Cleaning the AC condenser

[davekra]

I've had a mild musty smell when you turn on and off the AC. I usually shut off the AC a few miles before turning off the car so I'm kinda surprised it's started to smell.

Not happy with just blindly spraying stuff into the fan or flooding the interior vents with something that could stain the interior I decided to remove the entire blower unit.

There's some cables and cable clips that need to be moved. Electrical connections to the fan and recirculate vent. The big connectors to the ECM don't need to be removed, but the bracket that holds it need to be unbolted.

The pics attached have the locations for screws circled in red. The arrow is a clip that needs to be released. You can see in one pic that there's a hook like thing on the top of the duct where it connected to the box with the AC core still in the car.
It will take a little forcing and tugging to get the blower out but it wasn't hard.

One of the pics shows the condenser. It doesn't look too dirty. It's angled such that if debris does get in there it won't lay on top of the coil. I'm going to use a garden sprayer to clean it. Does anyone have any advice on what chemicals to use?
I'm concerned that some of the foaming cleaners are actually dissolving some of the aluminium. There's a cleaner from Diversitech called Triple-D that looks promising.

[2012 2.5premium cvt]

BG Products, Inc.

there are some bg products for this purpose.

otherwise what i've always heard is to run the ac from time to timne with the frsh air intake open, that cuts down on the smell

[OBnube]

Did you also replace the cabin filter? They get dirty pretty quickly.

[davekra]

I'm kinda looking for something local. Like from Graingers (going to stop by them tomorrow)
The local auto stores don't have anything but air fresheners. I'm looking for disinfectant.

The filters been replaces a few times in it's 38k. There's no smell in the blower. It's all coming from the condenser. The duct before the filter had some normal dirt on the walls but after the filter it's pretty clean.

[mxmikie]

once you get the radiator tilted back you can get to the condenser take a garden hose to it and flush it forward do'nt forget to clean the drain while you are at the "evaporator"

[reddrexx]

I am a HVAC Tech and use this stuff from grainger all the time. its great for indoor coils because you dont need to rinse with water the condensate from your coil will do it it might even help clean the drain on its way out. I have never had a problem with it attacking the aluminium fins. Its called evapfoam no rinse by cal-spray

A/C & Ref Cleaners and Scale Removers - A/C Refrigeration - Grainger Industrial Supply

[davekra]

Evaporator not condenser, Sorry, got it wrong.

Thanks for the suggestion Red. I'll take a look at it.
The thing that gave me pause about the foaming cleaners is the video on Diveritech's website.
Product Line - DiversiTech
I certainly don't want to eat away any of the coil, just clean and disinfect.

[reddrexx]

See what you mean about the video. the stuff I suggested does not seem that harsh you could check this out it says its non acidic.
Coil Cleaner, 16 Oz, Clear - AC & Ref Cleaners and Scale Removers - AC Refrigeration - 4PDA8 : Grainger Industrial Supply

also if your coil is not real dirty maybe a disinfectant spray like this would eliminate the odor without damaging the coil.

Liquid Disinfectant, 32 oz Spray Bottle - AC & Ref Cleaners and Scale Removers - AC Refrigeration - 2YJ72 : Grainger Industrial Supply

[davekra]

Thanks again. A disinfectant sounds about right.

I've found there are acidic or alkali cleaners. Both, if the concentrations are right, will dissolve AL.
Looking at the MSDS for the Evapfoam it includes ammonia and caustic soda and some other stuff, but the concentration of the soda is only .08%. Some have concentrations up to 30%! The acidic ones seem to have phosphoric or hydrofluoric acid.
Concentration and time in contact have a lot to do with how much AL is dissolved.

The Foamy Clean only has dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether which is almost a neutral PH. That one sounds like a winner. Do a little overkill and use Foamy Clean then rinse it with the disinfectant?

I'm off to visit Graingers right now. I'll see what they have in stock but probably end up ordering something from them.

[reddrexx]

Good luck, If you use one that needs to be rinsed I would use a spray bottle of clean water so you dont need to drag a hose into the car. Let us know how it turned out. RR