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Originally Posted by
mikesands
The smell is from recycled aluminum. Throw the coil away and get a new one, you just got one with too much crap in it and not enough aluminum. This has nothing to with gas heat or a heat pump.
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Originally Posted by
genesis
That's what it is.
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Originally Posted by
mikesands
The smell is from recycled aluminum. Throw the coil away and get a new one, you just got one with too much crap in it and not enough aluminum. This has nothing to with gas heat or a heat pump.
A lot of stuff is not making sense to me about this DSS stink thing... Like turning my coil cabinet into a tanning salon for mold... I'll add throwing my brand new coil in the trash because it contains recycled aluminum to the list.
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Originally Posted by
mcn6
A lot of stuff is not making sense to me about this DSS stink thing... Like turning my coil cabinet into a tanning salon for mold... I'll add throwing my brand new coil in the trash because it contains recycled aluminum to the list.
Well,
If you search the net on this subject you can come up with several studies and experiments done and paid for by the people that sell these coils, usually Trane. I would be skeptical of a company that conducts or pays for an evalution and ends up with a result that happens to favor them.
Anyway, if you replace the coil with a coil that has no recycled aluminum the problem will go away forever, gaurantee it and have seen it done. This is why coating a coil works, its not that the coating is doing anything other than covering up the coil that has contaminted recycled aluminum in it.
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Originally Posted by
kcmk
MMD, we have been having the same problems, since we replaced our old Bryant AC/coil with a new Trane in Aug '03.. Smell started Oct '04, Trane replaced coil with a second in Nov '04. It ran fine until this Oct '05. Now it's smelling again! I don't know what to do either. NO ONE seems to have an answer. We have had HVAC dealers, duct cleaners, mold remediation people, Trane reps., etc. all at our house....no one knows how it started nor how to fix it. Is your coil a Trane by any chance???
Kevin
This is what typically happens in these cases,
So what is the difference in the coil he had before and the one he has now ? It's the makeup of the metals in the coil.
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Originally Posted by
mikesands
Well,
If you search the net on this subject you can come up with several studies and experiments done and paid for by the people that sell these coils, usually Trane. I would be skeptical of a company that conducts or pays for an evalution and ends up with a result that happens to favor them.
Anyway, if you replace the coil with a coil that has no recycled aluminum the problem will go away forever, gaurantee it and have seen it done. This is why coating a coil works, its not that the coating is doing anything other than covering up the coil that has contaminted recycled aluminum in it.
Thanks I needed a good laugh.
Aluminum is a porous metal alloy mold needs something porus to adhere to. When you purchase a dipped coil you are getting a coil with a coating developed for salt water use that has a coating on it to keep the salt off of it. It just so happens to be less pourses so the mold spores wont stick to it as easy as it would an aluminum coil. Bad news is if you let this problem go untreated for a period of time it will move in to the duct work and no duct cleaning will ever cure it.
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Originally Posted by
genesis
Thanks I needed a good laugh.
Aluminum is a porous metal alloy mold needs something porus to adhere to. When you purchase a dipped coil you are getting a coil with a coating developed for salt water use that has a coating on it to keep the salt off of it. It just so happens to be less pourses so the mold spores wont stick to it as easy as it would an aluminum coil. Bad news is if you let this problem go untreated for a period of time it will move in to the duct work and no duct cleaning will ever cure it.
Tell me why the guy who never had the smell then has his equipment changed now has the smell ?
That is the pattern in most cases.
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My theory is the newer higher SEER rated systems are operating the evaps at a higher temps that promote mold growth. In the old days if you were running coil temps in the 34 to 36 degrees with less surface area on the coil. The temps are low enough that you hardly ever herd of a residential system with DSS it was more common in commercial systems where the operator was keeping their space in the 65 to 68 range in humid climates.
Today's evap coils have more surface are to be more efficient in refrigeration in heat removal. And they are running close to 40 degrees that helps the mold germinate. Aspergillus niger is the most common mold spore and it is every where including in your HVAC system. It will set dormant until the ideal growing conditions occur. And a 40 plus degree coil that has water condensing on it is ideal conditions. Then to top things off in the heat mode on a heat pump we are running a lower temp, hot enough to cook it but not hot enough to deactivate it. And when you agitate mold it will release more spores and re germinate like a dandelion. Just a theory any way from the hundred or papers I read every month. You can find several papers on my FAQ page on my web site where we have been testing and developing a PCO technology to be released in March nationally with one of the big three for commercial use. I will try to put up so links to DSS on my site when I get off this job site and back to the office.
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Plenty of coils that ran an ADP above 40 before high SEER equipment came along, every slightly undersized or overloaded unit would have, if cold is what causes the bacteria to release then why can it grow at above 40 but then get released at above 40 at other times ?
Don't understand why the size of the coil would matter ? Many contractors B4 high SEER were of the belief that a larger coil would provide more dehumidification so there were a lot of them out there with largeer than necessary coils , which often produced a little higher suction temp and ADP , there were a lot of systems not operating in the below 40 coil temp range.
The only real difference between not having DSS times and having it now is the cheap aluminum that coil manufacturers are using, don't know how you can dismiss that idea without looking into it.
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I am not disputing the recycled material theory, I wouldn't know it's validity one way or the other... Since the stink is still gone after almost three weeks... More just dismissing the idea of trashing my evap coil anytime soon.
What impurity's do you figure remain in the aluminum after the recycling process that would cause the stink?
Any thoughts on why powering the heat strips during defrost would be so effective?
