System cleaners and sealers

[Bseliger]

I was at the local wharehouse and I noticed that they sold, cleaners and sealers for refrig systems.

Are they worth anything and do they mess with the system at all?

[mikep]

Those products work best when they are left unsold on the wholesalers shelf. They make for excellent dust collectors.

[lovetowork]

If you want to clean the system change liquid cores/filters!

[Flip14]

I have had luck with sealers. They tell you on the box on what size leak it will seal. The main thing I have used sealer in is ice machines with a leak in the evaporater. In some application they are worth a shot just because of cost to fix the leak. I have never used a system cleaner besides a flush. When I use a flush I know it works because I always blow out junk in the coils or line set.

[Bseliger]

I can see how a sealer would be a last resort thing for a molded evap in an ice maker. If your using the cleaner as a flush and blow out junk, arent you running the risk of making the system junk by having a bunch of floating stuff. I know a drier would pick it up, but wouldnt that plug quickly? Causing another call back?

[Flip14]

I usually try to flush until no more junk comes out. In this case I'm usually trying to get all the old residual oil out of the system because of acid or something like that. I'm not too sure about driers. I know they work well with removing moisture. They make driers that are supposed to remove acid with systems that have acid in them. This is why I'm not so sure of them, I have put them in systems that I change the compressor, flushed the line and tried to clean the system up. But in more cases than I like to talk about I go back a short time later to find another bad compressor. Flush, cleaners and driers are about the only things I know to use short of changing out the equipment. I've also found that different products have different procures with using the cleaners or flush, so always follow the directions in that box. A plugged up drier means you are getting the junk out of the system which is good. Yes you will have to go back but at least the system is getting cleaned up.