The air conditioner unit on the outside of your house with the large fan pointing upward is called the condenser unit. It contains the compressor and the condenser heat exchanger. The condenser is like the radiator in your car. It has tubes that wrap around all four sides of the box. These tubes have thin aluminum fins to dissipate the heat. The air conditioner’s function is to get rid of the heat that is collected from inside your house. The fan draws air across the fins and tubes of the condenser and exhausts this air upward.
Over the years, this air passing over the fins deposits dirt making them less effective. You can clean these with a garden hose. Direct the hose downward along the length of the fins on the outside of the box. These fins are very fragile and can be bent easily if you point the water at an angle to them. Wash from top to bottom directing the water between the fins. As you are washing, look at the inside of the side you are washing, and you will see the dirt being removed.
Do not block the air that is drawn into the condenser unit. Many air conditioner units in Sun City have bushes planted too close to them. Blocking this airflow drastically decreases the efficiency of your unit. There should be two to three feet of clear space around your condenser unit. If you have anything in this space, either trim back bushes or move them.
The other maintenance you must do on your air conditioner is to keep the furnace filters clean. If you have removable filters, change them every month. If you leave them in longer you will use more electricity than a new filter costs and put a strain on your furnace blower motor shortening its life. If you have an electrostatic filter wash it according to the manufacturer’s instructions, usually every three months.
If you suspect your air conditioner is not working as well as it used to, look at the tubes coming into the outside condenser unit and returning to the house. The larger one is called the suction tube and should have insulation around it. If it has frost on it, the refrigerant is probably low. If there is ice on it, that is usually a sign that the air flow in the house is restricted. A blocked filter, or fouled squirrel cage blower, can cause this. Pet hair is usually the cause. If you notice significant pet hair on the filters when you change them you should increase the frequency of your filter changes.
We had a lively discussion in the workshop about whether you should cover the outside condenser unit of your air conditioner in the winter. After listening to a member who repaired air conditioners for a living we all agreed that covers should not be used. In the spring when we get warm days these covers trap cool air that causes condensation to form on metal parts causing corrosion. If the cover is inadvertently left on when the air conditioner is turned on, it is possible to burn out the compressor. The unit is designed to be outside and snow and rain do no damage.
Some people trip the circuit breaker to their air conditioner for the winter. This is not a good idea as there is a small wattage heater inside the compressor to keep the oil liquid. The cost to run this heater is minimal and a compressor start with unheated oil could burn out the compressor.
If you have suggestions for future tips or have questions about maintenance around your home submit them to ask.the.woodchucks@gmail.com.
