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Is the condenser unit engineered to be optimal with a leaky cabinet? Any reason not to pimp it up, blocking air leaks?

While I was troubleshooting my 12+ yo Carrier AC this morning, I vacuumed out needles and debris that had built up on the floor of the condenser cabinet, and noticed that the cabinet is a bit leaky, with passages that allow air to bypass the condenser. Examples are the gaps between the condenser coil/radiator and it's cabinet, and several unused OEM holes, and several un-grommeted in-use holes.

https://i.sstatic.net/3TELb.jpg

https://i.sstatic.net/TpHCR.jpg

https://i.sstatic.net/dNHKq.jpg

FWIW, the canine pee pee corrosion blocks 10-15% of the condenser.

On another note, unless best-practices have changed, I will put some pipe insulation inside the cabinet around the low-temp low pressure refrigerant line.

Should I insulate air conditioner coolant pipes?

April
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2 Answers2

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The only thing that doing what you suggest would do is theoretically lower the head pressure. When I service air conditioners often times I have my gauge hoses sticking through the door so there was about a 3/4” gap all around the door. I felt that this would raise the head pressure so I taped all around the door. What I found is that it made no difference. My general recommendation is don’t mess with the factory engineering, it can cause unintended consequences and best case it will do nothing. That condenser coil on the other hand is likely costing you quite a bit of efficiency.

user76730
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The suction line should be insulated all the way to the unit. The holes in the condenser case really amount to nothing if you compare the air flow cubic feet per minute across the coil the small openings would be less than 1% at max , anything within 6" of the coil affecting the flow will affect the efficiency some units require 12-18" free flow for maximum efficiency. The largest gain I see is a good cleaning of the coils, I use a non acid coil cleaner like new brite from nu-calgon, these cleaners foam and strip dirt from between the fins without damaging. I have flushed coils several times they looked clean but when I use the cleaner it is amazing how much more dirt is flushed from the fins. Foaming coil cleaners have been the most effective for me I only mention nu-brite because it is one of the better performing cleaners I have tried. You know you need to prevent the dog pee and until that is done flushing with water to prevent the pee from from damaging the coil will be important.

Ed Beal
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