Aircon fan cleaning, split aircon indoor unit fan, it seems that they NEVER clean it ?

[thefactoryoutlet]

Hello,

Have you noticed that when anybody in Thailand cleans your aircon they never clean the fan that is inside the indoor unit ?

Please try to look with a torch through your indoor unit and tell me how dirty it is ?

Just like this ?

http://www.airconspecialists.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Dirty-Indoor-unit.jpg

They should do that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D03-DYR9QQ

but they never do it and do only this (water on coil):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNyZNR_Yf0

I just noticed how dirty is the fan of my aircons when actually the guys came few weeks ago...

Please confirm ?

[Rooo]

Moved to Housing.

[Crossy]

Our chaps definitely clean the fan, but it does get cruddy pretty fast.

[IMHO]

If your guy isn't doing it, it's not because that's any sort of standard.

All manufacturers show the removal/cleaning of the blower fan in their technician training materials, e.g. http://saijo-denki.co.th/download/technic/16clean.pdf

[sipi]

I helped a friend that owns a pub clean his split system evaporator units once a few years back. All the tobacco smoke had condensed right through the units as a sticky black tar. What a job.....

[JAS21]

No, I haven't noticed that.

Next time check the fan before you pay the bill. The fan can get dirty quite quickly ... especially if the filters don't fit that well.

I use masking tape to tape the edges of the filters down to ensure that all the air has to go through the filters.

If you don't keep the filters clean then more dust will sneak around the side of the filters and you will find that the fan gets dirty quickly.

Pull the filters out every couple of weeks ... apply a little soapy water and then wash off with the bum gun ... leave to dry and then replace.

[Rdrokit]

You are using the wrong cleaning crew. My guys clean the indoor unit with a small high pressure water washer. It drains into a pan they put under the unit and the pan has a hose they run out the window so water does not get in the house. Change you cleaning service.

[Pib]

Not periodically cleaning the cage/round fan in the indoor unit makes a big difference in the unit's ability for push air out its vent/pull air through its cooling fins, which reduces cooling capability and increases your electric bill since the A/C has to work harder and less efficient.

Besides looking at the fan which might be kinda hard to do in some units is to move your hand across the entire output vent to feel "volume" of airflow across the entire vent outlet...you should feel an even flow across the entire length of the vent. Not uncommon for a dirty cage/round fan to have much less air output on the left and right sides of the vent...sometimes even in the middle of the vent. When you look at fan it looks equally dirty across its entire length but for some reason the dynamics of air flow through the fan causes less output on the left and right--on my A/Cs at least.

Also, if it sounds like your A/C indoor unit cage/round fan is randomly varying in speed when it's set to a certain fan speed versus auto fan speed that is another good indicator your indoor unit is dirty with the cage/round fan most likely being the culprit. Dirty filters can also cause some of that, but usually it's a dirty fan.

On two of my home A/Cs which get used every day in a non-smoking home with a wife that is a clean-freak in always cleaning the house, if those two A/C cage fans are not cleaned approx every 6 months (sometimes I can squeak it out to 9 months) I start getting significantly uneven and reduced air output and it starts sounding like it's speeding up and slowing down when it shouldn't be. Clean the cage fan, which I do, and it's back to even and more airfloow, better cooling, and reduced electric bill. And of course I clean the filters approx monthly and the evaporator fins yearly with spray-on A/C cleaning foam/solution you can buy in many places like Big C, Lotus, Homepro, etc.

Every two years or so I get the ladder out and climb up the outdoor condenser/compressor units and give the fins a good spraying with the water hose...I've found that at about the 3 year point outdoor unit gets dirty enough that it's efficiency significantly drops off which means reduced cooling and higher electric bill. Probably the easist way to check if your outdoor unit is too dirty is to check your A/C current draw with a clamp on ammeter or a ammeter installed in your main circuit box. Look on the label/specs of the A/C where it shows "Rated Current" and lets say just for example it says 8.6 Amps if its a larger A/C (each A/C system will have a different Rated Current)...if the unit is clean and operating properly when the A/C outdoor unit is running your total A/C system current draw should be pretty close to that 8.6A...hopefully less...and hopefully not much more unless it really a hot day when the A/C is having to work really hard....when the A/C outdoor cuts off but your inside unit is still running which is typical the total current draw will drop to around 0.4A since the cage/fan motor and electronics don't use much power...about the same as a floor fan....it's the compressor in the outdoor unit that is the big electricity eater of your total A/C system.

