a/c cleaning

[Garin1]

I did a search and could not find anything on this. i find myself in a very dusty area in California and am concerned about the dust collecting on the a/c unit outside. Is there any caveat's about cleaning the outside unit of dust accumulation?

[Ozz]

Just use a gentle spray on the coils at a short distance, do not use enough force to bend the fins, come at in a direct line, not to the side. You can spray them with simple green, or a similar cleaner to loosen the dust and dirt.
This is the way I clean all my commercial A/C coils in my business.

[Garin1]

Thanks Oz.

[jsrang]

This might seem like a dumb question, but how do you get access to the coils? Also, is there any other maintenance to do on the AC unit besides cleaning the filter periodically?

Thanks, Jim

[Ozz]

Well, the best way is to remove the cover with the 4 or so screws, wash through the back side, but just washing the face will do, as typically they are just dusty and may have cottonwood seeds in them.
As far as maintenance, run the fan in the winter weekly for a minute or so. The compressor doesn't have to be exercised, but if you have a 50 degree or warmer winter day, go ahead and run it for a few minutes.

[Ozzie]

Oh sure...make me worry about winter storage now, eh Ozz? LOL

You did get my curiosity up though. It gets mighty cold up here in the winters...I don't even go in my rig for a few weeks sometimes.
Am I doing damage not running that unit now and then?

[Ozz]

No damage, Ozzie. It's just that the rooftop units have such little starting torque on the small motors they have, that some people have reported the motor sticking, when they try to use the A/C unit. A hand movement of the fan shaft gets them going.

[jsrang]

OZZ, You the man!(LOL). Thanks, sounds simple enough. Will get up on top today and spray - wash it down. We plan to leave Florida for Michigan in a couple weeks, so now is a good time to get my "Spring cleaning" done.

Jim