3 PROVEN Methods To Getting Colder Air From HVAC Vents.
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- You can find the Cool-N-Save here: coolnsave.com/go
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HVAC engineer here. The Cool N Save product mentioned here effectively turns your dry condensing unit into an evaporative condensing unit which does result in a small performance boost (as well as a small energy-efficiency boost). But as someone who has performed retro-commissioning studies and property condition assessments for a variety of building types with these systems, you are trading one problem for a host of other problems. First, unless you are someone who is going to remember to replace the scale filter on a regular basis, scale will eventually build up on the coils and this will worsen their performance greatly and cause the lifespan of your unit to reduce significantly. Second, any water pooling at the unit can cause issues like mosquitos and unwanted plant/fungus growth. This organic growth as well as the water can accelerate corrosion which will also shorten the lifespan of your unit. If you’re stuck with an undersized A/C unit I can understand the frustration and maybe you’ll decide to do this retrofit anyway. But when your unit does finally kick the bucket, consider upsizing the new unit and skipping DIY retrofits which are not supported by the manufacturer.
This guy knows what he’s talking about. If it were financially viable in the long run, every large building would have this system built into it. But they don’t, and he explains why they don’t. It may sound like a good idea to us novices, but experts have shown otherwise.
These reasons sound rather pedantic when it comes to the savings in energy cost over the life of the unit.
I got a question. I got a house in SoFL built in '63 the last time the ductwork was redone was in the late 90s. The air works fine but some rooms are not a cool as others what are your suggestions? Thanks in advance.
@SilentMovements305 replace your ducts. I had the same problem. My home was built in 78' and I bought it in 92'. The ducts were 42 years old. I'm not an hvac pro, so don't take my word as gospel. My son-in-law replaced my ducts. The ducts were cracked inside and I'm sure it doesn't matter where you live, rodents are likely getting into your attic, so yeah, tears in the outer layer was evident. Once all done, I felt like I had a new hvac system. It was a ginormous increase in volume and temperature change. if you're going to diy, I would suggest going to an hvac supply house. some only sell to licensees, but look around. you don't want to keep fixing it. Imo, the plenum work was the hardest to seal. There's a type of glue you'll want to use. messy stuff. do one duct at a time. I also wouldn't get creative with rerouting 😂
@@josephyarbrough9316 I was trying to avoid that but that's the route that's best. Thank you
It's my understanding that while the misting system works, it will prematurely rust and corrode the Condesor coils and shorten lifespan of the unit....thoughts?
Yes it decreases the condenser fan motor life. Do not forget the water bill. The trade off is not the best. I installed my new unit in the back of the house which is out of the Evening Sun. Shade plays a big part in the efficiency of an AC unit. Big part I do not see is getting a yearly cleaning of the condenser unit. Condenser coils should be cleaned yearly.
I was just thinking the same thing even though the coil copper is surrounded by aluminum it would speed up the corrosion process and also rust the housing.
yes the hard water will corrode the coil and add hard water deposits on your coil , you need to have the coil cleaned every season, the efficiency of this type of sys also depends on the humidity in the air, humidity above 20% is pointless, as this type of sys works off of evaporation,also the temperature in the house has an effect on the temperature coming out of the vents, the supply air is always going to be around a 20 to 25 degree split, so as the temp in the house drops the air supply coming out of the vents also drops......
Yes, I agree. More corrosion than rust. Also, is water free where you guys live?
@@unintentionalprovocateur2158 Maryland
The biggest effect is that it reduces the stress put on the system. The ideal temp range of a heat pump is 40-75 degrees. I would buy 3 more misters add a splitter and have 2 nozzles on each side, to ensure complete coverage of the coils, as well as a shade cover.
FYI most of the old style window AC units from the 60's & 70's were set up to have the condensate to flow to the fan outside so it would splash it up onto the coils to improve its cooling system.
get you three water hoses and side to side ocelaters and and keep water pressure on all three sides for good red neck misting system.workes for me.
Only in dry climates. What about reversing the airflow of the condenser fan so the air blows in the top, and through the coils and out to the perimeter. Then place a swamp cooler above the condenser unit, and duct the cooled air from the swamp cooler into the condenser unit. How much improvement in efficiency would this create?
Aftermarket equipment put on buy homeowners...yes keep it coming. We will be sure to replace your whole system
Watering and misting your A/C condenser will give you greater efficiency and cooler air. However, you will eventually ruin the condenser, unless you are using completely mineral-free water. Even for homes with a water softener, the condenser coils will cake up. That coating can not be removed chemically, since most chemicals designed to remove calcium will also attack the aluminum coils. Been down that road. Pay now or pay later.
True
I'm an HVAC tech and I would like to see you take the shade off the condenser and turn the water off and see if the temperature goes back up 3 degrees. I don't think it will. The condenser condenses the Freon from a gas back to a liquid then returns it to the evaporator coil where it basically turns to a mist evaporates and gets cold.. Cooling down the returning liquid 10 degrees is not going to reduce the coil temperature probably at all,. The longer the system runs the colder the system will get so 1 degree per hour or more would be normal as ducts and stuff cool. If this was a package unit where everything is in one case then shading it would help. Keep your filters clean and your vents unblocked and don't run restrictive air filters because it's an AC system not an air purifier your slowing down your airflow. Have a nice day.
Worked with a co. that installed ground loop heat pumps very effective , not cheap, we drilled holes and ran loop in and out and tied them together and the units had a condenser that had parallel copper coils attached to condenser coils and pump would pump well water through them and efficiency went way up!!!
@@michaelc.fulghum8125ground loop heat pumps using water are not the same as misting water around an air source heat pump. You're not comparing apples to apples there
Shading the unit seems the most practical.
Yes. My hvac guy said not to. So it’s definitely a good idea.
The issue is restricting the airflow around the unit, causing the fan to work harder. But surely you could shade an AC unit in a way that doesn't affect the air flow.
@@jeremyh9033 I think so as well, I also think you could put a "Slat" roof on as well, that would allow unrestricted airflow from the fan and give it shade!
@@America-First2024 lol.... 🤣
@@jeremyh9033 There's plenty of air flow. It's not like the board was directly up against the unit
I am going to tell you right now that the Cool N Save is just not robust enough for more than a season (my 2 units didn't last the entire season without issues). I bought 2 units (for my 4 ton HVAC) and both had issues. The owner was quick to ship new parts , but even the last flap went flying off into the yard. Nozzles leaked and I was not impressed at all. Beef them up and I will consider again, but not until then. That was just 1 Florida summer. Did I get 2 lemons? Who knows, but I wasted $200+ on them sadly
It does look like a very gimmicky and temporary solution to a bigger problem. With my water, those nozzles would be plugged within 1 day if I didn't provide it with an aggressive pre-filtration system... Not too mention any water sediment buildup on the coil will become an issue for dissipating heat from the condenser. Providing a form of shade for a the condenser is the best approach. They are made to work in direct sunlight since many systems are rooftop units on buildings that are in sun all day long, but shade will keep discharge pressures down, which also keeps compressor happier and amperages lower.