Note: checking Rated Current on an Inverter A/C system vs a Fixed Speed A/C system takes a little more attention since the compressor of an Inverter A/C varies in speed to meeting varying cooling requirements therefore the current draw will vary...on a Fixed Speed A/C system where the compressor runs at a fixed speed and is either on or off, it's easier to measure rated current since you know the compressor is running at full/rated speed whenever it turns on where a compressor in an Inverter A/C can vary. But if it's a hot day and you just turned on your Inverter A/C the compressor will probably be running a full speed/rated current for X-minutes before it starts slowing down somewhat as gets the inside of the residence cooled down.

Edited March 21, 2015 by Pib

[IMHO]

Not periodically cleaning the cage/round fan in the indoor unit makes a big difference in the unit's ability for push air out its vent/pull air through its cooling fins, which reduces cooling capability and increases your electric bill since the A/C has to work harder and less efficient.

Besides looking at the fan which might be kinda hard to do in some units is to move your hand across the entire output vent to feel "volume" of airflow across the entire vent outlet...you should feel an even flow across the entire length of the vent. Not uncommon for a dirty cage/round fan to have much less air output on the left and right sides of the vent...sometimes even in the middle of the vent. When you look at fan it looks equally dirty across its entire length but for some reason the dynamics of air flow through the fan causes less output on the left and right--on my A/Cs at least.

Also, if it sounds like your A/C indoor unit cage/round fan is randomly varying in speed when it's set to a certain fan speed versus auto fan speed that is another good indicator your indoor unit is dirty with the cage/round fan most likely being the culprit. Dirty filters can also cause some of that, but usually it's a dirty fan.

On two of my home A/Cs which get used every day in a non-smoking home with a wife that is a clean-freak in always cleaning the house, if those two A/C cage fans are not cleaned approx every 6 months (sometimes I can squeak it out to 9 months) I start getting significantly uneven and reduced air output and it starts sounding like it's speeding up and slowing down when it shouldn't be. Clean the cage fan, which I do, and it's back to even and more airfloow, better cooling, and reduced electric bill. And of course I clean the filters approx monthly and the evaporator fins yearly with spray-on A/C cleaning foam/solution you can buy in many places like Big C, Lotus, Homepro, etc.

Every two years or so I get the ladder out and climb up the outdoor condenser/compressor units and give the fins a good spraying with the water hose...I've found that at about the 3 year point outdoor unit gets dirty enough that it's efficiency significantly drops off which means reduced cooling and higher electric bill. Probably the easist way to check if your outdoor unit is too dirty is to check your A/C current draw with a clamp on ammeter or a ammeter installed in your main circuit box. Look on the label/specs of the A/C where it shows "Rated Current" and lets say just for example it says 8.6 Amps if its a larger A/C (each A/C system will have a different Rated Current)...if the unit is clean and operating properly when the A/C outdoor unit is running your total A/C system current draw should be pretty close to that 8.6A...hopefully less...and hopefully not much more unless it really a hot day when the A/C is having to work really hard....when the A/C outdoor cuts off but your inside unit is still running which is typical the total current draw will drop to around 0.4A since the cage/fan motor and electronics don't use much power...about the same as a floor fan....it's the compressor in the outdoor unit that is the big electricity eater of your total A/C system.

Note: checking Rated Current on an Inverter A/C system vs a Fixed Speed A/C system takes a little more attention since the compressor of an Inverter A/C varies in speed to meeting varying cooling requirements therefore the current draw will vary...on a Fixed Speed A/C system where the compressor runs at a fixed speed and is either on or off, it's easier to measure rated current since you know the compressor is running at full/rated speed whenever it turns on where a compressor in an Inverter A/C can vary. But if it's a hot day and you just turned on your Inverter A/C the compressor will probably be running a full speed/rated current for X-minutes before it starts slowing down somewhat as gets the inside of the residence cooled down.

To check the current draw of an inverter, just set it to the lowest temp the remote will allow, then wait 5 mins before measuring

[Pib]

Yeap, that should do it also on a warm day...forces it into full cooling capacity which should get the compressor running at full speed and drawing Rated Current.