Before you start tinkering with the system, it's important to understand the basics of how it works. Central air consists of three main parts: the condenser, the blower unit, and the ductwork.The condenser is the large outdoor unit that is probably tucked behind your garage. Its role is to manage the temperature of the refrigerant, usually Freon, which travels back and forth from the house. The condenser does this by pressurizing the Freon gas as it arrives, turning it into a high-temperature liquid. The Freon in its new state then travels back to the house and to the blower unit.Once it enters the blower unit, the Freon is changed into a gas and becomes dramatically colder. This cold gas then gets piped through a coil located in the ductwork. Air blows through the coil, which is how it cools down before it continues into the house. The blower unit is constantly pulling air from the house through return ducts, forcing it through the cooling coil and then back to the house through supply ducts.

Once the Freon has done its job, it travels to the condenser, where it is pressurized back into a liquid, and the cycle starts again.You should leave some of the more delicate parts of the system, such as the refrigerant lines, to the professionals. But there are easy things you can do to maintain the system, particularly before summer heats up.cheap mini ac unitThese are located at the blower unit and are usually placed where the return duct meets the unit. cover for window ac unitYou should check your filters once a month. best room air conditioner 2013A badly clogged filter slows down the airflow through the blower unit, allowing the cooling coil to ice up. This could cause your unit to shut down.There are many grades of filters available. If you use the kind that reduces allergens, know that they're going to clog up faster, so they should be checked more often.

When warm air passes through the cooling coil, condensation occurs. Air-conditioning systems have a variety of ways of dealing with this. Depending on where your blower unit is located, this moisture may go into a gravity-fed drain, or it may go into a pan under the blower unit. If it's in a basement, the pan may have a small pump to move the water to a drain. If the unit is in an attic, the water may just enter the pan and evaporate.If you have a pump, test it to make sure it's functioning properly. It likely has a float attached to it that engages the unit; move the float up and down to see if it works. If you don't have a pump and there is no drain in the pan, check to see if there is a kill switch. This is a wired water sensor set to a certain height in the pan. If water touches it, the system shuts down. If your unit is located in the attic, pay particular attention to testing the kill switch— you don't want the pan to overflow and have water dripping on your ceiling.For the exterior condenser to work properly, it needs a nice, unobstructed flow of air around it.

Make sure that there is at least 2 feet of clear space around the unit, free of shrubs, wood piles, and low hanging branches.The condenser's fan spent all of last summer sucking air, leaves, debris, and pollen into it. So give the unit a spring cleaning. For this it's best to wash it with a garden hose. If things look really gummed up you could use a chemical cleaner. But those are harsh and usually unnecessary.There are two areas here worth checking. The first is the registers in your house. Make sure that there are no rugs or furniture obstructing the airflow. Then open them up and see if anything has gotten into the ductwork that could cause problems. If you have toddlers around, it's anyone's guess what's in there.If you find mold growing in your ducts, it's worthwhile to contact a duct-cleaning company. For a little cash, they can do a thorough cleaning of your entire system.The second place to check is the ductwork that travels through your attic or basement. All of the connections and seams should be sealed, with no holes or corrosion.

To cover any holes and seal the joints, use silver aluminum-foil tape, as opposed to the traditional duct tape.If you have an attic system, pay close attention to the insulation on the supply duct—the one that brings the cool air back to your house. With no insulation, that cold metal will start to sweat in your hot attic and the condensation will drip onto your ceilings.If your car’s air conditioning system is not delivering the cold air that you need to be comfortable in hot weather, it is probably low on refrigerant. This could be because of a leak in the system, and when leaks occur, obviously the refrigerant level drops. Then, your air conditioning will shut down in order to prevent damage to the compressor. Vehicle owners often operate under the misapprehension that all they have to do is “top off” the refrigerant from time to time, but that is not actually how it works. Any time that your AC becomes low on refrigerant, it should be flushed, and the refrigerant replaced.

This ensures that you always have enough refrigerant in the system to keep your air conditioning working properly, ensuring your comfort and that of your passengers. So, how long does an AC recharge last? Your air conditioning is not something that runs constantly, so unless you live in a very hot climate, you can usually expect a recharge to last at least three years. Of course if you want to, you could take the proactive approach and plan for a recharge every three years as part of your routine maintenance, but as long as you’re staying cool, your air conditioner really doesn’t need a recharge. Signs that your AC may need a recharge include: Not enough cool air AC blowing only warm air If you suspect that your refrigerant is low, A mechanic can check out your air conditioning, and if necessary, do an AC recharge for you.Possibly the single most important factor to maintaining your air conditioning unit is keeping it clean and well maintained. Not only will good maintenance reduce your energy consumption and save on your monthly bills, but clean condenser coils will make your A/C unit last longer and keep it running efficiently.

You can also read “How To Clean Central A/C Evaporator Coils” Here. There are different types of air conditioning units but for the purpose of this article, we’ll be talking about a central air split unit system.They are most common in the Dallas area and can be found all around the country. A split system comprises the inside unit, which contains the evaporator, located inside a central duct attached to your furnace/blower within the house and the compressor/condenser unit that sits alongside the exterior of the house. You can click on any of the images on this page for a larger one if you want as well. Cleaning the compressor coils and cooling fins of your outdoor unit once per year is recommended under normal conditions, but more often if there is a lot of growth around the unit or cottonwood trees or dandelions nearby. These are clogging culprits. For comfort and cost savings, this ranks as the top regular chore you can perform yourself on your air conditioning unit.

