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my boss just went to trane recently and i am wondering how long has trane been using the aluminum i.d coil and how have they been holding up
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They have been using them for a few years.. I have found a few of them leaking after install, due to the zip ties they use on the coil to secure the cap tubes of the TXV, they rubs a hole in the U bend. a couple were found to be leaking where the copper meets the aluminum. but out of the hundreds we installed in the past few years only a handful have been found leaking so far....Originally Posted by davidj001
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AS/Trane started the transition to all aluminum indoor coils in 2006.
I've only found one leaking so far, at one of the crossover tube connections to the coil, but we don't have thousands of them out there like bigger shops do.
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My company has installed a lot of the Trane aluminum coils. I first started seeing them in the Hyperion AHU's then they started sending them as replacement for older leaking coils.
I have found a 2 or 3 that have leaked but mainly due to the copper and aluminum rubbing.
Overall, I think the all aluminum coil is 100% better than all copper.
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Agree, they are a better coil. I would say 70% of my summer work are replacing coils and such. I work for a large company, is not unusual to have 2 coils and some no cools per day. Only have replaced like I said a handful of them mainly because they are running on a harder metal. If you take a few mindsto prep them and move parts away from each other carefully and cut the zip tie from the cap tubes you should be okay. Just a habit I got into when installing.
sent from my Note II
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Can you elaborate on why alum is so much better? I prefer standard copper tubed coils because they can easily be repaired in many cases where alum cant. Imo. I see way more issues with coil leaks on all alum one vs. copper tubed.
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and why wouldn't you be able to repair the aluminum coil?
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All aluminum coils are immune to the formicary and galvanic corrosion that are the 2 most common causes of leaks in residential evaporator coils that have been a plague on the industry for a couple of decades.
Leaks due to formicary corrosion are typically found in the fin area of the coil, and are essentially not repairable. Often it is many micro leaks, but even if it is just one bigger leak, repair would involve removing fins to access the leak, and with 3 or 4 pass coils, would not even be accessible then.
Leaks from galvanic corrosion at the tube sheet are also difficult, if not impossible, to fix reliably.
In either case, just the handling of the coil during repairs can cause more leaks in other parts of the coil with weakened tubing.
Even if you get every leak, and get it all put back together, the repair would likely cost more than half of what just replacing it would cost, and the customer would be left with a coil that is highly likely to develop more leaks.
Back when coils used thicker tubing, and had fewer fins per inch, you had a better chance of successful repair, as the leaks were usually at soldered connections for the crossover or distributor tubes.
Now, with the thin tubing, that is also rifled, tight fin spacings, questionable quality recycled copper, etc., most leaks in residential evaporator coils are not reliably repairable.
There was a time when Carrier and GE used all aluminum indoor coils. Other than leaks caused by mechanical damage, I've never found one leaking in the coil itself, only at the mechanical fittings used to connect the refrigerant lines.
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Thanks. Makes sense. I guess i have been lucky because i have installed 100's of ADP coils on my installs and not had a problem yet. Not sure if there is a lot of difference between brands but all the leaks i see are in allstyle coils three to ten years old.
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I think maybe those of us in more humid areas see more issues with leaking coils.
Also, ADP is doing all aluminum coils now.
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guessing from your stated location these are heat pumps, and another tech asked about repairing the leaks, have you had to repair them or are they still under warranty?
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we have replaced more aluminum case coils than aluminum heatpump coils. I live in Florida the area I live and work in is supplied with natural gas. there are some techs that have repaired aluminum coils but.. the cost of doing such work amounts to more than it is worth. you can get a new coil for almost the same price.
When it comes to more humid geographic locations I dont know what factors into why the coils fail. It would make sense to blame it on humidity and condensation on the coil.. I'm not an engineer or a scientist..
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Was not aware of that... Will this be a total switch... or offered as an option?I think maybe those of us in more humid areas see more issues with leaking coils.
Also, ADP is doing all aluminum coils now.
The AlliedAir products I have been installing the last few years (part of Lennox); the coils are all ADP. Be interesting to see aluminum coils show up there.
Also; heard at the local Rheem shop that later in the year Rheem/Ruud will go to aluminum indoor coils... still the N configuration if I hear correctly.
GA-HVAC-Tech
Your comfort, Your way, Everyday!
GA's basic rules of home heating and AC upgrades:
*Installation is more important than the brand of equipment
*The duct system keeps the house comfortable; the equipment only heats and cools (and dehumidifies)
*The value of comfort, over the long term; leave economic choices behind!
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I know with carrier you can request for tin plated coils. some of there units came from the factory that way. I dont know about trane or any other manufacture.
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I don't know if they are switching over to it totally, just that it is an available option when ordering the coils.
I've used a couple of them to replace customers existing ADP copper tube coil last year.
Looking at the product literature, it looks like the model numbers for the aluminum coils have a G or B in the 2nd digit of the model number.
In the ones I got, the distributor tubes and suction header tubes were all copper, and were joined directly to the aluminum tubes on the evaporator coil.
I guess we will see how that works out.
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IMO, Carrier kinda flubbed with the tin plated coils, the front tube sheet and crossovers are not plated, so will still rust out and leak just as bad as any of their unplated coils.
They are making all aluminum coils now though.
AS/Trane, and Goodmana, have been using all aluminum coils for a few years.I dont know about trane or any other manufacture.
Some of the 3rd party manufacturers have either switched to all aluminum, or have it as an option on some portion of their products.
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