AC Condenser Cleaning

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In this video I show you how to improve the performance of your AC system by cleaning the AC Condenser.
Here's a brief explanation of a typical AC system:
The compressor's takes the refrigerant in a gas state from the evaporator, compresses it increasing it's pressure, and forces it into the condenser. This act of compression creates heat. Your AC condenser's job is to take the hot compressed refrigerant in a gas state from the compressor, cool it and turn it into a liquid. Next the refrigerant in a liquid state is sent into the receiver/dryer to take any moisture out. Then the liquid refrigerant is sent to the expansion valve where it regulates the amount of refrigerant sent into the evaporator. When it enters the evaporator, the refrigerant expands rapidly and turns back into a cooled gas. The AC blower fan sends air over the evaporator coils giving you cool air out of your vents. From the evaporator the refrigerant is sent back to the compressor to complete the loop and the cycle repeats.
With clean and unclogged cooling fins on the AC condenser, you'll not only improve the performance of your AC system, you'll also improve the cooling performance of the engine's radiator since the AC condenser sits in front of the radiator and improved air flow through the condenser means improved air flow through the radiator as well.
Here's a link to the cleaner I bought for this job:
amzn.to/2t1DwDW
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**As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.

[@stevejette2329]

The Petaluma poultry processing plant uses LOTS of this type of product on all their vehicles. Poultry kicks up dust and also dander that is super-fine. Even after initial cleaning with garden hose, it was visually cleaning very deep in radiator. Mechanic said they couldn't keep the trucks running without it.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

This is a response to Mech-E who posted a comment. For some reason, I'm not allowed to reply to his comment. Weird. But, here's my response: "Yep, I mention at the end of the video that the AC condenser wet with water most likely increased the efficiency and the improvement isn't 100% contributed to the cleaner cooling fins. On a similarly hot day, with the AC condenser completely dry, I'll have to see what the temp gets down to and I'll report back in the comments. Regardless of the fact that the amount of improvement is probably off, cleaning the condenser is going to improve the efficiency of your AC system at the same time improve air flow to your radiator as well".

[@daves8510]

The (T-ac Safe) is actually a very good product. I purchased a few cans at Home Depot and did my outside condenser, than the A coil or evaporator coil above the furnace. At first it didn't look like it worked. But after a few minutes, thick black slimy goo was dripping off. I deducted it was years of household dust that had been drawn into the cold air returns. My before & after was an 8* drop in temperature at the vent. Colder air equals shorter run cycles to satisfy the thermostat. But I love the car idea. I will be trying that too!

[@stevenbauer8033]

Thank you for the video and showing the difference condenser cleaning makes. I have been planning to clean the condenser on my home a/c, but will add my car to the process as well. I didn't see this mentioned in other comments, so I'll cover it here. The reason the cleaner you're using is "no rinse", is that the product is actually for the evaporator coils that are typically enclosed in some kind of box as part of the indoor home hvac unit or under the dash in a car, and is hard to rinse unless you remove it first. The product label noted that condensation will eventually rinse the product, and there's no condensation occurring on the outside of condenser. The condensation occurs on the outside of the evaporator coils when moisture laden warm air hits the evaporator coils and sheds water like the outside of a cold glass of ice water. The can of condenser cleaner I purchased from an hvac supply store(while picking up part to fix my home a/c) requires rinsing. It might be interesting to do a similar video on the evaporator coils perhaps with an endoscopic camera, and a similar video on the effect of cleaning your radiator by measuring temperature difference between incoming and outgoing water tanks or better yet, the water itself (addmittedly harder to set up and measure).

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Thanks for the info Steve. The condenser cleaner I used was recommended by a guy on a Toyota forum. If the cleaner I bought was really for evaporator coils I wonder if a can of actual condenser cleaner would do a better job to clean the condenser.

[@grayman5271]

Great as always Tim! I'm glad you addressed the water variable. I was wondering the same thing and would be interested to hear what your reading are after it dries. But like you said, either way it's still worth doing... Next video is A/C charge? How cold do you want it/how cold should it be? Thanks again for all the info!

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Hey Barak, I've noticed watching other AC Recharge videos that the people were showing temps around 40 degrees. I'm not 100% sure what is considered normal and I guess that number will fluctuate based off the heat outside. On a recent road trip, I noticed at times my AC system was taking a while to cool down the cabin. It was very hot out, in the 90's, but I was thinking the system could possibly be working a little better. On the top of the receiver/dryer is a site glass that you can glean information from without hooking up any gauges. It's all based on whether you see bubbles or not and what the system is doing. A little too long to explain right here but I'll definitely cover it in the next video. So, I did see signs I'm a little undercharged one day recently but I'll recheck it again along with hooking up manifold gauges to see what pressures I have on my low pressure and high pressure sides. I've been reading up on it and there's a ton of information out there. I'll probably be tackling the AC recharge in a week or two.

