Aluminum Coils

Aluminum coils are here to stay. Not only have they been applied
successfully for years by Trane in their spiney fin condenser coils,
they have also been used for years as evaporator coils in
refrigerators. Now several major air conditioning equipment
manufacturers are viewing aluminum coils as a potential solution
to the industry wide plague of formicary corrosion in copper tube
aluminum fin evaporator coils. Trane and Goodman both now use
all aluminum tube and fin coils in their indoor coils for air
conditioning and heat pump systems. Nordyne uses all aluminum
microchannel coils for their indoor coils, and Carrier is researching
the use of microchannel indoor coils. In short, you really need to be
prepared for aluminum coils regardless of how you feel about them.
I confess to having a prejudice against aluminum coils. One of my
issues is the difficulty of repairing aluminum coils. But truthfully,
today’s copper tube and aluminum fin coils are not very repairable
either. The copper is so thin that it is very difficult to braze. And
brazing mico leaks from formicary corrosion is a losing proposition.
You plug this tiny hole and leave 3 others. Or 3 more form a week
after you leave. The biggest two service differences come in coil
cleaning and system charging. Most manufacturers recommend
only water to clean aluminum coils. The wrong chemicals can eat
them up. As with any indoor coil cleaning, if you do use a chemical
– make sure it is approved for use on indoor coils. Using an
outdoor coil cleaner on an indoor coil can cause noxious fumes for
quite a while. Some chemical companies do manufacture coil
cleaners that are approved for use on indoor aluminum coils. One
thing you might look for is NSF approval. A cleaner used on
refrigeration equipment around food must be NSF approved. While
not necessary for air conditioners, an NSF approval should mean
that there would be no toxic fumes. For more information on
cleaning aluminum coils look at these instructions
from York, Nordyne, and SpeedClean.