Some air conditioning systems have a poor piping system designed from the builder of the home. It is more common for townhouses to have drainage problems than single-family homes. AC units in your townhouses drain to your bathroom sink. Many items get clogged in your bathroom sink that can also back up your ac unit. Hair is the most common problem for bathroom sinks. Townhouses that have many 90 degree angles in their PVC pipes leading to there bathroom sink generally clog up more frequently. Single-family homes are less prone to clog ups because they usually drain in the back or side of your home. Multiple units draining into one PVC pipe clog up more often. If you have multiple units in your home and are continuing to have water leaks, you should make sure that system is individually piped for more reliable drainage.

Sometimes units that leak water aren't clogged up, but they are draining slowly. A slow drain is also another common plumbing problem, that may be why you are leaking water. A slow drain caused by sludge, slime, algae, bacteria, and rust build up in your primary drain pan. The slime and rust deposits eventually clog up your PVC pipes. Old PVC pipes in the attic can also warp in the attic. Most PVC pipes aren't appropriately strapped; they are just laying on the attic floor. Old & Long PVC pipes more than 20 ft in attics tend to warp in the excessive hot attic heat. To help prevent warping of PVC pipes in the attic, piping should be strapped appropriately & secured to reduce stress on PVC pipes.

The best coils are made of aluminum alloy. Aluminum is rust and corrosion resistant. You don't have to worry about refrigerant leaks with an aluminum coil. Many of our technicians have worked on Trane condensers older than 30 years of age. Since the coils don't rust, you wouldn't be able to tell if the unit is brand new or 30 years old. This is one more reason why Trane products lead the way in comfort, efficiency, and reliability. Other manufactures use copper fin tube coils. Copper will rust after a few years. Its is very common for fin tube coils to leak refrigerant. If the leak can be fixed, your unit still might have a few more years left. An experienced A/C technician in welding might be able to save your coil.

A microchannel coil has better corrosion protection in this higher quality than traditional tube and fin style coils. These type of coils are constructed of aluminum extruded tubes and braised to aluminum fins. Microchannel coils are all aluminum and can weigh up to 40% less than a traditional fin and tube style coil. The coil uses less refrigerant than traditional tube and fin coils, this, in turn, provides a better surface to volume ratio which means less refrigerant is needed to provide the same performance. When charging a microchannel coil refer to the quick reference data sheet for the proper orifice or TXV needed for the application of the system. On your data sheet, you'll find the proper amount of refrigerant needed for the matchup. You may need to add additional refrigerant based on the outdoor condensing and indoor microchannel evaporator coil matchup. When verifying the system charge, allow the system to run for 10 minutes if the additional refrigerant is needed, only add small amounts at a time, be sure not to overcharge the unit. If you are unsure of how much refrigerant is in a particular system. The best practice is to remove the entire refrigerant charge from the system and then weigh in the proper amount of refrigerant for that system matchup. The microchannel coils have superior corrosion resistance and last much longer in coastal environments, have high heat conductance, and have a bi-metal joint that's sealed from the elements. The coil is made nearly of all aluminum, and have only copper on the inlet and outlet headers for brazing on the line sets on the indoor evaporator and outdoor condensing units. So as you can see the microchannel coil is more corrosion resistant and lighter weight, making it much easier to install and service.

What about microchannel for the evaporator coil? Will it work? Will it dehumidify properly? What about pressure drop across the coil? How does the evaporator condensate drain? How do I service the coil? What about leak repair? There are many benefits to use microchannel technology in the evaporator form. The microchannel coil weighs about half of what a traditional fin and tube coil weighs and is much easier to handle. The all aluminum coil is not subject to form or carry corrosion unlike copper fin and tube coils. The microchannel coil can dehumidify as well as any fin and tube coil ever did. The latent performance of the microchannel coil does just as well as the fin and tube style coil. A one-inch microchannel coil performed just as well as a three-inch fin and tube coil. When looking at the microchannel evaporator coil you would expect the pressure drop to be higher, because the fin pack is tighter and the louvers are more complex, however since the coil is thinner the airside pressure drop in a 25 millimeter microchannel coil is actually slightly less than the same size 3 row tube and fin style coil. If a leak should occur, you should replace the coil under the manufactures warranty. When removing the coil, care should be taken not to grab the suction or liquid line and use them as handles, when sliding any coil added the plenum of coil box. Hold the drain pan and slowly slide out the coil for removal or inspection. These coils are more robust and do not suffer coil damage, meaning bending the fins when washing out the coils. In many cases when cleaning the coil, all you need is water and a brush in many cases that would damage a fin and tube coil. You can use coil cleaners on these coils. Check the bottle's label on the cleaner to verify whether there are any warnings against using the cleaner on a microchannel coil. Since the coils made of aluminum, no dielectric potential could drive dielectric corrosion. All brazed joints are performed in highly controlled furnace brazing ovens and tested two times for leaks before they are shipped out to distributors.

San Antonio is well known for its Tex-Mex food. Enchiladas, tamales, burritos, & tacos are some favorite dishes. Its also well known for its hot climate. Having your air conditioner serviced before the heat of summer can impact your life & ac in many different ways. A properly cooling unit, with the right refrigerant charge, will lower your San Antonio utility bills. Air Conditioning units perform in some stressful environments. Making sure that all your systems switches & components are functioning correctly, helps lower your chances for repair. There is a huge difference between air conditioners working at 92 degrees & 95 degrees. Those extra 3 degrees is like murder for many air conditioning units. Not many places can sustain temps as high as 95 degrees like San Antonio. It is your responsibility as a San Antonio homeowner to help lessen the abuse that the heat plays a part in your cooling system. Routine maintenance & servicing will give your equipment the care it needs to function in the heat of summer properly. As a San Antonio Homeowner there are two keys areas you can check on your air conditioning unit. The easiest place to start is your outdoor unit, called your condensing unit. The condensing unit blows air through the top of the unit acting like a 24 hour vacuum cleaner, in taking all the debris around it. The exterior of your condensing unit is a radiator coil. The coil can be cleaned out with your standard water hose. The age of your ac unit also plays a critical role in the condition of the condensing coil. As your coil ages the metal fins on your condensing coil will lose its integrity, thus failing to provide the necessary heat transfer needed to subcool your condensing unit. If your condensing coil has lost its ability to transfer heat, you will need another condensing. Most units begin to get these problems when they get around 15 years of age. The heat in San Antonio is a 24 hour struggle. Many other areas in San Antonio Are also affected by the extreme heat: Luling, San Marcos, Round Rock, Buda, Kyle, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Pflugerville, Lakeway & Leander. 24 hour emergency service will be needed if you begin to have a cooling emergency. In case of a cooling emergency, there are a few things you can do as a homeowner to troubleshoot the problem. If your outdoor unit is not coming on, you might want to check your breaker box. If your breakers are tripped, that might be an indication that there is a problem with the outdoor condensing unit. Another vital thing you can check is your air filter. If your air filter is plugged up, there will be a good chance that your unit might be frozen. If your coil is frozen, your ac will not work. You will then have to replace your filter & defrost your ac system for a few hours. You can also check if you have water leaking in your attic. There are emergency float safety switches that should turn off your ac system, in the event your air conditioning fails to drain properly to the exterior of your home.