Coach, I live in an area (farms) with massive winds on 4 out of 7 days. That cool and save unit wouldn't last a week here. When I went to the site, I lmao at the price. I hope a TEMU knock off specialist comes up with a beefed up unit for 25 bucks, I'll buy a few. I'm sorry yours didn't work out, but I appreciate you telling me what i suspected the minute I saw the unit.Our winds howl at 30 to 50 fairly regularly. so I don't even know if a beefed up unit would do the trick.
@Jason-wc3fh Sounds like you need a 1 micron whole house water filter with clear housing so you can see to change. I installed one in 1992 and saved $$ bc the refrigerator filters will function for several years and may never need replacing as I've never witnessed any difference in flow or water quality before/after changing them.
I buy the filters by the case and save 50% - only $5/filter and typically change them twice/year. I also installed pre&post filter pressure gages so I know the filter is needing change when static pressure drop is 3 or 4psi.
sad to see this guy shilling this junk to his viewers
Another method is to spray down the roof with a garden hose, or put a sprinkler on the roof. Attics tend to get 145 degrees in the sun. Spraying down the roof will cool it off and the water will evaporate. Due to laws of physics we know every one gallon of water that evaporates uses absorbs 9,000 BTU, (about the cooling most small window a/C units produce in one hour). In a power out heat wave, or on those super hot day when one might be desperate, it does have an effect. If my expereince, an average roof only holds a couple of gallons, and this needs to bee repeated every hour or so. All that cooling does not make it in house, but it does have some effect.
Obviously, all cooling on a roof does not make it into the house. The roof is the hottest part of a house. One can also spray down siding, bricks, windows and more. This method will not make the house "cool," but it will make it less hot.
On one of our trips to New Orleans, the wife and I took a "Swamp Boat Tour" and the medium sized boat was captained by a guy that grew up out there. Halfway throught the tour we were brought to a little, nearly flat-roofed building that was a restaurant. There were sprinklers running on the roof and water dripping off the edges. I asked the captain what that was all about and he said "Cajun air conditioning!" 🤣
@@freespirit1975 Interesting. Great story! I can totally see where that could work, especially with a large supply of free water that is relatively cool.
Get yourself an attic fan, Or those whirlybirds if you don’t mind holes in your roof, they help a ton. Air flow is key to get the heat out.
Also, another good reason to point out the engineering errors of the HVAC world and running ductwork or putting units in the attc is a big no no !
As well as the ductwork never being properly sealed, should never be ran through an attic either.
I remember seeing on t.v. What they called “Submarine Houses.” They were in the California desert between maybe Riverside and the Colorado River. I didn’t see the whole program but the houses were sunken down in the earth. Not buried, just like set down in a hole, down to roof level. Then they used some kind of drip or spray setup to circulate the water around the outside. I’m afraid I missed the most important part, but people seemed to like it. Dunno why they disappeared though, just that there were only a few left around. The narrator was Huell Howser. Just FYI…
I’d love to see a follow up video showing the change in the electric bill and the water bill!
@Blakehx using city water increase estimate of $50.00 / monthly that would be water running continuously 24h/ day. If you add shutoff valve and temperature control for temperature over 85 degrees only. These should reduce water use dramatically. I am only suggesting . I do know the addition of water drop current pull 2 Amp
@@1frd1smth1 I am getting near a 5amp cut across both units.
@@1frd1smth1I'm a bit confused what does the water bill have to do with the AC unit? I obviously don't know what the heck I'm talking about LOL.
Did you watch the video? @@marcelhaik8035 it is a water mising system for your a/c
@@marcelhaik8035 they're just trying to factor in the cost of running the mister (water bill) to see if the juice is worth the squeeze.
I put towels in the freezer and hang them on the dyson
Please dont use the misting option folks. I was in the HVAC industry for 48 years and was not a DIY. Misting will evaporate like the diy says, but minerals dont evaporate and will remain and harden on your coils as the mist evaporates. DIY does not realize what he does not know
Agree. If you spray a little tap water on your car windshield, it leaves water spots. Imagine doing this several times a day and you can never wash your windshield.
Agreed and don't forget it will make things rust faster
Isn’t that what the filter is for?
I was considering using the water coming from the unit inside which should be as clean as distilled water. Collect it and rig up a solar operated pump to spray. Probably wont have enough volume to make a difference, though.
I literally thought that exact same thing tds of that water is 28 and I’m sure none of that is from any sort of minerals. I think this system should be redone with using condensate water and should mist on timer , the lever should simply turn a solenoid on and off. It might be a lot more involved but would be a much better unit for the purpose.
Would be nice to see a way to use condensate to cool the condenser for something of a self cooled system. On a 90+ degree day my 3 ton unit will produce 6 gallons of pure water. I bet if a condenser was close enough to the evaporator it could be done with a condensate pump. Plus there's no minerals in the water to plug up the nozzles.
that's what windowshakers do: they have a drip tray and the condenser fan will hit the water and splash the coils. When it's really humid, the drip tray ends up overflowing and raining down on everything/everyone below.
Are you formally trained? I’m not sure you fully understand what you’re doing.
Well go on, post your state and license number so we know you're legit.
Is anybody in that business?
Lol we are 90% trained in this industry.
It has been deemed that watching 1,000 hours of UA-cam HVAC videos is the equivalent of real HVAC technical school training...
LOL!
Maybe a vid now on how to best clean the hard water build up that will likely occur over time from the mister? Thanks for the great content 🤙💪
That’s for sure! 😂
Maybe a vid on how to trick the manufacturer into warrantying a coil damaged by snake oil?
You don't get it clean again but hey who cares just make the video. Anybody I've ever seen that actually gets these to work a season or more coils are toast. Maybe just maybe in a extreme low humidity area these might be ok but certainly not where I live
Inline water filter
We had that same condenser misting system in S FL. Don’t do it, especially if your water is hard. You’ll grow all kind of mineralization between the coil fins and block airflow through the condenser coil. We saw all kind of issues. If the manufacturers wanted condensers to run this way, they would have sent a water kit with it.
If your coils are clean inside and out side and the unit is sized correctly, you should have no problem!
depends. extreme heat waves, location the AC unit was placed with regards to the sun/shade. Also your units inside furnace coils could become partially clogged. Also in high temps your local grid will be under a lot of stress. reducing that saves you money and may prevent a blackout/brownout, this also reduces how hard your AC unit has to work so that's less chance of breakage or wear. really I don't know why its not required to do this very cheap and simple stuff like shade when they all claim to care and energy efficiency and the environment. doing this to large commercial roof mounted AC units etc would save a ton of grid load during peak hours!
