ReplyThere have been a couple of discussions about these and the consensus of the pros is that it's not a good idea to spray water all over your condenser.
Regular Guest
Did a search but couldn't find any previous threads on this. Has anyone used either of these? They mist water on your AC condenser to increase efficiency, according to the manufacturers. It would seem like mineral buildup on the fins would occur. One manufacturer states to spray the fins with LimeAway periodically to remove this buildup.
Regular Guest
There have been a couple of discussions about these and the consensus of the pros is that it's not a good idea to spray water all over your condenser.
Member
I believe lime-away is a caustic and thus will damage the copper tubing and aluminum fins of the coil.
Don't bother with the water spray. You are asking for more trouble than it's worth.
Professional Member
At first I did'nt like it because of the nozzles spraing water too heavy. I then bought some different nozzles with a finer spray pattern and have been please since. No build up on coils and utility bill is down about 30%. The system does work, just has to be modified slightly. The water delivery system is also a great idea.
Professional Member*
A few years ago the addon spray mister was popular here.Originally Posted by ;957571
That's until the units started to prematurely RUST!
Life is too short, Behappy!
TFMM
Regular Guest
I too would be afraid to use a mister on a condensing unit. There almost certainly would be a problem with mineral build up, and I do not believe that Lime-Away would remove the minerals adequately.
If the water sprayed onto the condenser were the condensate from the evaporator, it might be OK, but I don't know how effective it would be since the amount of condensate from the evaporater would be limited, especially in a dry climate. But at least it would be mineral free and unlikely to damage the condenser.
Another possibility, which would work, would be to use an evaporative cooler to provide cooler air to the condenser. That would be especially effective in a dry climate. It's just a question of whether the cost of the evaporative cooler and its maintenance could be justified. Also, it would be difficult to implement on a condensing unit which takes air in on more than one side.
Professional Member*
Bottom line: an air cooled condenser isn't designed to have a continual mist of water sprayed on it while it is running.
If OEM's thought it was a good idea, they'd include misters from the factory to get a few brownie points on the SEER scale.
Even the one poster who bought one of these things had to modify it to make it work to his satisfaction.
Reduce the heat load on the house...that's much more permanent and gratifying than silly little misters.
Professional Member
Do the search again type in cool-n-save look for a thread that is titled "HA HA HA HA check out this thing" I think you will find plenty of reading to keep you busy..... for a long time. I think the company that makes them has responded to that thread.
I never let schooling interfere with my education... Mark Twain
Regular Guest
You want a cooling mister that really works, check this out:
http://www.sprinkool-systems.com/
-HF
Regular Guest
I too have used a misting system with good results:
http://www.plumbingsupply.com/misterscooldown.html
The misters use <5 gallons per hour...coil temp is 8-10* cooler and condensor discharge temp is 35-40* lower, and amp load is reduced...
No build up on the coils, but I clean them monthy during the summer...
My irrigation system puts more water on my condensors than the misters and after 10 years of irrigation spraying on them without any buildup, I decided to give it a try....
I have achieved longer run times using less KWH....
But some parts of the country may have water that has a higher concentration of minerals, so beware...
Have a friend who works for Trane...he said the reason they do not equip misters on residential system is due to the water use that it would create...
Joe
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