When to do Routine Maint. for Central AC
RickGreg
| Posted in Energy, Heating & Insulation on
I have a six year old conventional central a/c system. The first few years, I had it serviced in the spring, much like I have my oil-fired furnace serviced in the fall. For the past three years, I have not had the service done, but plan to do it again this year. I haven’t seen any change in performance.
What are your opinions on the required frequency for preventive maintenance on such systems? (The installer recommended every year, and of course, recommended that his co. do it…. I’m looking for more objective opinions!)
Thanks.
Replies
I would PM it a minnimum of once a year without putting a set of guages on it.
1. Wash outside condenser unit with some spray on 409 type cleanser and rinse with a light jet form the water hose.
2. lubrictae the fan motor with a light motor oil.
3 Inside evaporator; change the filter, usea foam type no rinse coil cleaner to clean the A-coil. clean out the the condensate pan and drain line.
4.Lubricate the air handler motor, check belts, and pulley shives for wear and replace as needed. wipe down the inside of unit as best you can with a house cleanser and water. If it has been neglectected for a while, you might need to a degreaser to cut the gunk that has built up in there.
These are do it in the spring and fall items for me. I also write the date on my filters, and keep a index card in a plastic card holder with the service dates on it attached to the side of the AHU. I know its is a little annal, but i just sold a house with a 16 yo unit in it and the home inspector thought I was trying to hide something it was so clean.
All this stuff you can do yourselfn an hour or less. The only time you need to put guages on a unit is when it is not doing what it was designed to do...cool.
Dave
Excellent list. I have to amplify cleaning the condensate drain. My air handler has a condensate drain to a condensate pump. Two years ago I noticed water pooling around the intake duct (it's rests on the floor below the vertical air handler.)
I opened up the air handler and confirmed the water was inside the AH. After numerous checks, I disassembled the loop seal in the drain and found all that gunk you were talking about cleaning had settled in the drain loop, causing the drain tray to overflow. Now when I clean the AH, I clean the loop seal. And while I'm at it, I disassemble the condensate pump and clean it. The first two pumps didn't last more than a couple of years. Since I've been cleaning it, it's been 5 years since replacement.
I do my maintenance in the fall, as I have heat pumps and I'm more concerned about freezing than sweating.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
We used to do all the maintenance and PM work on the HVAC systems, including heat pumps, for the utility company I work for. I think we had over four hundred units when you count the window shakers. That routine was a weekly schedule for some of the units in our power plants. A coal dust and fly ash environment is not conducive to unit longivity. If it weren't for lossing 12 good men to downsizing and contracting our work, I would be glad we don't do it any more.
Dave
I'll give it a shot. Thanks Dave & Nick. I appreciate the advice!
-Rick