[@8953147]

That's great stuff Tim!! I cleaned my condenser coils for my home and what a difference.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

I read about this on a Toyota forum and decided to try it out. It does make a pretty big difference.

[@togodbetheglory9725]

jake ounce where did you get it.

[@8953147]

I believe Home Depot.

[@8953147]

I believe Home Depot.

[@danmekeel7758]

Hey Tim, Next time you spray the water, have your buddy use a leaf blower to follow your stream of water, to push the debris through the condenser, works perfect! And thanks again for the simple rebuild of the starter.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Thanks for the tip Dan. I think I'll try that next time I clean my AC condenser.

[@Rob.P]

🙂 A very helpful video 👍

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Glad you think so Rob.

[@vinr6867]

I think the rinsing made a difference too

[@mech-E]

Though if the condenser was still wet evaporative cooling would play a large role in increasing the efficiency of the refrigeration system.

[@pugapino]

Nice video, This is proof that being clean makes you cool. ha ha! I think I will go to the self serve car wash and power wash my evaporator and radiator. Ya might even get a few more mpg since an engine needs to keep an ideal temperature for max efficiency and ya need a clean radiator to keep the engine cool.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

FiveFiveFive OneTwoOneTwo. Be careful with using a power washer for this. The cooling fins for the AC Condenser and Radiator bend very easily. A hard spray from the wrong angle will bend all the fins in the path of the spray and then you'll lose some efficiency with the cooling. A gentle spray is better in my opinion.

[@rthomas2157]

Bad idea

[@dmapp899]

Thanks for sharing this video Tim! How's the tranny cooler working on your rig? will you recommend installing that on a 2WD 4runner? sorry for the off topic.

[@dmapp899]

Thanks for the response Tim. I'll watch the tranny cooler video again to get the parts and specs for my next project.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Hey Dan, if you choose a sideways mount like I did, B&M suggests running the inlet to the bottom fitting and the outlet the top fitting. This is suggested to help prevent air getting trapped within the cooler and thus reducing the performance of the cooler. I ran the lines opposite and decided to leave it that way since my cooler seems to be working fine. I believe this trapped air concern is overblown and you can read more in the comments on that video if you want.

[@jay_lyleponce]

Great vid tim! Do you think they have the cleaner at oreillys or autozone?

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Maybe. I take it you don't have a Home Depot nearby? But, maybe Amazon will be your best option. Just order some and wait for it arrive. No driving needed.

[@aulderyan]

I think we should all do our part to support local businesses. Unless your local store is far away or crazy expensive, your local purchase from a local-owned store keeps your money circulating in your town or city, not in Amazon shareholders pockets. Worth paying a tiny bit more for. Buy local!

[@heyglasses]

i used a wire brush to clean my 2017 corollas condensor, would i have damaged it?

[@TimmyTheToolman]

The cooling fins are very lightweight and malleable. You probably ended up bending a lot of the fins which reduces the cooling effectiveness of the condenser. Air being able to pass through the fins is how the condenser and radiator achieve their cooling. When you mash them flat where air can't pass between the fins, that's not good. This is why a passive technique of using a cleaner and water hose is the recommended technique.

[@eddymatch1435]

Going to try this on the business end of the ac behind the dash. There’s a nasty mildew smell going on...gonna possibly get a tube and feed it up the drain line and foam the cooling core. 🤞

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Good luck with the job. Let me know how it turns out.

[@MinhBui-ni1by]

nice video. keep the videos coming! Just noticed you got similar miles as my 99 yoda! I'm at 151k.

[@MinhBui-ni1by]

I got a nice one for you if you're interested. It's quick and simple. MAF cleaning & Throttle body cleaning. I'm hoping it will help with my MPG in the city. I'm at around 13-14MPG in the city. Mine was caked. I should have done a video!

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Hey Minh, I bought my rig a little over 2 years ago with 111,000 miles. I'm hoping it lasts up into the 400,000's.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Sean and I cover cleaning the MAF and Throttle Body in our Valve Cover Gasket Replacement video. However, it could easily be a video all on it's own.

[@MinhBui-ni1by]

400k! can't wait to see the timing belt/water pump vid and hopefully NOT a head gasket video!!

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Yeah, I'm a little far off from needing a timing belt and water pump replacement since the previous owners did it before I bought it. But, I could always find another 3rd Gen owner that needs it done if I want to make a video of it sooner. And yes, I hope I'm not forced to do a head gasket replacement on my rig. That would be just fine by me.