@@keith3761 been in the HVAC service industry for 30 years
Bro starting the video with a 13 degree split 💀
@@yinggamer7762 Yeah the split wasn't good to begin with. Should probably make sure everything is clean, charged correctly and airflow set up correctly too. Alot of people don't know how any of this stuff works and will likely use products like this even when it's not that hot because they like there homes freezing cold and in the low 60's to high 50's all the time. Then they will wonder why their coil is frozen or compressor went out. Showing people how to artificially raise the subcooling can cause more problems in the long run if they don't know what they are doing.
@davidherrera2859 I do believe size could have a lot to with problems.. found a lot of ducks leaking and insulation that was removed from behind the unit installed in my house.
Thanks, but this is exactly the definition of a cheap plasticy gimmicky product that won’t last.
Maybe you get a month, or a summer, or 2 summers if you are really lucky.
Anytime you’re dealing with electricity or water, you’re going to have problems. I’m not saying this will electricute you. Not saying it won’t either..
But more likely this will cause Other issues that will end up costing you more. Time. Money. Headache.
Go ahead and put this on 5 or 10 units and give everyone a 6 month or 1 year review. I’m curious to know how many will still be in use after 1 year.
You may as well take a few 20 dollar bills and give them away. It will be cheaper in the long run, and might actually do more good.
You can check the static pressure / airflow chart. A lot of systems are installed with the default highest blower speed tap. Changing the tap down one speed will remove more humidity and make a colder coil.
This video is missing an important piece that any AC tech would point out. It's all good to look at the cool air output but you also need to look at the intake temperature inside the house. The cooling is considered to be the subtraction between the temperature going into the intake inside the house minus the output temperature. If the house cooled throughout the testing by say 3° then there's been absolutely no gain whatsoever because the difference is still the same. Even the video itself comments that the set point was quite a few degrees lower than what the house temperature was at the beginning that is 74° was the house temperature and 70° was the set point. While the set point doesn't matter other than for keeping AC on it does suggest that the unit have been trying to cool the house down for the entire time that all this testing was going on, and it most likely did drop inside by a few degrees but I didn't see any updates of that. As I said if it did drop a few degrees then it's logical that you would see the same drop or close to it on the output register. Finally, never block your air conditioner vents outside. Blocking the airflow with drastically reduce the output considerably more than what you get from the shade. If you can find a way to shade it without blocking it too badly you may see some improvements in efficiency.
I agree with you and almost wrote the exact same reply. The only thing is shading has no effect on system performance. This guy is a nice guy but he is not a schooled HVAC mechanic, and I've seen him make beginner mistake after mistake watching his videos. Like many others on UA-cam, it's about selling a product for the "small" commission they get on each sale and they don't have the expertise or experience to really know what they're talking about.
Recently one tuber showed how to apply Triazicide, said he doesn't measure quantity but just "goes" with the spreader setting. Well he went with 10 lbs of product when to properly apply it he needed 130 lbs of product. But guess what? He didn't forget the link to buy Triazicide on his video!
@@Kevin-mm6xm Makes no sense, The shading would HAVE to have a effect, as if its condenser is cooler it has to work far less hard to condense the refrigerant and would be able to run a shorter cycle to reach the same level of indoor cooling. There are a few DIY videos on youtube where people have build their own misters and shown that it results in a drop of about 2.5 amps in draw and saves about 0.5 KwH and about 10$ a month. Internal house temperature would be reached sooner thus reducing total runtime of the condenser/fan/compressor.
@@keith3761 You don't do HVAC work. If you did, you would know that there is a specific subcooling temperature exiting the condenser that needs to be set, typically 8 to 12 degrees, depending on the manufacturer. This is the temperature of the liquid R410a going to your indoor coil. Changing the outdoor temperature doesn't change the subcooling of the refrigerant. High side pressures do increase as outdoor temps get higher, but your subcooling stays the same. You set subcooling by adding or subtracting refrigerant according to system pressure and coolant temperature. This is why it's total BS about misters or shade. Look online at commercial rooftop units and you will see zero shading, especially in Las Vegas and eastern California where the outdoor temps hit 110 degrees. It's a nice idea, but shading does nothing to your AC unit.
@@Kevin-mm6xm what your saying makes no thermodynamic sense. If it's HOTTER on the condenser the refrigerant will have a harder and longer time pushing that heat OUT of it as the coils and into surrounding air will be less willing to take the extra energy. As for saying that X is not done in Las Vegas and California. There are plenty of things that are NOT done that should be. And If you DO install HVAC units what does the manufactures installation manual say? That is right it says to install it on the shadiest part of the house. If what your saying is true and thermoclime did not matter there would no need to clean the condenser and keep it free of debris because it could push out as much heat as it wanted no matter the resistance! so Yes you should clean your condenser coils! WHY? so that the unit can push out heat into the air! Now what type of air transfers/accepts heat the easiest?! dense air! what air is most dense?! cold air! Your unit will have to run for less time to transfer the same amount of energy to the air thus saving you money by reducing run time. So misting the air and making it dense would make a difference as well as having your unit in the shade thus making it cooler at start up. Now yes once your unit is running and hits its peak temperatures the shade will no longer matter much at all, but on start up your unit will have started much cooler than one directly in the sun.
@@keith3761dude, you just don't know. The guy you responding to is correct . If you spent 40 plus years like us in the desert heat up to 117 degrees working on hundreds and thousands of units of all types in all situations, in shade out of shade etcetera, you would understand
The condenser Works off of airflow and it carries very little if the sun is shining on it or not. In fact if the condenser has a louvered cover over the coil it's not getting any direct sunlight anyway and if it did it would make virtually no difference
And the air temperature is the air temperature whether it's in the Sun or the shade do you understand that?
The problem is people think about these issues emotionally as a human being. They walk out into the sunlight and summer and they feel the hot heat of the sun shining on their body and then they walk in the shade and they feel cooler. And they think an air conditioner works like that.
I had one customer who destroyed his brand new air conditioner who thought like you did and built a shade cover over the top. What ended up happening is the hot are being deflected off of the shade cover back into the coil recirculating making it hotter blowing out which hit the shade cover and got hotter air blowing into the coil which heated it up and blew out and got hotter back into the coil Etc like a vicious cycle. But it sure did look like it was cute and effective and it emotionally seemed like a good idea in like what a good guy he was
But his ignorance and emotional thinking, ruined his air conditioner, all the while he was convinced he was using common sense, understanding the physics and doing the right thing
As a professional, it gets frustrating and tiresome dealing with people who make confident assertions about things they know little or nothing about, have not tested their theories and recorded the data
If they did they would discover that they're wrong
Got a question for you. What would the ramifications be if someone were to "upgrade" their condenser fan motor (the big fan that pulls air through the fins and coils)? I know all the "extra power, more HP, etc" stuff. I'm interested in the real "what would happen to refrigerant flowing through coils and how cooling potential would change" only type stuff.
