Air conditioner coils..

[brewmcq]

Doing a test run in the ferment closet.. Granted, it's a little humid (76%).

Should I be patient and not worry about this frost...? The AC has been running for about 6 minutes at the time of the picture..

 

[brewmcq]

And to answer my own question: yes, be patient. 20 minutes in and is blowing super warm air out the back side and the coils are all clear.

 

[Chrisl77]

Ya wouldn't worry about frost on the outside copper sections. Though I would worry if massive amounts of frost was forming on the fins.

 

[brewmcq]

Ya wouldn't worry about frost on the outside copper sections. Though I would worry if massive amounts of frost was forming on the fins.

There was some initially, but it cleared it after about 5 minutes.

This isn't stuff I normally think about.. The AC in the bedroom has been going non stop since July and I've never once thought about or worried about things freezing up.

But since this is technicality non-traditional use for it, I worry.

 

[brewmcq]

Well, poop.

Guess I shouldn't have let it run for 90 minutes..

 

[mikescooling]

Is that the back/condenser coil? If it's the evaporator coil check the filter and make sure you have good air flow. Make sure the the evaporator coil is not clogged with dust, that looks like a double coil? So the dust can be inbetween the two coils (you can't see). You could try to clean it with soap and water. The last and least desirable option is it's low on R-22. Most important don't run it iced up, turn it off and let the water drain, if it's a solid ice block it can take hrs.

 

[brewmcq]

Thanks for the advice... I'll tend to cleaning, etc., a little later. In the meanwhile, I just got some "big gap filler" Great Stuff and I'm going to fill up a couple holes left in the closet. Just in case.

I switched off the compressor and let the fan run. Here it is, an hour later, and it's completely melted, and I dumped the water tray I put outside the closet.

There appears to be good air flow. I could also park a fan right in front of the unit,, that would help force air through it.


I'm thinking that by having the compressor run for 90 straight minutes that could have helped it freeze over. WORST case scenario, I have two more units kicking around here... I used the oldest one for this project so I have no problem junking it if it's too old.

 

[TheDecline]

AC coils freeze for one of two reasons or occasionally a bit of each. 1) Low airflow over the evap coil. This could be caused by a plugged up filter, the coil itself being plugged up with dirt, the evap fan not working or no return air for the fan to suck from. 2) Low refrigerant. There may be a small leak that you can't see in which case the unit is basically garbage.

The other possibility is a low temp issue. AC units are not meant to run at very low temps. They expect a certain temp air passing over the evaperator coil to keep the refrigerant pressure up high enough to run correctly. If you have 35 degree air entering the evap, it will cool it below freezing and will start freezing the moisture in the air.

Im not sure what you set your desired temp too but don't expect a window AC to become a freezer.

 

[brewmcq]

I didn't set a temp.. I plugged it in and let it run... lol

That's something I'm not going to ever repeat though.

 

[day_trippr]

^ Funny stuff!

I'm not surprised that puppy froze up so quickly yesterday - that was some epic humidity we were having.
My cooled t-tower was sweating rivlets - I had to mop a friggin' puddle off the top of my keezer yesterday...

Cheers!