For this project you will need a garden hose, a good *spray-on foaming cleaner and a *cooling fin comb if the fins are badly bent. Basic tools like a wrench or screwdriver will be required to remove the A/C unit cover. You will also want a shop-vac and a medium stiff brush (but be very careful when cleaning cooling fins, they are very fragile and can bend easily. Cleaning just the outdoor unit will probably take an hour or more if it’s your first time, so allow yourself enough time to do a good job. If you aren’t up for the task, you can hire an HVAC professional to do it for you. They will clean your outdoor and indoor units, check your freon level and make recommendations for you anywhere from about $69 (“special” or promotional) to around $150 for a general upkeep cleaning. Most companies run spring and summer “specials” because they know most units will need charging with freon or other work. This is still a good route to go if you want to watch a pro do it first, if you suspect that you are low on freon or have a specific problem or questions you need answered.

You can also purchase a bi-yearly maintenance contract, which can save you money and make maintenance automatic. Or, you can easily learn to do-it-yourself. Before I do anything, I always make sure the thermostat is set to “off”. Then I remove the main power switch located inside the master switch panel. The master switch is almost always attached to the house at the same location as the unit itself; simply open the panel and pull out the large plug. Once the power has been shut off, you should remove as much debris, growth and lawn clippings from the outside of the unit that might inhibit the flow of air as possible. Remove the top of the unit. There are typically hex-head bolts or screws that you can see on the top of the unit or on the side at the top. The fan motor is usually attached to the top of the unit and you don’t want to bend the blades or damage it. Have someone hold the top of the unit or lean it carefully aside, making sure not to rest it on the fan blades or stretch the wiring.

You can easily clean out the bottom of the inside of the unit with a shop vac. You never know what you’ll find inside! You may need to evict a rodent or snake, but most of the time you just need to clean out the dirt, leaves and dead grass. Then, use a brush attachment on your portable vacuum and carefully vacuum the fins. After vacuuming the fins, spray the outside of the fins with a good coil cleaner and wait 5 minutes. A mild detergent/water mixture works well too. Then simply use a garden hose to spray, from the inside to the outside of the unit until the water comes through nice and clean all the way around. If your unit does not come apart, spray to avoid the fan motor as much as possible. Either way, avoid directly spraying the compressor. If you just can’t resist it, and you spray the outside of the unit, be careful not to bend the fins that surround the coil with pressurized water! Spraying the outside of the unit isn’t recommended, since you will either get excessive water inside the unit or lodge dirt and particles deeper into the fins, or both.

You can rest the cover (the part that you removed earlier with the fan motor attached) on top of the unit for the next step: Using a cooling fin comb, work the fins carefully to clean and straighten them if they are badly bent. If there are a lot of bent fins, this could take some time. Cooling fin combs are not easy to work with but the ability of your cooling fins to dissipate heat is very important to the performance of your unit, so it’s definitely worth spending the energy it takes to straighten any bent fins you have as much as you can. You can easily figure out how many teeth you need on your fin comb by simply using a tape measure and counting the number of fins there are to an inch. That is the “tooth-count” you should buy for your fin straightening comb. Most fin combs have 4 different tooth count combs. Finally, reverse the dis-assembly steps by re-attaching the top of the unit in the same way it came off. Then, plug your main cutoff back in, then go inside and turn your thermostat to the “cool” position and lower the temperature setting enough to make the unit come on.

Many units have a timing mechanism that delays the unit from coming on for a few minutes. Go back outside and listen for any odd noises (once the unit is back on) to double check everything and that you re-assembled everything correctly. If you hear something out of the ordinary and don’t know what it is right away, then I recommend calling a professional to come and check out your system for you. Tips: Clean your air conditioner condenser early in the spring. Most A/C companies are busy all summer repairing and replacing units and you may have to wait before someone comes out or have to pay a premium. While the unit is open, look closely at the bottom of the unit for dark oil spots near the compressor. If they are present, you may have an oil leak from the compressor and your system may need to be repaired and charged with freon. Have a professional come out and take a look. Visually inspect the large flexible conduit that comes from the unit to the main cutoff for breaks.

This is known as the whip. If it’s broken or damaged, it should be replaced. Inspect the insulation around the pipe that goes to your indoor unit. Although it is arguable that this piece of pipe insulation has little true function, it is good for aesthetics and it helps protect the pipe. Replace it if it’s worn. Do not attempt to replace the “pad” that the unit sits on. There are so many fragile parts that you will probably only be asking for trouble. If your pad is broken or sinking, consult a pro. They will usually tell you to wait until the compressor needs replacement before changing it out for a new one. A good cleaning brush for cooling fins is a toilet bowl brush. Just remember to be very careful when brushing the very fragile cooling fins. Now is also a good time to replace the filter at your blower or return duct, indoors. They cost a couple of bucks or less. A note about filters…there is no such thing as a 60-day or 90-day filter. Change your filter every thirty days.