In this video you are basically making the fins and coils colder, so it can make the temp blowing through vents cooler. So lets say someone has a 1/4HP motor, with an 875RPM, and 2.1amp draw, and 7.5uF capacitor needed for it. Lets replace that OEM spec motor, with a 1/2HP motor, 1100RPM, 2.5amp, and since this is all theoretical lets say we are also using a Turbo 200X capacitor that you recommended in another video, so we change from the 7.5 setting to a 10uF (or 12.5) setting to compensate/match the bigger motor. The wiring itself should be fine, as condenser motors often use 10AWG wires when something much smaller is technically capable, and a .4A difference is very low. You get that much change just from a motor nearing the end of its life.
So, the new motor is rated for the HP needed by the increased load, the extra RPM will move a lot more CFM, and the capacitor was taken care of. So since you are moving a lot more air over the fins, would it do the same thing to blow colder air inside because it is cooling the fins more? Would this be something that would allow the AC to blow colder on a hot summer day? Or would it all go horribly wrong and the increased airflow on the cooling fins cause too much change in the refrigerant temp and cause things to not condense right?
problem with misting water over the coils, some of us have Rural Water with an Extremely High Sodium and Mineral content.
by the end of the summer, the fins will be clogged up with mineral deposits, not good.
a better solution, though not easily done, is to create a Swamp Cooler housing around the HVAC unit, so it does not have water falling directly on the fins, just the cooler air from the Swamp Cooler pads.
I've considered building four frames to hold swamp cooler pads, that would be placed around the AC unit.
Back in the dawn of time 70 years ago, I lived in Las Vegas. Our subdivision had-undersized AC units to end the lawsuits the builder put swamp cooler pads in frames in front of the condensers.. Simple cheap solution but the condenser only drew from one side. Modern ones typically draw in air from three sides. Making fabrication of such a Cooler very costly. Perhaps using pvc pipe might make it possible. I chose to hyper-insulate the attic and only cool the rooms I use. That brought the bill down toa level where it doesn’t consume my whole social security check..
about 3-4 mo's and they were coated white!! a pain in the butt! great idea!! we used to have an old Water AC that had what looked like croaker sacks and water was pumped over them and air drawn through and into the house worked fair in low humidity , but every now and then a tree frog would blow in and I had to run'em down LOL!!
No one cares how hot the case is; that's irrelevant. You need to check what you have coming out on your supply vent and your return. You should have a 20-degree split. So if you're at 60 supply, you should have an 80 return. If you don't, you need to call an technician, not a DYI’er.
I love this channel, and the guy who runs it is really articulate and helpful. Some of the products he demonstrates though are not only grossly overpriced, but this thing looks super flimsy and cheaply made for anyone who lives in an area with super gusty winds. Even with multiple wind breaks around our yard, the winds coming in off our 13 miles of straight farm fields behind the house are nasty. We had a Class H roof (shingles) installed on our house. They're rated for winds up to 150MPH. I've had several blow off in massive wind storms. The beauty is the company guarantees them for 25 years. Every time we lose some, they come out and install replacements within a few days. Well worth the money we paid. Not knocking the guy, but these products are not for everyone and this one is ridiculously priced for what it is.
Fair and accurate
Also, its all mostly bullsht.
If you don't know anything about ACs and how they operate this guy makes sense. If you know how the ACs operate this guy makes no sense!
Should also look at running amps of the system in the various set ups. I did a similar test and found that my 4.5 ton unit ran at 3.4 kW. With a mist applied it ran at 2.5 kW. That's where the savings comes from. The compressor doesn't have to work as hard and if done right something like this should save about 30% on electricity. I also just made my own with a sprinkler solenoid and one of those misters for a patio
I just use the mister function on my water hose nozzle for really hot days. Also replaced all my old hvac ducts, blew insulation in the attic, and added ridge vents. Unit runs a few hours less everyday.
What other vents than ridge vents exist?
@@bigj-yn3tf I'm talking about the vent at the peak of the roof that lets the hot air escape from the attic.
I did the math on the "cool and save" last year when all the creators were affiliate marketing it. The numbers were not favorable. The electricity cost savings don't offset the cost of the unit and the reoccurring cost of filter replacement.
Or the cost of water… or… the ineffective evaporation in high humidity environments… or the headache of plugged nozzles… or the wasted water from failing shutoff wind flapper valve actuator… or the cost of scale damage to the coils.
Don’t need a calculator - even - to immediately know this is just a REALLY BAD IDEA in practice.
@@MEMcAndrews Yep.....but I suppose you could mitigate the water cost by capturing rain/gutter water and using some sort of solar powered water pump. Maybe use some of that burlap cloth they use to protect evergreens in the winter as your shade material w/pounded down 2x2x8's as your stakes to staple it to. Obviously the AC unit shouldn't be located on the sunny side of the house to start with if that's possible.
I think the way to go with it is to "supplement" an undersized system when it's incredibly hot out
@@443DMyup. A better design would allow it to come one when the outdoor temlerture is above 90-95°F or if the outdoor coil temp gets above a certain temperature.
Obviously, it is meant to be a super easy DIY product, but there is a much better way ro implement the concept than the chinsy flapper.
My thought has always been that this is a good idea as an assist on the few hottest days (or even hottest parts of a day really) not so much an efficiency booster.
@@443DM This is the point.
Adding a radiant barrier in the attic is the most effective thing I've done. It's like moving your whole roof into the shade. It is basically like a foil covered Tyvek product that can be laid on top of attic insulation or stapled to the under side of the roof rafters. Obviously shading the AC unit will help, but putting the whole thing on the N side of the house where it can draw are from a large shaded area is even better. Spraying the AC coils and fins with water will cause all the minerals in that water to get deposited on the fins, effectively insulating and choking the AC unit over time. I wouldn't do that unless you have very soft water, like from the mountains. I would expect most well water would be trouble.
But I wonder if your radiant barrier is now "baking" your tar based shingles/drying them out and causing another headache.......
Who puts a condenser unit inside the house? You want the heat moved out the house not inside. You are right about the minerals being deposited on the unit. I would love to see where they put condenser units inside the house. Maybe somewhere where it's extremely cold.
@@Moseeplo @NackDSP was not recommending to put the condenser unit inside the house. When he said "N side" he meant the "North side" of the house, not the "Inside" of the house. He was suggesting the north side has more shade. Thanks.
@@brucebillst Gotcha, Thx.
Very good info. I'll try the radiant barrier maybe this year or next. We have lots of tree shade, but one side is exposed.
