Recommendations for ocean front heat pump??

[DaveN]

I have an ocean front condo with a 1.5 ton Lennox heat pump that is 7 years old. The outside unit's fins are crumbling when touched. I'm looking for advice on what unit would last the longest in a harsh environment. I've heard about phenolic coated units but Lewnnox's web site doesn't mention this.

Any particular brand/model to consider?

Thanks,
Dave

[dash]

Carrier has a coated coil(Coastal Unit Only),only in the builder model ten SEER,as far as I know.

Their are places that coat coils,try "Broze glow" on goggle.

[Edited by dash on 07-17-2005 at 03:00 PM]

[travisfl]

Originally posted by DaveN
Any particular brand/model to consider?

In my experience Trane's spine fin coils seem to stand up particularly well in salt air environments.

[tinknocker service tech]

i do a lot of work along the ocean front in jersey and have found there is no beter then a another here. seems all brands tend the deterate over 5 to ten years. the closer to the ocean front the faster it would seem.
i dont know where you live but to give a certain brand and say it will out last any other i cant do. i have found turn off all breaker to kill any power to the unit put a coat of car wax on the casing and hose off the coil a coupletimes a year hepls it to last longer. after an hour turn the breakers back on. the wax will protect the casing and washing the salt and sand out of the coil will slow down the deterating process

[dan sw fl]

Originally posted by DaveN
I'm looking for advice on what unit would last the longest in a harsh environment. I've heard about phenolic coated units but Lennox's web site doesn't mention this.

Trane's spine fin coils
or Lennox
WITH COASTAL PROTECTION

[rasmussen6880]

at the oregon coast its never realy hot or cold. burn beach wood for heat and open a window for cooling. i put in a trane hp. 4yrs ago this fall for my famley. it has held up realy well being 1 block from the beach. i dont think thay have ever ran it in cooling and verry few times for heating.

[Carnak]

Trane/American Standard Spinefin will stand up the best.

Many coatings out there that will extend the life of coils with copper tubes and aluminum fins, but in my opinion they will still fail, before a spinefin ever would.

Or install a sacrificial Goodman, and replace it every 5 years.

Maybe Goodman will listen to Robo and use the black paint again. The painted ones did surprisingly well.

Washing the coils frequently helps. Do not use a pressure washer, especially on a coated coil.

[miami mike]

Originally posted by DaveN
I have an ocean front condo with a 1.5 ton Lennox heat pump that is 7 years old. The outside unit's fins are crumbling when touched. I'm looking for advice on what unit would last the longest in a harsh environment. I've heard about phenolic coated units but Lewnnox's web site doesn't mention this.

Any particular brand/model to consider?

Thanks,
Dave

I agree with the Trane spine fin coil. You can also purchase a 10 year parts and labor warranty. That way you have "peace of mind".

Last time I checked the warranty is an extra $100 (plus the regular cost) if within 5 miles of saltwater.

Good luck.

[DaveN]

I live in eastern NC.

Searching for "broze glow" and "bronze glow" on google didn't turn any coil coaters up.

I have been advised to clean with water and then spray a teflon based lubricant spray over the fins. Sound or bad advice??

What kind of premium does the extra coating run? Will the SEER be better if I wait until early 2006?

[RoBoTeq]

Having worked with Carnak on units that were extensively exposed to super salty conditions I have to agree that the Trane-A/S spline fin coils held up better then coated coils.

As far why the black painted Goodman coils held up so well, I don't think it has anything to do with the black latex paint that was only sprayed on the outside of those coils. The unpainted Goodman coils are also holding up.

My only guesses are that either the nonevaporative oil that Goodman alone must use during processing of their coils gives protection against salt air or there is something in the copper to aluminum fin process that retards the reaction that causes the deterioration.

[mark beiser]

Originally posted by DaveN
I have been advised to clean with water and then spray a teflon based lubricant spray over the fins. Sound or bad advice??

I have a friend in Galveston, Texas that swears by Cal-Shield. He sprays it on his customers indoor and outdoor coils every year when he does maintenance.

http://www.nucalgon.com/nucalgon/nuc...4?OpenDocument

[Carnak]

Robo has a good bronze glo photo

[RoBoTeq]

Sure do. These photos are of a chiller coil that has been treated with BronzeGlo. The only sign of deterioration is where BronzeGlo did whatever they do to create a shadow of their name http://www.roboteq.info/bronzeGlow.html?1121653186692

[docholiday]

Go down to the local Marina and buy a "shaft Zinc" the size of the suction line going into the compressor. Install the shaft zinc on that line just as it comes out of the accumulator.

The zinc will become sacrificial, just as it does in a boat. Like an annode rod in a water heater. It will squelch the accelerated oxidation.

13 bucks.... if I'm wrong ..so what.

[DaveN]

Cal-Shield looks interesting. Lowe's has a new Dupont pure teflon spray that appears similar and has been amazing in my experience. I had inoperable deadbolt locks and a spray had them working like new. I would think that this would be a good coating to repel salt air.

Shaft zinc sounds promising. Has anyone else tried this approach?

I'll do a bronzeglo search.

[Edited by DaveN on 07-18-2005 at 08:47 AM]

[drk]

Need to have Herosite coating.

[RoBoTeq]

Most of the aftermarket coatings that were applied to coils in Cayman did very little to retard corrosion.

[Carnak]

I have zero faith in field applied coatings.

Heresite is good as long as the coil is dipped in a vat then baked on before the coil is installed.

Then you hope the heresite does not get chipped.

The Bronzglo photos were from some older TRANE chillers, I think 7 and 10 years service.

We looked at some 3 year old Carrier Chillers with field applied heresite and they looked worse than the 10 year old chiller with BronzGlow

[RoBoTeq]

Those Carriers were a mess, but, with all due respect to Carrier we do suspect they were immersed in salt water.

[docholiday]

again, I hae yet to see anything hold up well at all in costal applications. There is a coastal unit made in Florida (or was) that uses an all aluminum, paralell flow coil that looks on the outside like a radiator. It is automotive technology used for condesners in autos. The fins are metalergicly bonded to the flat tubes and coated with a sacrificial zinc. Imagine taxi cabs in Cleveland near the great lakes where salt is poured on the streets like its going out of style. Rarely do they corrode.

The secret would be an ocasional rinse. Maybe a mister on a timer and the use of a shaft zinc will just about give you the same benefit. Remember it needs to be wet to be effective.