Wednesday 19 July 2017

Reasons behind Leaks in Evaporator Coils and How to Prevent Them!

Evaporator coils and condenser coils make for two of the most essential components of an air conditioning unit. The coils are not only responsible for transferring heat and helping in the cooling and heating process, but also in allowing the refrigerant to move out of the system. These typically make the air conditioner perform its function in the most effective and efficient manner.

Factors Responsible for Leaks

Sometimes, due to certain factors, the coils wither and cause leaks. Let’s take a look at these factors:-

Physical damage:– This is typically one of the most common reasons behind leaks in both, evaporator and condenser coils. A damage to the coils makes the system to dysfunction.  Severe damages, on the other hand, may even lead to permanent vandalism of the system.

Chemical reactions:- Certain substances present in the coils, known as volatile organic components, reacts with the metal of the AHU coils and cause chemical reactions therein. These volatile components include aerosol sprays, cleaning solutions, air fresheners, or emissions from furnishings. The acid produced due to the chemical reaction causes corrosion, which further eats the coils and paves way for leaks to form.

Formic acid corrosion-: Some chemical reactions, as explained in the above point, cause the formation of formic acids. These develop in and around the evaporator coils, which further leads to the leaks in the coils. Usually such kind of reasons take place copper, oxygen and water.

Ways to Prevent Leaks in Coils

There are an array of ways which can help prevent leaks in condenser as well as evaporator coils. These are as follows:-

Replace copper:- Though coils made of copper are an ideal choice but the metal type reacts quite quickly with water and oxygen, which apparently is readily available in the surrounding environment. The best is to replace them with materials which do not produce any chemical reasons, such as aluminium.

Clean and Maintain the Coils:- Time to time cleaning and maintenance of the coils helps in removing acid, bacteria and other materials that cause harm to the condenser and evaporator coils or obstruct the airflow.

Eliminate the presence of Volatile components:- Restrict the use of products that contain volatile components such as cleaning solutions, air fresheners, etc., especially in the vicinity of the coils.

Increase the flow of air:- The best way to increase the flow air and ventilation around the AHU coils is by removing the presence of volatile components from the air surrounding the coils.

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