I planted two crape mertyls around both of my units. They provide ample shade and the blooms are beautiful.
Make sure your AC unit is installed on the naturally shady side of the house and forget all this nonsense.
The mister installed on the condensing unit rots the coil at a rapid rate especially in Florida..If you do the math of coil replacement (condensing unit replacement ) vs the saving while misting, its a loosing scenario.
That's what I would worry about: corrosion of the coils.
I wonder what Goodman says about warranty coverage, when one of those mister / swamp cooler gadgets is installed?
While these systems can improve performance, it requires more than just installation, you have to measure line temperatures and amperage to know whether you're helping or actually hurting. Cooling the condenser won't result so much in lower indoor temperatures, rather, it will reduce energy consumption and increase cooling capacity. The caveat is that excessive subcooling can cause the TXV to starve the evaporator, and increase superheat, resulting in warmer indoor temperatures and a hotter compressor. You can fine tune this to get a good balance, but you must measure more than just temperature at the vent. Also, you must have good soft city water with low TDS/dissolved minerals, or use RO filtered water.
I've been making a similar point for years when this product comes into season. It really shouldn't be marketed as an efficiency booster, but as a cooling supplement. Unfortunately the way it is implemented with the chinsy flapper and all it is just not a good product.
Now, if the misting could be controlled bassed on outdoor temp, or coil temps/sub cooling, tied to similar controls like the defrost cycle timer on a heat pump it could really be a big help during the few hottest days or hours, say 95°F+ ODT. This would largely mitigate (but not completely prevent) possible issues from mineral buildup and the like as well as reduce filter changes and water use over all.
Unfortunately then, the only unique peice of this product that is not an off the shelf part (the flapper) is completely unnecessary and it becomes a much less accessible DIY product that costs $5 to make and sells for $120.
@@GimpGladly It's funny how polarizing a subject it is in the HVAC ""expert" community, with most saying there's absolutely no benefit and all risk. A 30% improvement in efficiency/capacity to _supplement_ your system in extreme weather is nothing to sneeze at.
Yeah, the price is a bit shocking given other misting options, and the the niche is people desperately trying to squeeze more life/capacity out of an old or undersized unit. I just went outside and turned mine on and off, since we only have maybe 20 days out of the year which are over 90f.
The doors to homemade tech have been thrown wide open in the last few years, maybe someone will come along with an accessible DIY project as you've described. I can't imagine the circuitry costing much more than $10, plus a solenoid, nozzles, filter, line. Nothing on SourceForge yet.
The amount of scale you'll add to the coils for 2 degrees is not worth it. Keep the coil clean is your best bet.
Also making sure your ducts are properly sealed and insulated even at the vent areas will help blow more cold air into your home, good video
R22 takes away 70 BTU per pound of liquid turning to vapor. Spraying water on the condenser won't change that. Plus you'll lower the head pressure too much, liquid pressure is related to head pressure which means the evaporator will be getting less refrigerant, which actually lowers the BTU capacity of the system. I tried that in 1978. Then I learned how AC systems work. Bad advice
R22 ??? Guess you have a 1980's unit like me... 410 is starting to get phased out. Need new unit.
@@bedoers4good330 that was an example.
I thought u said before it’s a bad idea to put a cover because it restricts air circulation on the condenser ugggggggh . Make up you mind!
It’s definitely a bad idea I wouldn’t do any of this I was taught not to do any of these things besides cleaning the unit with water for a while
My air conditioner is on the south side of my house. The hot sunny side. I put up a 5 foot by 6 foot sun canopy over it. I did it so it would work easier, with less strain. Runs less. I tried a mister. All that did was leave rust stains from my hard water.
When putting a canopy over the condensing unit, make sure you don't restrict the airflow which would be counterproductive.
@@andreloudon8934 Oh yes. I understand. This I can stand under. Height is adjustable. It's meant to be taken to the beach or on a picnic for shade. Sells on Amazon. Folds up for non-summer.
our ac is always shaded by bushes, installed in 1993 still going strong never did any work to it.
I think this is mostly just a gimmick. Water also costs money, and the water cost might cost more than the electricity savings. It would work the best in a desert, but you can also use a swamp cooler to great effect in a desert. Any amount of lime scale on the fins could severely hamper the condenser's ability to cool the refrigerant. Experts generally recommend NOT using this products. Putting something over an air conditioner like an umbrella or canopy is also bad because it blocks air flow.
I can fill up a pool and my water bill is only 50 bucks.. how is this more expensive than your electricity?????? The scale is valid of course, but shading something doesn’t decrease airflow unless you enclose it
Hola 👋 señor Dave !!! Here in Texas we are going to have 100 degrees today and the rest of the weekend 😢summer in Texas is brutal 🥵
This is only useful if your AC is undersized and can’t maintain temp on its own. They regulate cooling with a txv valve. The constant water will accelerate corrosion of the coils.
You are amazing…I performed all three methods and the ac degrees were 5 degrees colder. We live in Florida. 5 degree colder is huge…I made my own system with copper lines and better flapper. The quality was poor from manufacturer. The concept works great but the product is poorly made. However, great idea….thank you
Which flapper did you use, would you please share a link or pic?
Pilotrserra: where did you get a flapper? or?
@@57jnvc use their flapper but go to plumbing supply and purchase a metal rocker valve. Plumbing supply counter will help you find correct valve to fit flapper. You may need to attach small manifold to valve for the lines. Attach rocker valve to their flapper with cotter pin. I then mounted valve and flapper to small piece on stainless steel with 4 holes to zip tie to top of AC. It does not move and valve is 200% better than the junk they sell. I only used their flapper but I’m trying to find a replacement. Their flapper works good because light weight
Lazy man’s solution
Start at air flow indoor. Are the filters clean and only lightly pleated, is the coil and ducts clean. 1/20th dust in duct reduces efficiency 30%
The out door condenser is too close to the house. Needs 12” clear from house and vegetation
Are refrigerant levels correct
Are the electrical components drawing correctly. If that capacitor is weak then the motors are not turning at the correct rates
Is the furnace fan airflow correct
So much …. But hey splash some water on it and ignore the problems till next year
Shielding your AC unit from the sun is a good idea, but constantly soaking it with water is not.
Home owners, please do not do any of these snake oil methods. He failed to show, suction pressure, head pressure, saturation temp and compressor amps changes using these methods. If manufactures of air to air condensers thought it a good Idea then the unit would ship using one or more of these concepts.
I have been in the trade for 36 years, and applied it in 5 different states spanning from the west to the Midwest. You are likely to do more harm than good, using these methods, and you can void warranty in some cases.
Then again if you live in my area, I will be more than happy to repair or replace you system after it fails using these methods.
I used the Cool-N-Save. Seemed like a good idea at first, but I didn't notice much difference on inside temperature. What I did notice was that the flap wouldn't always completely shut off the water when in the down position, so consequently always had a lot of wasted water on the ground around the unit in the morning. Save your money.