Also, any thoughts on why there is no smell in the summer from the A/C? Basically the same thing is happening during the defrost cycle... No?
And last, how exactly would someone go about "cooking the coils" mentioned earlier in this thread?
Not trying to cause heartburn for anybody... Just a couple things still not making much sense to me???
Anybody?
Thanks
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Well my theory is that it is bacteria that causes it and the bacteria grows during a heating cycle. and then is released during a cooling cycle. So given a good home to breed the bacteria runs this cycle.
That would be why during the summer you don't see it unless you're AC has been off for some time and the bacteria had a chance to grow on a warm coil. Then it offcoiled when you turned the AC on and the coil got cold, same thing during heatpump defrost. Bacteria grows during normal operation and offcoils when the coil gets cold.
My difference is that the cheap-recycled-low grade-aluminum coil holds more of the bacteria to begin with because it isn't 100% aluminum and it is more conducive to trapping the bacteria on it. I'm not a chemical engineer I'm just looking at it logically and I haven't heard a more logical explanation yet, none of the theories out on the web or in this thread have meat on their bone, all of them can easily be shot down. Except mine,
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new here, been following this. we have a new unit, replaced july 08. ac all summer good, after first few weeks of cold, dss. not always, not when emergency heat used, but 1- 2 times a day. am going to clean coils,pan,drain,filter... big question is ,what is this mold and is it harmfull? name with niger in it makes me think black mold?
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Originally Posted by
jatibb
new here, been following this. we have a new unit, replaced july 08. ac all summer good, after first few weeks of cold, dss. not always, not when emergency heat used, but 1- 2 times a day. am going to clean coils,pan,drain,filter... big question is ,what is this mold and is it harmfull? name with niger in it makes me think black mold?
Well yur one for one, one post and one report abuse.
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Originally Posted by
mikesands
Well yur one for one, one post and one report abuse.
Thank you for your input. It will be interesting to me when this is all figured out. Just way too many loose ends for me to feel confortable that I have seen/smelled the last of it...
On the quote above: I believe the reference was to niger asparillius (sp) or whatever. It does not appear to me that the poster was thinking what your thinking he/she was thinking. I think.
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Originally Posted by
mcn6
Thank you for your input. It will be interesting to me when this is all figured out. Just way too many loose ends for me to feel confortable that I have seen/smelled the last of it...
On the quote above: I believe the reference was to niger asparillius (sp) or whatever. It does not appear to me that the poster was thinking what your thinking he/she was thinking. I think.
Actually , it was pretty clear what he meant by it.
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nice, i guess if i order a burrito with frijoles negroes im being racist also, jesus
black means black. i guess no answer from you then?
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Originally Posted by
jatibb
new here, been following this. we have a new unit, replaced july 08. ac all summer good, after first few weeks of cold, dss. not always, not when emergency heat used, but 1- 2 times a day. am going to clean coils,pan,drain,filter... big question is ,what is this mold and is it harmfull? name with niger in it makes me think black mold?
Ok give you the benefit of the doubt.
The big answer to your big question can be answered by looking up Aspergillus Niger, yes , its black mold. So you probably have A. Niger lurking around in your home , how does that make you feel ?
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Jattibb you need to get you mind out of the gutter an use google a bit more appropriately. Stachybotrys is the notorious black mold.
Stachybotrys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stachybotrys
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Ascomycota
Class: Sordariomycetes
Order: Hypocreales
Family: Dematiaceae
Genus: Stachybotrys
Species
S. chartarum
S. cylindrospora
Stachybotrys is a genus of molds, or asexually-reproducing, filamentous fungi. Closely related to the genus Memnoniella,[1][2] most Stachybotrys species inhabit materials rich in cellulose.
The most infamous species, S. chartarum (also known as S. atra) is known as "black mold" or "toxic black mold," and is frequently associated with poor indoor air quality that arises after fungal growth on water-damaged building materials.[3] It is known to produce trichothecene mycotoxins including satratoxins.
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nice to know you cany say the word niger, about anything, w/o someone playing the race card. that is NOT what i meant! simple question requiring a simple answer, thats all. why google when im here with what i thought to be knowledgable people at the time. guess ill google touchy-feelly before asking anymore questions ..concerning anything
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The consensus here seems to be a mold or bacteria causing DSS. I have not read anything conclusive as to what type of mold/bacteria it is or if it even is m/b or wether it is a single, specific m/b??? Could be different m/b in different parts of the country??? I do know that after 1 1/2 months it appears that I may have developed an allergic reaction to whatever it is. I say "may have" since I am not 100% about that either???
Apparently, at least in my case, defrost cycle is creating ideal temperature and moisture conditions in and around the evap coil for DSS to occur??? Using cooling mode does not seem to cause DSS even though similar conditions are present??? Usually with a unit operating in "emergency" mode (heat strips only) the compressor is not running, nothing is changing at the evap coil = no DSS??? In my case, powering the heat strips with the compressor running (defrost cycle only), seemed to reduce the stink considerably, possibly killing or burning off whatever as it passed the strips???
Exposing the evap coils to UVC light has worked for me so far. Others report it has not worked for them??? From what I have read, the coil must be exposed to sufficient UVC intensity and/or dwell for UVC to be effective.
Anyway, that is most of what I don't know about DSS... LOL!
Originally Posted by
jatibb
new here, been following this. we have a new unit, replaced july 08. ac all summer good, after first few weeks of cold, dss. not always, not when emergency heat used, but 1- 2 times a day. am going to clean coils,pan,drain,filter... big question is ,what is this mold and is it harmfull? name with niger in it makes me think black mold?