Dry Air Conditioner

Dry air conditioner

masaichi -- Friday, 6 July 2001, at 6:13 p.m.

My air conditioner does not drip water anymore. It seems to work ok, but the pan for the water is dry. It used to be full and sometimes overflow. Its been really humid and I'm concerned that there's something wrong with the unit.

Re: Dry air conditioner

Dan O. -- Friday, 6 July 2001, at 6:27 p.m.

: My air conditioner does not drip water anymore.
: It seems to work ok, but the pan for the
: water is dry. It used to be full and
: sometimes overflow. Its been really humid
: and I'm concerned that there's something
: wrong with the unit.

If this is a window type unit, it could be evaporating the water as soon as it is produced. You may be able to look inside through the side louvers to see if there's water in the base pan.

It could also be that the condenser is partially plugged and the unit is not able to recover as much humidity as it did previously. Air conditioners should be professionally cleaned every 3 years, every year if you live in a heavy traffic area.

If you've kept this and/or other units or dehumidifiers running constantly recently, maybe it has removed most of the humidity from the house air already?

The last possibility is that the evaporator (cooling) coil has frosted over. Remove the front grill of the unit and check. If it has, it will not be able to remove any humidity until it is clear again.

Dan O.

Re: Dry air conditioner

masaichi1 -- Saturday, 7 July 2001, at 3:05 a.m.

Thanks a lot for the reponse buddy. I believe it could be one of two things. Either the condenser or the evaporator. When you say that the condenser unit could have frozen over, does this mean that it is physically frozen with ice? Do you mean that is freezes over each time I use it and melts afterward? More so I believe it is the condenser being clogged. I can get to the inside of the unit quite easily I was wondering if you could explain to me how I would go about cleaning this clogged condenser. I'm not exactly Norm Abrams, but I do many things around the house and would appreciate some advice.
: If this is a window type unit, it could be
: evaporating the water as soon as it is
: produced. You may be able to look inside
: through the side louvers to see if there's
: water in the base pan.

: It could also be that the condenser is
: partially plugged and the unit is not able
: to recover as much humidity as it did
: previously. Air conditioners should be
: professionally cleaned every 3 years, every
: year if you live in a heavy traffic area.

: If you've kept this and/or other units or
: dehumidifiers running constantly recently,
: maybe it has removed most of the humidity
: from the house air already?

: The last possibility is that the evaporator
: (cooling) coil has frosted over. Remove the
: front grill of the unit and check. If it
: has, it will not be able to remove any
: humidity until it is clear again.

: Dan O.

Re: Dry air conditioner *LINK* *PIC*

Dan O. -- Saturday, 7 July 2001, at 1:23 p.m.

: I believe
: it could be one of two things. Either the
: condenser or the evaporator. When you say
: that the condenser unit could have frozen
: over, does this mean that it is physically
: frozen with ice? Do you mean that is freezes
: over each time I use it and melts afterward?

The evaporator is the cooling coil on a refrigeration appliance and that would be what could be frosting over.

In such a case, the evaporator would only frost when the compressor was running. Depending on how long it was left running in that condition, it could take several hours or more to fully thaw after the unit was turned off. In such an instance, air flow out of the unit would be greatly reduced.

: More so I believe it is the condenser being
: clogged. I can get to the inside of the unit
: quite easily I was wondering if you could
: explain to me how I would go about cleaning
: this clogged condenser.

Both the condenser and evaporator coils are similar to a car's radiator. The fins of these can be densely packed where high pressure spray and steam or special chemicals are needed to do a thorough job. The coil fins can also be easily damaged with high pressure spray so great care must be taken by the technician doing the job.

Most homeowners could do a cursory cleaning (see the link below) by removing large items like leafs that may have been sucked in but this is not a substitute for a professional cleaning by a trained service technician.

Dan O.

Room Air-Conditioner Maintenance.

Re: Dry air conditioner

masaichi1 -- Sunday, 8 July 2001, at 12:44 a.m.

: The evaporator is the cooling coil on a
: refrigeration appliance and that would be
: what could be frosting over.

From what I can see the evaporator is not freezing over.

Is it possible that the condenser coils are so dirty that the air conditioner is running hot and the water that splashes against the condenser coils is evaporating too fast?.

Re: Dry air conditioner

Dan O. -- Sunday, 8 July 2001, at 1:46 p.m.

: Is it possible that the condenser coils are so
: dirty that the air conditioner is running
: hot and the water that splashes against the
: condenser coils is evaporating too fast?.

I would think the condenser coils being dirty would reduce the amount of water that could be evaporated, not the other way around. It could however cause reduced condensation to occur on the evaporator coil thus leading to less moisture recovered from the room air.

Dan O.

Re: Dry air conditioner

masaichi1 -- Sunday, 8 July 2001, at 11:51 p.m.

: I would think the condenser coils being dirty
: would reduce the amount of water that
: could be evaporated, not the other way
: around. It could however cause reduced
: condensation to occur on the evaporator coil
: thus leading to less moisture recovered from
: the room air.
: Dan O.

Thanks so much buddy. What I think I'll do is to clean the condenser coils from the outside. The unit is a 13500 btu that about 5 ft off the ground. I cannot get the thing out by myself so I want to clean the unit from outside. Is it possible to just shoot the condenser coils from behind the unit with a garden hose? Of course using some type of caution as not to damage the coils and to moisten any type of electrical components.

Re: Dry air conditioner

Dan O. -- Monday, 9 July 2001, at 9:00 p.m.

: What I think I'll do is to clean the condenser
: coils from the outside... Is it possible to just
: shoot the condenser coils from behind the unit
: with a garden hose?

I'm sure it is but I'm also quite sure it will do little if anything to solve any problem you're having with it. It certainly wouldn't be considered any kind of "cleaning".

: Of course using some type of caution as not to
: damage the coils and to moisten any type of
: electrical components.

That would be difficult to do considering you can't even see the fan motor which would likely be the most easily affected by the indiscriminate spraying of water into the unit.

JMO

Dan O.