Does dog piss kill coils?

[erkme73]

One of my tenants complained of no cool. I called Cox Heating & Air (Tampa, FL), and they found a leak in the condenser coil. On one corner the aluminum fins were competely melted off and only the copper tubing remained (about 6 visible runs). The tech said it was from dog urine. The tenant has three large male German Sheppards.

The tenant claims it was like that before he moved in, and he felt it was from a weed eater - though there was no damage to the wire screen protecting the coil.

I have no reason to distrust the tech. I told the tenant that I would not bill him for any repairs (estimate was right around XXXXXXX to replace the coil) since he's been such a good tenant. I did want to make sure the dogs wouldn't have access to the repaired unit though.

It's a 2-ton Heil, model # HAC 030AKA4, SN 1022622696. It's about 3-4 years old (10 seer), and other than this, has had no problems. It only cost me $XXX to put the whole system in, so I'm struggling to understand why the coil alone would be this expensive.

So here are my questions:

1) Does dog piss really kill coils?
2) I wouldn't expect it, but is this type of damage typically covered under warranty?
3) Does the price quoted seem reasonable?


Thanks to all...



>>> Edit: No Pricing. Please review the site rules (http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?threadid=1241) before further posting. <<<


[Edited by jrbenny on 08-30-2006 at 11:23 AM]

[rickboggs]

1) Does dog piss really kill coils?
2) I wouldn't expect it, but is this type of damage typically covered under warranty?
3) Does the price quoted seem reasonable?

1) yes
2) no, corrosion not covered
3) no pricing on this site

[BaldLoonie]

Below is a picture of Sis's unit. I found this damage earlier in the year when I was cleaning it. Some fackin' mutt was able to get his whiz UNDER the cabinet and it ate up the coil there. I'm not going to do anything, it doesn't do enough damage to affect her cooling that I find.

http://www.johnmills.net/ht/lb1.jpg

[erkme73]

Thanks Rick, I was hoping point 3 would squeak by unnoticed...

Appreciate the response.

>>>It never squeaks by...please don't do it again. ;) Benny<<<

[Edited by jrbenny on 08-30-2006 at 11:24 AM]

[erkme73]

Mine looks the same - probably a bit more extreme, but samve visible coil. He found the leak on the coil right where the ALU is missing. So piss kills both aluminum and copper, I guess... Damn strong stuff.

[BaldLoonie]

Usually doesn't eat the copper. But I guess it could.

[t527ed]

with the newer coils getting thinner for higher efficiency i think we will see a lot more peed thru copper coils.

[jetstream]

Jeez Baldie, at first I thought you'd taken out the compressor to clean the unit! Very thorough...

Dog piss will definately rot a coil.

Another thing that'll rot out coils is the exhaust from a power vented water heater too close to the coil. Flue products are slightly acidic. My brother's system was installed like that and I was surprised to see the coil damage, although it also doesn't appear to be affecting the operation too much. 10 yr old unit. I put a 45 degree elbow on the vent to direct the exhaust away.

[frank shelley]

Loonie Im sure this will help. After further review of your pic I have determined that your fackin mutt was most likely a rightlegged hike pisser.
Now start scowering the neighborhood!

[Wild Leg]

Originally posted by BaldLoonie
Usually doesn't eat the copper. But I guess it could.

I would think that bare copper, even if not corroded by urine, would need the support of the fins to prevent a vibration leak.

[frank shelley]

Wild Leg one might think that. I have a stingy customer with an old Whirlpool Condenser with a hole in the fins the size of a basketball from their doberman...been that way over 10 yrs now and the thing still doesn't leak.

...thinking strange that I have to chase leaks in newer equipment that didn't get wissed on.

[BaldLoonie]

Right hand ya say huh. That will narrow it down. Sis was after the neighbor's 2 kick-mes until the nieces point out they was girl doggys.

[erkme73]

Hey, some girl dogs do weird things - don't write them off. Mine used to hump stuffed animals like a male dog... Quite entertaining if not so completely embarrassing!

[frank shelley]

Hey Erkme by the way an HAC030AKA is not numbers for a 2 ton but a 2.5 ton.

[erkme73]

Thanks Frank - I'm going off of 3-4 year old memory, which isn't terribly reliable. Thanks for pointing that out.

[coordinatesales]

I would think as the hole grows, you would loose subcooling since the lack of fins would slow down the heat transfer. The unit may work but not as efficiently. Dogs are hard on condensers. If they're not chewing on any wires they can get to, they're urinating on and killing the coils.

[Steve Wiggins]

Baldy, what I can't figure out is how did a dog get inside your sister's unit?