From looking at comments and yours I agree, waste of money.
You wouldn't ever notice a difference on the inside temperature because your thermostat is set to your preference. I think the idea is the house would cool a bit faster since there is a lower temperature coming out of the vents. Then the AC doesn't run as much and therefore lower your electric bill.
Now, if you're talking about temperature coming out of the vent made no change and was the same. The product is even more of a waste of money.
@@HerrMal Your comment actually does make sense, I guess my point was that I didn't really notice any change in climate "behavior". When you live in a house as long as I have you tend to notice its "personality" if you will. For me nothing seemed to change except the puddle of water outside by the AC unit.
It's a poor design for sure. I can think of numerous DIY options that would be more reliable.
you could hook up a solenoid to accomplish the same thing and hook that up to the fans relay, but that would require mild electrical skill most people dont have. Also If you KNEW what the problem was why did you not solve it by slightly increasing the weight of the FLAP????!!!
You should turn the water off in the evening since the AC won't be running all the time at night
The cool n save works. I have had 2 of them and my only complaint is the valve mechanism does not last. 1+ Season throwaway even if you store it during cold weather.
as soon as i saw the product, i was like nah, that doesn't look like it'd last more than a couple weeks where i live (florida). we have torrential rains and high winds here throughout the rainy season / summer months. firstly, my recommendation is that the HVAC manufactures start painting their condensers white or tan. the dark colors are just no good. also, the single biggest improvement to getting cooler air through the vents would be to get the condenser shaded without restricting air movement in/out of the condenser. the misting water idea may only work for a short time, even with filtration...the nozzles will calcify.
I built a wooden cover over mine. It looks like a kitchen table . 4 legs and a plywood top and I covered it with plastic to protect it from rain and water sprinklers and it works great. I also made my own misters with very small PVC pipe and added the nozzles from the garden center that are already made up and that works very good and uses very little water. I barely have to turn the water on at all during the day It's only in the sun about 3 hours and then I turn it off. I live in Texas where so far it has been 100 to 105 degrees with 110 heat index for a couple of weeks.
The problem with using water to cool down the condenser coil is the buildup of scale (minerals from the evaporating water will cover the coils). The scale will act as an insulator, making it more difficult to reject the heat in the coil. Your system will end up being less efficient and may cause damage to your compressor.
@@theotheleo6830 I don't have hard water and have been doing it for years and my coils look brand new. It depends on where you live if you have lots of salt or other minerals in your water. I never had a problem with scale but I get your point.
You put something on top of it, and then your pressure goes up. That fan is removing the heat from inside the house. If that cover is not like really high up there the hot air will just come back down overheating your compressor. That wood he put on the side of the condenser is also a no no. Air needs to flow that's why the fins are there. The best thing you can do is keep the condenser coil clean. By spraying it weekly. Have the unit where it receives the least amount of sun. If a tree is nearby, that provides some natural shade. Acs cool at 18-22 degrees. There is a txv valve that regulates the cooling to prevent freezing and proper operation. Hvac tech here trust me.
@@simonbelmont548 Oh believe me it's high enough. There's no way I would put something directly on top of something blowing air. I know more about A/C units than you think.
@kellyspann9845 According to the manufacturer, if you block airflow, you can damage the unit and also void the warranty
Given the advancements in technology, one would expect more durable, efficient air conditioning units that are energy-conserving. However I do appreciate the helpful tips..
I have a 20 year old unit and have been misting my ac the past 5 years and still cooling fine.really helps with n extreme heat days.
Not to be a nitpicker, but was this test run continually without turning the A/C off between shots? If the temperature was brought down by the AC running during your tests then that temperature drop wouldn't be as significant (if it changed at all.) Still these methods do definitely work to help keep high side pressures down and probably make a big difference to temperature drop on an older unit with damaged coils.
Lol I'm not the only one with that thought. Cheers!
@@borshardsd Ditto!
I would say if you find this helps an old unit get through a tough summer thats great. If you plan on doing this with a newer unit it you are risking the coil integrity long term. Depending in your water composition you can take a big chunk of life span off. This may also void your warranty.
Agreed, I thought the industry had learned the lesson a long time ago that misters will in most cases cause mineral build up on the condenser coil. A sediment filter will do little to prevent this.
In SA I normally just run my unit off during the day when nobody is home then turn it on when I get home after 2-5 mins after I take everything out of my car I will lightly mist the condenser outside for 1-2 mins. Then come back in 10-15 mins again. This works for me because I don’t like it super cold in my house it’s 77-78 when people are home and 75 when sleeping…. Because I work outside I’m used to the heat and anything cooler makes me too cold and it’s a waste of electricity to me. If I get hot just turn on a fan and I get cool pretty quickly at 78. Everyone is different but I can say in the middle of July and august I haven’t gone above $160 energy bill. I have coworkers that are paying 300-500 every month and that’s ridiculous…..
Until you build up scale... you should get a Real job
I did similar to my old 2-1/2 ton system for hot days. I wired in a 24v sprinkler valve, pressure reducer on water line, and misters feeding the coil. When I had the system changed out, haven’t repeated since it keeps up in the hottest temperatures. I no longer have easy 24v since went to a communicating inverter system. Hope nothing ever fails. I wired in surge suppressor on all units. I did not know when purchasing, not DIY friendly. Love variable speed systems, but if fails, $$$ and waiting for parts. Ouch if/when happens. All good now.
Unless you rig up the "Cool N Save" to mist distilled water, I'd be careful. Mineral deposits will clog your cooling fins costing you more than the claimed savings.
Put a couple of fans next to the AC to cool it off. Poor a cold beer on the condenser.
I don't use a condensing coil and fan (refrigerant-to-air) for AC because it's inefficient. I use my swimming pool to cool the refrigerant instead. What a difference.
Shading your condenser with palm or other trees is more important than gimmicks that will shorten the life of the coils (like those water misting devices).
Agreed. The mineral filter better do a great job, otherwise mineral deposits on the coils will make the unit VERY hard to keep clear.
Water-based systems like this are snake oil. Any potential savings are wiped out by an increase in water bills. For those in areas of harder water, your coils are going to be quickly clogged with minerals in the water. The thing you showed barely put out any water so the effect on cooling would be negligible. Lastly, if this was a good idea, HVAC units would come with it built in.
Plus I haven't seen how much these filters are, but our guy said we need one per month? Savings lol
Commercial units actually do have built it. For consumer units, adding water to units increased complexity and things that can break. Most commercial units on places like shopping malls use evaporative cooling to trickle water over the coils.
