coil iced up, but not defrost board, dirty coil, or low freon

10 years ago

I had pretty technicians from a prestigious HVAC company coming twice to check why the heat pump coil outside iced up. First time with the first guy said that my freon was low, so he added it. I worked slightly better but the coil still iced up within a week. I called the company back, and they sent two different guys here. They said that the defrost board was bad.

I ordered the board and replaced it myself and used the hose with the spraying nozzle to clean the coil without dissembling anything (spraying the water directly through the slotted panels of the cage). Then air came out still cool yet it was "slightly" warmer than before with the old control board and uncleaned coil. It took about one or two hours for the unit to work properly (meaning: sending out warm air). I am not sure if the outdoor temperature did the trick or not. It was a good mid day about 50 degree.

This morning was about 29 degree outside. The unit kept working hard for 3 hours but only did 2 degree rise . The air sent out from the vent felt only slightly warmer than the room temperature. I had thought that the problem solved yesterday after my feeling the warm air out of the vent. This morning I checked the heat pump, and as I suspected it, it was iced up again.

I literally used pliers pulling out all the pine straws and leaves stuck between the coil and the slotted panels and hosed them down. Actually the unit was not dirty at all due to no trees or shrubs surroundings. There weren't many straws or leaves to clean up. I would suspect that the coil still too dirty to work right.

I have read articles about iced up coil, and low refrigerant, dirty coil, and malfunction of defrost board seem to be the only 3 reasons for icing up coils......WHat can I do now? Please help.....

