A/C durability in shop?

SantaFeTom | Posted in Workshop on August 27, 2010 11:17am

This queston is for those that have air conditioned workshops. Have you experienced evaporator coils that last significantly less than evaporator coils in your home? I have! I have only replaced one coil in the three units that cool my house and it lasted 11 years. The first coil in my shop lasted about 4 years and the current one looks like it is on its last legs after about the same amount of time.They build coils with a combination of aluminum and copper which will of course rust and corrode in a moist environment due to the galvanic action of dissimilar metals. I came up with a crazy idea that the small amounts of wood dust that get past the filters and settle on the coil could incease the acidity and accelerate the corosion and rust. Now I am looking for corroborative evidence.

Replies

JohnWW | Sep 02, 2010 08:28pm | #1
Not Your Imagination

I have restored a lot of old machinery and it is common to find that in the remote corners of the cabinet where sawdust has been sitting undisturbed for years that there is often considerably more rust and paint failure than on relatively dust free metal just a few inches away. Some woods such as oak and cedars, and many others, are either acidic or contain other chemicals that can be quite corrosive in a moist environment.
brownman | Sep 19, 2010 09:20pm | #2
This just may be true, but don't quote me on it. I just cleaned my shop air conditioner, after noticing that it wasn't cooling very well. It has been in service for about six years or so. I took the unit out of it's case and sprayed the coils with some cleaner made specifically for cleaning refrigerant coils. I purchased the cleaner at Home Depot. It seems to have worked really well, as it cools excellent again.To better help prevent dust from getting stuck in the fins I taped a pleeted dust filter over the intake. Your AC will definitely last longer if your vigilant about keeping the dust out of those fins. My unit is mounted very high on the wall ,which I believe has also helped keep dust out. It would probably also help to have one of those dust collection units mounted some where in your shop to filter all the fine dust that just floats, which I also have.