[@bobgreene2892]

At 6:03, we appreciate the extra effort you made to show the under-engine/lower radiator spraying with a good camera angle. The post-op summary analysis also helped, along with a reminder about the next video. I subscribed without hesitation. * Suggestions-- 1. Your camera angle for general audience address seems a bit too low-- it should be at or near a face-to-face level. 2. When preparing to clean the coils, it might be a good idea to spray them with water, first. After that step, and a few minutes' delay to allow penetration, the coil cleaning action can begin immediately.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Thanks for the suggestions Bob.

[@yacoobr6295]

Bro, you on a bicycle shop , look them wheels everywhere

[@TimmyTheToolman]

I raced mountain bikes and cyclocross for years. Bicycling is a huge part of my life. I gave away a lot of stuff to a non-profit bike shop. I needed more room for all the tools I've bought.

[@Redrobinstreet]

Hey Tim, did you test the ac again? You realized the water hose sprayed on the condenser may have thrown off the test. Just wandering if you tested the temp again. Rick

[@TimmyTheToolman]

I never tested it again. Regardless if my test was less than scientific, cleaning up the cooling fins of your AC condenser will have a positive affect on the cooling capacity. Cleaner cooling fins work better just like clean cooling fins on your radiator will enhance it's cooling efficiency.

[@steviegbcool]

its worth fixing the bent fins it doesn't take that long probably to them all in an hour

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Yeah, not a bad idea.

[@ocoutdoors2355]

Impressive. I think I’ll do the same. I also need to recharge the AC.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Yeah, it's definitely worth cleaning it. Check out our AC recharge video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ21dmOQmsqsqMU

[@ocoutdoors2355]

@@TimmyTheToolman I just did it and wow it works much better. I also used a foam gun on the garden hose along with a soft brush. Saw a few cloudy bubbles in sight glass so I’m going to give it a recharge soon as per your other video. What do you think about moving our horns out of the way of the radiators? I’ve got a ‘01 Tundra with the 3.4 v6 but it’s the same as your 4Runner. I’m tempted to find the horn connectors on eBay and wire up some extension to mount them away from the radiators. Maybe use a rivnut to use same hardware. On my grille they cover up quite a bit of the larger slots for air. If the cleaning made this big a difference, I can only assume moving the horns would as well. Thanks

[@TimmyTheToolman]

@@ocoutdoors2355 Glad the result of the cleaning was good. Improving air flow through the cooling fins would never be a bad thing. Are the horns significantly negatively affecting the air flow? I'm not sure. I have an aftermarket bumper and winch on my 98 4runner and those two things definitely have a negative affect on the air flow. It it's not too much of a pain to relocate the horns, go for it and see what happens.

[@ocoutdoors2355]

@@TimmyTheToolman I just clipped the connectors off and soldered on 10” of wire and used existing factory holes to relocate them. They use their brackets for grounds so it’s only 3 connections. Maybe it helps maybe not, it wasn’t much work.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

@@ocoutdoors2355 Good job.

[@twwtb]

Hi Timmy. The condenser gets hot while it's running. That in conjunction with the air flowing through it most likely dried the water out pretty quickly. The temperature you saw at the end of your test run was probably at least 95% real improvement. Could have been other differences between the before and after tests but not much. Heat transfer engineer here....just sayin'. Rich

[@TimmyTheToolman]

twwtb Thanks for sharing that Rich.

[@twwtb]

Heat transfer engineering...it's a gift meant for sharing. ha ha.

[@megadeth1763]

It wll be good if after spraying your (made for this) cleaning product, that you take the clean water nozzle and put it around to the backside and flush out the stuff and not force the crud in further spraying it from the frontside, which yes.. its usually easiest.. but not always. The tiny fins will make some difference but consider the percentage. It maybe best if we just replace it.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

E L1 these AC condensers are pretty bullet proof, dirty or not. So for this application I’d say run it until it brakes if you don’t feel like cleaning it. Otherwise, if the radiator wasn’t in the way it might have been nice to clean it from behind like you’re mentioning.

[@steviegbcool]

@@TimmyTheToolman if theres no leaks its worth bending the fins straight. take less than an hour once you get the nack of it.

[@md.rokonuzzaman383]

Thanks a lot. I did it with my car. Here is the video link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKGrdKWnndWmiMU

[@aulderyan]

thanks for the video, but your spraying pattern couldn't be more chaotic and random! Why don't you go in rows, back and forth, slowly moving down as you go? Yeah, i'm OCD, but dayyum, that was crazy spraying.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

Ryan Harris Next time I will give each cooling fin exactly .005 ounces of spray going in a North to South then East to West pattern. After that, I will spray it down with pure spring water and dry the cooling fins with a hair dryer that is set to 125 degrees exactly. After that, I will bend all the cooling fins back to their original shape. I know I can do better. Don't give up on me just yet.

[@TimmyTheToolman]

And Yeah, I'm OCD too but I guess not with the application of AC condenser cleaner.

[@minnesotanice369]

Ryan Harris troll