Water mist help cooling my AC condenser unit

[supertek65]

if you hooked it up to a head pressure switch and had it work between maybe 200 and 225 pounds or so it may work???

depends how much water costs

if the water was from a pond or free may be worth it??

[Mr Bill]

Probably be better off just running a duct down to an enclosed insulated box, that just
surrounds the condenser coil and let it draw in cold air. Maybe a good idea if you have a a zoned
system and need to dump some air somewhere.

[supertek65]

yeah!

if you hade a vvt system?

you could dump the bypass air onto the condenser!!!

Probably be better off just running a duct down to an enclosed insulated box, that just
surrounds the condenser coil and let it draw in cold air. Maybe a good idea if you have a a zoned
system and need to dump some air somewhere.

[The Doctor]

It helps leave mineral deposits on your system components, up to and including the electrical connection portion of your heat rejection motor. Case in point is a customer in above design temps here locally...decided to use water mist to assist the drycooler. One day a different chap turned on the water, and happened to turn it on 100% rather than the usual (reduced) percentage.
Enter the 4 a.m. service call, complete with a scaled-over motor...just evidence, mind you...

and a 95 degree data center.
Oh, BTW, that shorted-out motor with scale everywhere and wet wire nuts's is billable...

just food for thought.

[ICanHas]

Aren't condensing units designed to handle reduced head pressure caused by latent cooling from water?

It does rain in many places and condensing unit gets wet, ya know.

[craig1]

Aren't condensing units designed to handle reduced head pressure caused by latent cooling from water?

It does rain in many places and condensing unit gets wet, ya know.

When it rains, very little rain actually gets on the coil unless you have heavy winds and a driving rain. But in that case its only 1, maybe 2 sides of the condenser getting wet. also when its raining the temperature is usually lower and its cloudy, resulting in a lower load on the A/C system which masks the lower capacity of the system.

[ICanHas]

When it rains, very little rain actually gets on the coil unless you have heavy winds and a driving rain. But in that case its only 1, maybe 2 sides of the condenser getting wet. also when its raining the temperature is usually lower and its cloudy, resulting in a lower load on the A/C system which masks the lower capacity of the system.

Hot and muggy, then sudden rain isn't unusual.

[RoBoTeq]

I pump condensate from basement systems onto condenser coils as well as dump condensate from attic systems onto them. Condensate is chilled and distilled and does make a difference in capacity and energy usage.

[Caribb Tech]

hey Kevin , could you elaborate on your statement "overall freon flow will be reduced , lowering total cooling"........does misting the condenser make that large of a difference to the unit subcooling to affect its performance????? I was going to post about fouling the condenser also . at o'hare airport we found a rooftop full of units that were repainted But no one told the workers not to paint the coils , subject for a different thread.........Jack

I have done a lot of research on these misting systems. I like to do my homework first before offering items to clients. I have worked with another company who swears by these misting units. Yes, it does work and increases efficiency and reduces power consumption. I can confirm this with all the power recording and power analyzing we had performed. The client was extremely happy! However after returning only 3 months later to perform our PM's on the chiller, we discovered a mass of complete rust! the entire unit frame and coils were oxidized and rusted. The costs of repairs were much more significant than the costs savings. Maybe when someone comes up with a glycol (non-corrosive) system I will entertain this idea again.
Regards
Caribb Tech

[Chris_Worthington]

Thread relocated to Tech to Tech

[passintyme]

I am guessing that what you are seeing is a drop in condensing pressure so high that the pressure differential required to feed your metering device has been compromised and you are actually under feeding. I have in the past hooked up a solenoid to the inlet water line(hose) and installed a thermostat on the liquid line to activate the solenoid to maintain 110 deg. saturation temp. that works very well.

[carmon]

I am guessing that what you are seeing is a drop in condensing pressure so high that the pressure differential required to feed your metering device has been compromised and you are actually under feeding. I have in the past hooked up a solenoid to the inlet water line(hose) and installed a thermostat on the liquid line to activate the solenoid to maintain 110 deg. saturation temp. that works very well.

well said........

[Technosponge]

Where is the water going to drain. will it penatrate the seal around your electrcal control box. Whats the ph of the water who pays for the water . Not as technical as some of the other suggetions but possible considerations.