paint thinner in purging air conditioning pipes

[kefah]

its possible to purge the ac unit pipes with paint thinner
i use it to clean the evaporator of window type ac
so it cleaned it from oils and other contaminant
so what advantage and disadvantage

[mark beiser]

There are many chemicals used as paint thinner, which specific chemical/product are you looking at?

I wouldn't use anything marketed as a paint thinner for flushing the refrigerant cycle of an AC system.
There could be components of it that will leave harmful residue in the system, and the moisture content may be unacceptable.

[kefah]

There are many chemicals used as paint thinner, which specific chemical/product are you looking at?

I wouldn't use anything marketed as a paint thinner for flushing the refrigerant cycle of an AC system.
There could be components of it that will leave harmful residue in the system, and the moisture content may be unacceptable.

so what solvent you use to flush the ac system

[catmanacman]

unless the lines are contaminated from a burn out just blow them out with nitrogen

[jpsmith1cm]

moved to tech to tech

[tchntch]

Paint thinner sounds like a terrible idea. In the old days we used R-11 as a flushing solvent but that is no longer legal, and incredibly expensive if available at all. There is a product called RX-11 that can be used if you need something more than a nitrogen flush. Google RX-11 and it comes right up.

[rfhcms]

RX-11 is non-flammable but paint thinner is flammable. RX-11 is also approved for the use, while I would guess paint thinner is not, nor would it probably be compatable with system components. While you may not have this product readily available where you are, using paint thinner is probably not a good idea from a warranty point of view.

[kefah]

unless the lines are contaminated from a burn out just blow them out with nitrogen

thanx

[kefah]

Paint thinner sounds like a terrible idea. In the old days we used R-11 as a flushing solvent but that is no longer legal, and incredibly expensive if available at all. There is a product called RX-11 that can be used if you need something more than a nitrogen flush. Google RX-11 and it comes right up.

thanx
some instruction about how to use it

[kefah]

using paint thinner is probably not a good idea from a warranty point of view.

can you explain more

[KCJN832]

I've heard of one AC company using Naptha as a solvent to clean the lines, but they had to be very careful to get the pure stuff because many brands have oils in them. I recently heard that they are using Coleman fuel on rag rolls shot thru the suction line with CO2 to wipe/clean the gunk out, then they do a final flush of RX-11,
All this work to "save" on the RX-11 cost, but the labor goes thru the roof!

[fenian]

"Rag rolls"?
I've never heard that. Sounds like a potential nightmare

[dwhitcomb]

We had a rep from Lennox in the other day, and any trace elements of Rx-11 in an under warranty compressor will void the warranty.

He said the engineers now say to use R-22 to flush linesets. Even on 410a systems.

[jtrammel]

We had a rep from Lennox in the other day, and any trace elements of Rx-11 in an under warranty compressor will void the warranty.

He said the engineers now say to use R-22 to flush linesets. Even on 410a systems.

That rep must be who supplies you with R22 bc there's no way I'm wasting my R22 sweeping line sets, nitrogen is way cheaper.

[SCtech33]

like everyone else said I wouldn't use anything in a system that isn't for the intended use. get some type of flush kit. ive used most brands and pro-flush and rx-11 work well. after flushing into system you will want to purge the lines again with nitrogen to ensure you got all of whatever flush you used out. get a partner outside holding a rag over the lines as you purge them to make sure of whats coming out. if your still getting oil or flush keep holding the nitrogen to it

[arniehvac]

If I had to use anything other than RX-11, I think I would choose mineral spirits. Isn't mineral spirits a more pure solvent?

However, mineral spirits is also very flammable.

It would take a pretty good reason to using either thinnner or mineral spirits - maybe a really large system.

Compressor manufacturers should indeed get pissed when a failed compressor comes back having failed because of system debris or RX-11.

My understanding is that sometimes systems are really foul, but I have not had a lot of problems because of dirt in a system. It may have happened to that an very occasional capilliary tube has gotten plugged from dirt, but more often just restricted from baked in POE oil.

[ga-hvac-tech]

One guy I know uses denatured alcohol (from HD paint department). His theory is it totally evaporates and dries... I suggested to him it probably dries out before it washes away the junk in the lines.

Personally... unless it is a burnout or green slime (that stuff is nasty), just blow it with N2. Better IMO to leave a little MO in the system... than to put something in the system that could cause damage.

On the flush with R-22... Sounds like manufacturers trying to avid warranty responsibility. How many folks are gonna waste #'s of R-22 doing a flush. I do not know any of them.

[davidj001]

i'd like to hear how you would keep the pressure and volume of r-22 high enough to clean the system AND not violate venting laws?

[SCtech33]

i'd like to hear how you would keep the pressure and volume of r-22 high enough to clean the system AND not violate venting laws?

x2

[nchvac]

You guys that are just purging with nitrogen, what kind of pressure are you purging at? I have a lineset that I cannot remove and am up in the air as to what to do to clean it out. It started out that they wanted us to flush, then said don't flush because it can ruin the wiring insulation in the compressor, then said that up to 5% MO in the system is ok. So I really don't know what we are supposed to do. Whatever I do I am putting the line drier at the indoor unit to protect the txv, but there is one outside too so that is tit for tat.