Please don't use these. There is a reason we don't design units with this as a feature. You will cost yourself much more in the long run when your coils are filled with calcium build up. This is really only practical if you have extremely soft water or your water goes through a softener. Just clean your coils once or twice a year, make sure the unit is properly sized, change filters regularly with low restriction filters. Avoid bulky hepa filters, they just bog down your air handler and provide little actually filtration value. Purchase a separate air purifier instead.
They sell that kit with a water filter to avoid the calcium built up
I live in AZ and our city draws well water. This water is extremely hard with high mineral content. It is extraordinary. I notice Cool and Save will not ship to my address, so I am so glad I was not allowed to order. Just a heads up, because I am sure that many places in AZ are like this. Even those places that have Colorado river water, the water is very hard high mineral content.
Exactly, a killed ac coil is way more expensive than the amount one can save in AZ with our hard water
Most of the USA is too humid for evaporative cooling.
Change your filter more often in the summer and rinse your outdoor coil
Do not build barriers to close to your unit
Never run an air conditioner under 72°. That alone can freeze the coil.
So Common sense for Condenser unit MUST have Shad and 🌲 close by
Very educational! Thanks
While you're there...
Take a scraper to that siding and apply a fresh coat of primer. Don't forget to return tomorrow for that topcoat.
For some reason that's been bugging me the whole time I've been watching your video.
Just plant some trees around the unit.
Tried this 20 years ago. The corrosion damage to the condenser unit parts was not worth the savings. Residential HVACs are not engineered for the constant moisture and mineral deposits. Efficiency good at first but the condenser fins eventually accumulate mineral deposits and debris, thus decreasing heat exchange. Mine was a Trane heat pump. Condenser fan siezed/failed as did the reversing valve solenoid.
If I recall DIY HVAC is from Utah, which has hard water, so you would see hard water build up. I had this same thought while I was watching the video, not worth it due to hard water build up. Even with the filter, I don't think it would be effective enough to prevent mineral build up or other corrosion issues as you mention.
Hey, hot climate bought locally will handle the heat. They are engineered to do this. By the way seen black dirt coming from condenser. It’s dirty needs proper cleaning. Coastal units. On the beach units have a coating on them to expand the life expectancy due the salt. I liked and subscribed to you. What’s up next?❤
The issue with misting is that the coils are warmer than the ambient air being drawn in and the mist is using tap water which leaves mineral deposits on the fins of the coil.
An easy test is to pour a bit of water on a painted surface and see how much water spots are noticed after drying. Those water spots are minerals in the water and will accumulate on the fins of the coil.
EDIT: misspelling
Why are you filming in my side yard ?
Rheem marketed a domestic (as opposed to commercial) central air system back in 1957 with a water spray manifold which cooled the condenser coil. One of my dad’s commercial refrigeration customers had another hvac outfit install the Rheem unit in his home. He had so much trouble with the water spray components that the installer stopped taking his calls. So my dad’s customer pressured my dad to repair the damn thing.
It really was a well designed system but city water in Philly was hard enough to plug those little nozzles on the spray bars pretty quickly. I got the assignment to ride my bicycle over to the customer’s home a couple times a month and clean out the nozzles. I used a welder’s nozzle cleaner. And I recall having to replace the needle & seat on the water feed inlet (like a mini toilet tank).
Unlike the add-on misting system you demonstrated, the Rheem system was designed to water cool the condenser coil. If the water didn’t spray the system would go out on high pressure overload. After 2 seasons of.cleaning those nozzles, my dad talked the customer into a new, straight air cooled condensing unit.
Home central air was not common in those days. Rheem had a good idea - they just didn’t account for real-world water quality.
We had another commercial customer who insisted that my dad install a commercial AC system in his home. We did- complete with a stand-alone fan-coil unit (not an A-coil above the furnace) and a small cooling tower. Super reliable but very expensive.
Rheem needed it back in 57 but todays compressors are mainly scroll and not piston like the old days, and work perfectly fine under even the extremist conditions. If shading or misting worked, and it does not, you would see it on rooftop units in cities in the south-west where temps are consistently over 100 degrees and no cloud cover, and you do not see any units using that strategy to save power or increase cooling. AC just does not work that way.
This is why HVAC and diy dont go together lmao 🤣
I've known for decades that it's a bad idea to block the out-flowing air; it increases the load on the fan motor. However, I helped my system (we routinely get 100+ temps in the summer): I built a "cage" out of 2"x4"s and put two layers (separated by the thickness of the lumber) of solar screening near the condenser (about 12" away from the top, sides, and front. The sides go all the way to the ground, anchored by garden staples; the front goes about 3/4 of the way to the ground. It doesn't seem to block the out-flow of air, but I can always increase the distance away from the unit if I think it does.
It seems to cool the unit a degree or two, but I don't know if it's made much difference inside the house. I didn't do it to cool the inside of the house; I built the contraption to help reduce the stress on the condenser.
It probably helps a bit, though it might negate the cooling effect by increasing the air temperature near the condenser.
Another version, which I might try, would be to put the screening only ABOVE the unit (several feet higher), not near the sides or front. I think that would eliminate any potential increase in air temp near the unit.
There are a couple reasons this is a "bad idea".
1. It blocks the flow of air leaving the condenser, so that reduces the air going over the condenser coil. This can increase the refrigerant temperature going to the txv, as well as reduce the level of subcooling (i.e more likely to have no subcool at the metering device.)
2. The blockage over the unit tends to reintroduce the outgoing hot air back into the coil. It pushes the air out to the sides and then gets drawn back into the coil. Instead of taking in "fresh cool" air, you get a mix of fresh and recycled hot air. The outcome is the same as #1.
Recommendations for surfaces above the fan are generally 4 feet.
The mister only lowered the vent temperature .2 to .3 degrees with an outside temperature of 97 degrees when the outside temperature goes down 5-10 degrees you won't see any difference, not worth the cost of the mister and the water. Nice video though, I do like your DIY HVAC videos.
It only drops the temperature a degree or less, but the energy consumption goes down by up to 30%. Having said that, too much subcooling will play havoc on a TXV, and actually cause the indoor coil to run warmer and superheat to go up, trashing efficiency. There's a fine balance here, but there are gains to be had.
Word of caution, last summer I did rig up some water misters to my outside AC unit similar to what you suggested. It worked, but next day my AC was blowing semi-cold air. Called an HVAC tech out and found that my interior coils were completely frozen over. Turned out that my system was low on coolant, and the water on the outside coils caused the system to run too cold and ice over. $2k later, they converted my system over to a newer coolant but I am hesitant to put water on my outside coils again.
what happens when it rains and it's hot?
@@443DM I'm not sure... I am in California so that never happens.
First, part of your video. You show the temperature of the house thermo.73° Why didn't you show the thermometer after before the video was ended ❓️❓️ I really would have seen the house temperature🫵⁉️
I purchased the cool m save last year. It never showed up in he mail and calling was pointless… unless it’s on Amazon or Walmart, don’t buy it bc the company may just steal your money
I wrapped mine in plastic, super cold now 😊
kAhahahahahhahahahahah!!!
