HVAC "A" coil cleaning?

[Davej]

How often do you clean your "A" coil? Never? Every few years?

[trader_4]

Never. I have yet to see one installed on a residential central AC where it has a means of access. Everyone I've seen, it's either in it's own sheet metal casing that sits on top of the furnace or it's inside a sheet metal plenum that's part of the duct work. Neither has ever had an access panel to get to the coils. I suppose you could cut the sheet metal and make access, as long as you know the orientation and stay away from the coils. Why they don't make the new encased, insulated evaporators with a removable panel, IDK. But I've seen a few, eg Rheen, Lennox, and no access panel.

When I replaced the 25 year old system here, the coils were still clean, looked fine. And that was with just one of those cheap 1' thick fiberglass, minimal filter. New system has a 5" thick MERV, so I'm not worried.

[Bod F]

If you have a filter holder that doesn't let unfiltered air get by and you don't have a house full of smokers, you should never have to clean the A coil.

[Ralph Mowery]

While some repair work was done on my 10 year old system the repairman cleaned the outside and inside coils. He said the inside unit did not need it but as it was included with the job he was going to do it.

I use the inexpensive inch thick filters and change them once a month or if I am not in a store with them, I have used some 3 month filters.

My Train unit does have panels that are relative easy to remove to do the cleaning.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

You've answered your own question: the only time you'd need to clean it would be if soot had been drawn into the system. And if that's the case, you've got larger problems.

[devnull]

The way the R410A micro-channel systems are springing leaks, you'll have to remove and replace the system before the coils get dirty. /sarcasm

[gfretwell]

Naah, they just shoot a tube of stop leak in it and tell you it is better than new.

[Davej]

My concern is that the "A" coil is a moist surface. The thing could become coated with mold and who would know? I think it is absurd the way they are installed with zero access. Certainly an access scheme could be fabricated.

[Pedro]

During AC season, if you set the thermostat to "Fan On", it's very unlikely that mold will form on the A-coil.

[trader_4]

Well, all I can tell you is that 25 years, no mold on the old, never cleaned one. Maybe the combination of it either being near freezing or hot inhibits mold.