a/c condensor cleaning

[bigbill]

can someone give me the solution that should be used for cleaning my a/c condensors. i read a thread about this earlier but cant seem to find it now that i am ready to do the job. thanks in advance. bigbill

[SKYCHENEY]

Try Home Depot. I believe it is a foam spray called A/C coil cleaner or something like that.

[Pascal]

isn't the foam spray to clean the air handlers?

to clean the inside of the condensor coils you need to circulate a mix of water and muriatic acid,I'm sure the Phospho recommned by genesis for heat exchangers woudl work too... put the mix in a 5gal bucket and circulate with a small bilge pump... 10 or 15 minutes...

[SKYCHENEY]

SORRY, For some reason I was thinking evaporators not condensors. I guess I need more sleep

[Genesis]

Ph-ospho-ric - get it at Home Depot, a 5 gallon bucket, some hose of the right sizes and a cheap bilge pump.

Connect it up, run for a a few minutes, you're done. Simple and quick.

BTW AC condensors are high-velocity items and USUALLY do not foul. Its VERY unusual to have trouble there. The amusing thing is that the engine folks haven't learned a damn thing from the AC makers..... wonder why?

[bigbill]

hey genesis, i bougt a product from home depot called phosphoric plus, its made by klean strip, its green in color is this what you were talking about.it cost 13.75 a gallon. thanks bigbill

[Genesis]

That's the stuff. Its sold as a rust-converting primer. It also works real well on seawater fouling from the various beasties that grow in your cooling tubes.

Note that it will NOT dissolve the residue that zincs produce. NOTHING acidic does - not even "neat" muriatic acid! However, there are normally no zincs in the AC system, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Wear rubber gloves and old clothes. Goggles are a good idea; you definitely don't want to splash this stuff in your eyes or get it on your hands, although its nowhere near as dangerous as muriatic acid is. If you manage to get some on you, flush with LOTS of water IMMEDIATELY. Having some baking soda on hand to neutralize it if necessary (e.g. if some gets on something you don't want it on in the boat) is a good idea too.

Put a gallon of water in a 5 gallon bucket if you wish to dilute it some (I usually run it straight, but its more dangerous to you, clothing, etc this way.) Add the acid (NEVER add water to acid, always acid to water!)

Get your $10 bilge pump and hose setup, attach to the condensor in and out ports. Make sure everything is clamped up good so you don't have leaks. Put bucket ABOVE the condensor (so there are no air traps.)

Energize pump and run a half-hour or so. You will see foam on top of the acid while it is "eating" the crud in the tubes.

Drain the acid back into the bucket, connect the regular water hoses, turn on system for a half-hour or so to make sure all the acid is flushed out.

Dispose of the used solution properly; even neutralized with baking soda until it doesn't fizz anymore you should NOT dump it in the water, as it contains phosphates (a fertilizer that causes algae blooms and is generally considered a pollutant.)

That's it.

BTW its unlikely that you've got heavy fouling in there, but possible. I personally have never seen it in my AC condensors, and the manufacturers DO design them not to run into this sort of thing, but of course you know how the best laid plans of mice and men work out sometimes.....

[Traveler 45C]

What kind of residue do zincs produce? I thought the Ospho would dissolve the zincs…

To add to Genesis’s procedure: Remember your gonna’ be back flushing the system so make your connections as such.

[Genesis]

The osphio will dissolve the zincs, but not the crud that is produced when zincs CORRODE.

[Traveler 45C]

You mean that grey mushy stuff?