I am located in sagus, california.
Do u hv any hvac contractor that yiu can recommend for budget replacement of new AC UNIT.
The condenser unit is not removing heat using its casing. Unless you can find a way to shade a huge volume of outside air all around the side of the house, that little plywood is not making much difference. Also, using tap water will cause damage to your coil. Prolonged misty air will corrode the aluminum coil fins. That little hard water filter is not good enough to get rid of all the bad stuff.
I disagree, he just proved otherwise. My A/C units are 13 years old and we get toms of summer rain and brutal winters. The fins are holding up perfectly well. Nowhow much longer will the units last??? I have a feeling we're near the end of life on both of them. LOL
I'm with you. Introducing more moisture into a system like that seems like bad juju. I was thinking that a small swamp cooler could be used to blow air at the a/c coils, but the extra energy/upkeep most certainly wouldn't be worth it.
@@TheRange7 believe me man, I've tried the same system with my old unit. After few weeks, scaling and erosion built up on most of the fins area, and the performance is worse. Now the design of the system is sound and physically feasible. But I am telling you right now that the source of water is important here, tap water is no where like rain water. Also, keep in mind that this system works in dry heat, not where the humidity is already high.
@@noblekitty bro, our tap water here is disgusting. Rain water has a fair amount of pollution and acid in it at times. Either way, I don't know enough about the science to debate it from a level of great knowledge, so I bow out. Enjoy the weekend my friend
@@TheRange7rain water isn’t exactly clean, but it’s not full of dissolved minerals that will build up and reduce the efficiency of your AC coils over time like most tap water will.
I designed a prototype water spraying unit like that back in the 1980's but I couldn't see any effect on my electric power usage so I deemed it a failure.
Lemme guess...
1) Alternate a lawn sprayer filled with soap and water with a high pressure sprayer to thoroughly clean the evaporator coils.
2) Employ evaporative cooling via WICKING MEDIA ONLY next to the evaporator.
3) Ensure the Hi/Low pressures are in range given the inside and outside temperatures.
DO NOT EVER use ANY device which "mists" as IT WILL CLOG YOUR COILS WITH EVAPORATED SOLIDS FROM YOUR WATER.
Evaporative Cooling Summary:
1) Evaporative cooling via wicking (swamp cooler) is good.
2) Evaporative cooling via misters is BAD. "You can see the water evaporating as it's hitting the coil." I want to see a picture of those coils at the end of the summer.
Yeah, "Cool Release" anti-scaling... Check back at the end of the summer and let me know how that actually worked.
What was the delta t at the end of the video? The supply air went down 3 degrees but what temperature was the return air? In the beginning you started at 73 return and 59 supply for a delta t of only 14 degrees which indicates the system is performing poorly to begin with. That Goodman should have a delta t of 17 to 19 degrees when set up properly. Also I could see the condenser coil fins were DIRTY and when you hosed down the condenser, you could see all the dark brown dirt falling to the bottom of the condenser. Set up your AC, clean the coils, change air filters and you will be fine without any additional "tricks" for cooler air. It's just not necessary.
Shading your external unit from the direct sunlight is not a "trick", it's common sense.
@@sepg5084 Yes...common sense...except it makes no difference in the performance of the compressor discharge temperature of 220/230 degrees. This is cooled down by the fan and coil to about 95 degrees by the time it leaves the condenser and hits the evaporator coil. The 5 degrees difference shading makes has no effect on the 220/230 degree R410a as it circulates down to 95 degrees, trust me.
Make sure you get the plywood right up next to it so the head pressure goes up. DO NOT DO THIS PEOPLE!
Do not hose your unit off while it’s running if you aren’t familiar with the system as you can burn up electrical components. DO NOT DO THIS PEOPLE!
Cool n’ mist idea…just shortening the life of unit by dousing it with water, the cabinet of the unit will rust out prematurely. DO NOT DO THIS PEOPLE!
Hire a professional as you can get severely hurt or ruin costly components.
I mean, no one has a time machine, but one should try to install the outside unit on a side of the house where it will be in the shade during the peak afternoon heat. Any additional shading should ensure that it is not blocking the unit from venting heat efficiently. As far as spraying the unit with water, I am dubious that it is a long term solution, as surely mineral deposits will build up in the fins even with some half-baked water filtering system.
On another video people with hard water were ruining their fins with buildup. Maybe just run it on the hottest of days only.
My A/C installed in 2005. No components replaced. I live in AZ. The unit is in the full sun. Temp at the vents are 38-40 degrees no matter if it's 80 or 110 degrees. I think maybe the ductwork is insulated, not sure but.....
Most utility water you spray on condenser is likely to have other contaminates not found in rainwater, chlorine being one of the worst for corroding aluminum fins of condenser
Most A/C are designed to tolerate up to about 130 degs F on outside unit. Higher temp on outside condenser means higher high side refrigerant pressure. This in turn means higher compression ratio on compressor causing higher power consumption and some reduction in refrigerant mass flow rate. Refrigerant mass flow rate is directly related to BTU capability. Unit should have enough reserve designed in to handle the higher temps / reduced refrigerant mass flow, up to about 130 degs F, if charged with proper refrigerant level.
Refrigerant liquid flow to inside evaporator should be able to be maintained at outside unit temps up to 130 degs F so outside temp should not impact delta-T on inside air handler. Compressor will draw more electric power at the required higher compression ratio. This assumes your house has sufficient insulation so not to require significant additional A/C btu capability due to heat gain from outside.
Slightly under charged refrigerant can result in too much refrigerant stacking up as liquid in condenser when water cooling is applied to condenser, including heavy rain storm, dropping pressure to expansion valve and possibly resulting in gas bubbles on liquid line entering expansion valve. This can drive a TxV or EEV valve system into unstable control of refrigerant flow to evaporator.
5,500 Heat Pumps Recalled in Canada? for "for Potential Excessive Heat Exposure" can you explain to me what that means?
$120 yikes! This should be a $30 item, bits of plastic, brass, and a filter.
I have thought about replacing the 820 RPM fan motor on my condensing unit with a 1060ish RPM motor with appropriate increase in HP. My concern is whether the fan blade would cavitate instead of moving more air, and besides making more noise, would more air make the system run cooler?
Man it was 116 today in arizona. Ima buy that fan thing for the condenser kinda reminds me of them old school coolers
A swamp cooler is totally different than an A/C unit. Buy yourself a swamp cooler, the misting thing doesn't work. Read the above comments maybe
Question: I have an older 24 year old York condenser. It has a two bladed fan. Would it help if I replaced the two blade fan with a three blade fan? Just the blades.