. Second, cover the windows. Third, check your air filter. A high MERV filter will restrict air more than a lower MERV filter, so sometimes higher is not better. CLEAN THE UNIT. Condenser and evaporator. Lastly, if all that does not help, your unit may be undersized.
I already know it's undersized. I will try a lower MERV Air Filter and clean the outside coils.
You need to measure how long the compressor is on in, let us say, 30 minutes. I expect a reduction when mist is on. So maybe temperature will not drop but energy consumption will drop.
I've had a couple other people mention that also. I'm only interested in getting my house to not be 80 inside when it's over 100 outside.
your not trying to mist the coils you are trying to cool the air coming into the unit.
I thought that was obvious enough it didn't need said
Did I see grass/spider webs clogging up the condenser coils? If so, clean that out and operate at peak efficiency.
Probably. Do you just spray it off from the outside or take it apart and spray from inside out?
a slight reduction in energy costs at the cost of water and minerals destroying your coil
If it would at least drop the temp in my house, it would be worth it
@@becausestuffbreaks it wont, you have other issues
Even if you don’t notice an improvement in temperature it’s NOT A FAIL because the compressor will pull less power!!
Then the question is, will you save enough money on the electric bill to compensate the water bill?
@@becausestuffbreaksGenerally speaking no, but a once a week coil spray down is net positive
Just use a well water!
Water bill will be higher than the electric lol😂
Lol
@@becausestuffbreaks we run a thermostat controlled water solenoid, bringing on water on required (when ambient temperature reaches above the condenser design)
@@user-ht6ip1yg3k that's a good idea. I just need to figure out what's going to actually make it colder in the house first.
@@becausestuffbreaks the unit is sized for a maximum amount of BTU removal. Water on the condenser will not make the house colder, it will only allow the system to remove heat from your home more effectively during high ambient temperatures
lol. crazy people be crazy
🤪
Hey Justin,
I've always wondered how a condensing unit that sits under the sun and could have the heat removed from its refrigerant (inside the coil) by blowing warm air on it. It's an oven outside.
(This is newbie question that' not related to your misting experiment, but thought you could help explain ^^. Thanks)
That's a great question and I THINK I know the answer. The refrigerant going through the condenser coils has been compressed and that makes it hot. The fan will draw air through the coils to cool it off as much as possible before going to the evaporator. The compressed refrigerant can get over 200 so it still gets cooled, even though it's 120 outside.
your condenser coils are need to cleaned.
That didn't help either
It might’ve been a fail but everyone wondering the same won. Can ditch that idea
Yep. Thanks for watching!