# Cleaned AC Coils on Outdoor unit and now airflow is weak



## asantodo (Jun 16, 2014)

I decided that it was time to clean the coils of my 13 year old AC unit yesterday morning so I used a garden hose and washed it from the inside out as has been suggested in DIY videos and forums.  Unfortunately the air flow in my house seems to have decreased significantly.  I am assuming that I must have damaged the coils?  Is it possible that the water pressure being too high would damage it?  The fan seems to be blowing at the correct speed.


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## oldognewtrick (Jun 16, 2014)

How high was the water pressure that you used to flush the coils?


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## asantodo (Jun 16, 2014)

oldognewtrick said:


> How high was the water pressure that you used to flush the coils?



I would say it was fairly high (used the "Jet" setting on my nozzle)..do you think I damaged the coils? Can i use a fan comb to fix it?


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## oldognewtrick (Jun 16, 2014)

Can you post a pic of the fins?


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## asantodo (Jun 16, 2014)

I am at work now but will try to post some tonight


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## Wuzzat? (Jun 16, 2014)

asantodo said:


> used a garden hose and washed it from the inside out
> 
> Unfortunately the air flow in my house seems to have decreased significantly.



Coincidence?

Single pole of a double pole breaker in your panel has tripped?


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## kok328 (Jun 16, 2014)

Are we talking about the evaporator coils or the condensor coils.
If you are referring to the condesor coils then, there is no correleation between the condensor coil and air flow.
If you are referring tot he evaporator coils then yes, you may have flattened them out thus restricting airflow.  Depending on how many layers of coil fins you bent, it will be a long and tedious task to straighten them out one by one.  I would not attempt a fin comb.


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## asantodo (Jun 16, 2014)

kok328 said:


> Are we talking about the evaporator coils or the condensor coils.
> If you are referring to the condesor coils then, there is no correleation between the condensor coil and air flow.
> If you are referring tot he evaporator coils then yes, you may have flattened them out thus restricting airflow.  Depending on how many layers of coil fins you bent, it will be a long and tedious task to straighten them out one by one.  I would not attempt a fin comb.



I believe I am referring to the condenser coils since it is on the outside unit.  The evaporator coil is located in side the house correct? What would be the immediate symptoms of a damaged condenser coil?


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## asantodo (Jun 16, 2014)

Here are some pics.  Sorry for the quality as they were taken this evening.


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## oldognewtrick (Jun 16, 2014)

What did it look like before you started cleaning? Looks like a lot of dirt in the coil to me.


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## asantodo (Jun 16, 2014)

Unfortunately I don't have a before pic but it was dirty.  I probably pushed the dirt from the inside out.  The grate around the coils look like it trapped some of the dirt.  What would be the best method of taking that dirt out?


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## kok328 (Jun 17, 2014)

I got bad news.  If these are your "after" pics, then the coils are still not clean.  You should be able to see through the coils when they are clean.  More bad news.  The condenser coils have absolutely nothing to do with air flow velocity.

Nealtw, the furnace fan is 110V, the condenser is 220V, no 2-pole involved with the air handler end of this.

Possibly a switching relay has gone bad and the fan is not running on the proper speed.  I believe it is a 3 or 4 speed fan.


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## Wuzzat? (Jun 17, 2014)

I'm not him, he's not me 



kok328 said:


> no 2-pole involved with the air handler end of this.
> 
> Possibly a switching relay has gone bad



Normally, no, but this situation is not normal so I'm thinking a spurious current path caused by a failed component or open neutral.

So it's a coincidence?


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## nealtw (Jun 17, 2014)

kok328 said:


> Nealtw, the furnace fan is 110V, the condenser is 220V, no 2-pole involved with the air handler end of this.



I think you ment Wazzut and if it was 220 and one breaker went all would stop anyway.:beer:


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## kok328 (Jun 18, 2014)

Sorry guys, had a long day.


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## asantodo (Jun 18, 2014)

Hi guys just wanted to give an update.  It appears that I was low on freon and needed 2.5 pounds added.  My evaporator coil was frozen so the technician suspected the freon issue.  I may have a leak somewhere because I had to get my freon recharged 3 years ago.  I hear it is expensive to diagnose and fix a leak correct?  Anyways my AC is running just fine, good flow of air and very cold.  I guess it was a coincidence from cleaning the coils and issue which fortunately led me to call the contractor.


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## kok328 (Jun 19, 2014)

Thanks, you had us all stumped.  We thought you had impaired air flow.  Come to find out your A/C just isn't cooling.  I remain, it doesn't matter what is wrong with the condensor coils or even the entire condenser unit, it has absolutley nothing to due with air flow velocity other than a trivial warm air flow versus cold air flow veloctiy.


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## Wuzzat? (Jun 19, 2014)

asantodo said:


> . . .very cold. . .


For the next HVAC problem, use a thermometer now to measure the temp of conditioned air out of your registers, vs. the temp of just moving air.  Record these numbers.


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