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

klem1
10 years ago
The louvered panels need to be removed while cleaning coils. Water must be sprayed in opposite direction to normal air travel. If that requires removal of additional panels or motor,it's still nessary if coils are to be cleaned. Spraying water in same direction as air flow drives trash deeper into coils. When you say there are no trees or shrubs,that's only one source of trash. Weeds and grass contrubite lots of coil clogging material as do several tree species blocks away.
SpecialtyAirInc
10 years ago
I agree. You should clean it thoroughly. Also, take care not to go any deep if you cannot fix it. You might want to use a coil foaming cleaner.
Related Discussions
Should I replace AC coil when replace gas furnace?
Q
Comments (37)
Yeah that's R22 and while that is a builder grade Trane unit that is probably out of warranty by now... typically those were sold with 5 year parts warranty. Because R22 Freon was already obsolete by 2013. With that said, this condenser 'could' last another 10 years, provided the coil repair work is done appropriately. The replacement coil needs to be a coil suitable for R22 / any coil can be retro fitted to work, but skill is required in choosing the coil. Typically home warranty companies are known for tom foolery. If the condenser was a dry condenser (nitrogen gas) it would say it was on the data plate in some manner. That's the down side in anything Trane or American Standard because they were one of the last manufacture's to switch over to R410a refrigerant. The R22 conundrum only effects you if there is a leak... otherwise it doesn't matter much. While the cost for it will only go up now that production has ceased, it's serviceable life is still around another 10 years or so. Without United Technologies Corporation heavy investment in R410a AC equipment development we would be no where near where we are today. R410a equipment has been available now for almost 20 years if you can imagine that.
...See More
Carrier Infinity - any way to reduce defrost cost?
Q
Comments (43)
Reading this thread has reaffirmed my decision to upsize the Greenspeed per Carrier's recommendation based on my cooling load. I could have went either way: 3 or 4-ton with my heat load. Too bad they don't make a 3.5 ton, it would have been the perfect size. Last year's polar vortex in NY Long Island really pushed me into the 4-ton. The way I figure the unit will only go into defrost mode below 8-10F. I also have 300sqft of window space, three huge doors and a fireplace. No matter how much my thermal envelope is tightened there will still be leakage in this 75 year-old home. My biggest disappointment so far with the 4-ton is it only reduces its speed to 50% vs 40% for the 3 and 5-ton units. The information across the Internet is just plain wrong on that one. We're charting in brand new territory still, so hope I've added somewhat to the pool of information. Otherwise this unit is *way* better than my wildest expectations. The comfortability factor is way better than my single-stage and well worth the additional cost. I'd go even as far as to say perfect. We had a huge heat snap for two days 65% humidity and temps into the upper eighties still at 80F past midnight. I only used $3.15 for the entire day vs. almost $11 for a similar temp period last year. I also credit my new Sunrise windows with lots of the improvement. At full load the system was using approximately 1150W. It only went up to 70% usage for a very brief period at night. More importantly I could easily maintain rock solid 45% humidity at 73F. Not enough data to really extrapolate much else. The system is so quiet my neighbors asked why I hadnÃ¢ÂÂt turned it on yet. :) The real test will be this winter though. I'll probably create a new thread to chronicle some of my observations. This post was edited by bsmith on Mon, Jun 2, 14 at 2:42
...See More
Cleaning Refrigerator Coils
Q
Comments (34)
I'm sorry but it's kind of stupid how they design these things that we're supposed to keep clean. Our SZ has the condenser on the top no problem to access but you can't really clean it because you can't get in there to clean the coils. You can see the dust everywhere. The wine cooler is even worse because it sits on the floor and collects all the dust around the floor. and we don't have dogs. I used the can of compressed air but you have to hold the can upright so that didn't work all that well. lying on the floor trying to shoot spurts of air to get the dust to go away. It worked so so but better than nothing. Hello all of you engineers out there. Get a grip and design it so we can actually follow the recommended cleaning cycle and when we have a problem talking to tech support we don't have to listen to them say "did you clean the condenser" Well Yeah but then ???? . Inga
...See More
Iced up outdoor unit
Q
Comments (14)
Yes, and I sold the house in 2014, wasn't exactly referring to an irrelevant childhood experience. When I sold the house and during the disclosure and inspection process, I had the heating/cooling professionally inspected and a report issued that said all components functional, no service required. That was in response to the buyers inspector stating the electric back up furnace wasn't operational, when the problem was simply him not knowing how to turn it on. That may make me a little sensitive to persons not familiar with the system making buyers home inspections, but of course has nothing to do with OP Bob and his original question. I hope if he really likes the house, finds no major or expensive issues. Carry on.
...See More
chueh
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks both. OK... would you mind explaining to me how to determine the direction of NORMAL AIR TRAVEL. Is it the same way as the fan blades travel??? I just sprayed water from inside (not really inside, but just tilt the hose in an angle to spray the water outwards). I thought that this way the dirt or grime would be pushed outward.

By the way, I was actually trying to take the panels off, starting the top first. However, the fan was attached to the top penal and there was a cord attached to...that's why i gave up. I am just a 120 pound female..... :-) However, my hubby can help me at least hold the top panel up for me to lose up any attachment. How do we do that??? Without being disassembled on the top, the side panels cannot be disassembled either.
klem1
10 years ago
My bad but disassembly is usualy obivous to those who get involved with this type stuff. Due to the hundreds of different configurations,it's not possible to give step by step but here's an overview. Make certain electric power is off to unit. Assuming fan is facing up,air enters from exterior of sides so water must enter from inside and exit to outside. The idea is to push debris back to the direction it ame from. Most techs label and disconnect wires then remove top along with motor and set it aside until finished. If side panels can then be removed,that helps. Believe it or not,that's about all that can be said because normaly,the first time one sees it done they are only watching or teacher is standing behind them. Look at it this way. If your employer hired you a helper while you were on vacation,could you write down and mail a note telling them how to do the job which they have no experience with? Baby steps need to be taken before diving all the way in. Good luck

coil iced up, but not defrost board, dirty coil, or low freon

Comments (4)

klem1

SpecialtyAirInc

Related Discussions

chueh
Original Author

klem1

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

coil iced up, but not defrost board, dirty coil, or low freon

Comments (4)

klem1

SpecialtyAirInc

Related Discussions

chuehOriginal Author

klem1

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

chueh
Original Author