I performed some experiments a few years back just before I replaced my
old central air units. They were still functional but old and I wanted
to pre-emptively replace them before the weather turned really hot. I
figured since they were being replaced that week anyway so I wasn't
concerned about doing something to shorten their lifespan.
Test 1 was directly misting the condenser coils. We have pretty hard
water so I knew this couldn't be a permanent solution but I was curious
how much of a difference it would make. I don't have a clamp-on meter
so I couldn't directly monitor the compressor's current draw but I saw a
noticeable difference at the service entrance meter (yeah, I actually
stood at the meter counting seconds per revolution as I turned the water
on and off. boring but...science!). I don't have the numbers anymore
but the difference was noticeable even by my crude observations. On the
order of 25% less current drawn when the fins were being actively cooled.
Test 2 was to try to cool the air *around* the condenser units without
actually getting the fins wet. I figured this method would avoid the
scale build-up so if it worked it might actually be a long-term solution
on hot days. To do this, I rigged some foggers on a PVC scaffold about
8 feet above and 4-5 feet to either side of the condensers (couldn't
mount closer because the fan exhaust would interfere). Kind of like how
people mount foggers above and around the perimeter of a outdoor patio.
The idea was the fog would cool the air as it evaporated on the way down
and the condenser fans would suck this cooled air over the coils.
Sounded good but in practice I didn't notice much difference at the meter.
On Aug 8, 2016, at 5:19 PM, Robert nogueira <nogera@me.com> wrote:
> I've got a window mounted A/C in my garage. It generally does a pretty good
> job of cooling it down but now that the daily high is over 100 (f) it is
> having a problem and is tripping the breaker after running a hour or so in
> mid afternoon ( unit gets full sun).
>
> Question: would installing a fine water mist sprayer behind the evaporator
> coil easy the load on the compressor thus allowing it to continue to cool?
> For the few weeks I have this problem it is not worth the cost of wiring and
> installing a larger unit.
> Thanks for any thoughts
>
> Bob Nogueira
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