Any HVAC folks in the house?

[TripleDigitRide]

Could this amount of "stuff" possibly accumulate in/on the evaporator coil over the last year or so? My common sense tells me no, but I'm not an expert. To give you an idea, this pile of "stuff" will fill a plastic grocery bag between 1/4 and 1/2 full. 

We had a local HVAC company come out last year to do a cleaning/inspection/service on both of our units. I called the same company to come out for another cleaning/inspection/service. The technician who came out yesterday pulled all of this out/off of the evaporator coil. I'm wondering if the technician who came out last year failed to clean the coils, which may explain why our system seemed to not be performing properly.



 

Edited July 17, 2015 by TripleDigitRide

[Ron Padilla]

yes it can pull that amount in, when the system kicks in it pull in air, so in doing so it pulls in what ever is around it, cut grass leaves, and so on. even if you cut the grass around it you need to blow it away from the A/C unit.

[hardknox00001]

If in the right setting, ie, damp, dark, and around a while, things can grow on there, especially if its a spit unit with the air handler with this coil in say the basement.

Edited July 17, 2015 by hardknox00001

[JPR1959]

Evaporator (inside) or condenser (outside) coils?  I would be surprised to have that much junk in the evaporator coils unless you didn't have a filter on your unit.  I don't work on HVAC units, so that my opinion for whatever it's worth.  Most of the new evaporator coils are treated to prevent mold growth though.

[Trekbike]

yes it can pull that amount in, when the system kicks in it pull in air, so in doing so it pulls in what ever is around it, cut grass leaves, and so on. even if you cut the grass around it you need to blow it away from the A/C unit.

If this truely came from the evaporator coils then this can't come from grass debris.

Condenser coils which reject heat to the outside can get that type of debris but not the evaporator coils which are sealed to the conditioned area.

So that we are all on the same terminology page, TDR please confirm if this came from the evaporator or condenser coils.

[TNWNGR]

That sure looks like some type of broken up nest to me. Have you inspected the overall unit yourself to see if this could be the case. But FWIW depending on where the units located and the vegetation around it yes that much stuff can get inside it, particularly if you have nearby trees and bushes.  

[DWARREN123]

Quite possible to have accumulated over a short amount of time. Depends on environmental conditions and small animals.

[TrickyNicky]

outside coil or inside coil? 

 

When did you have the coil cleaned last year?

 

If it's an outside coil and you had it cleaned in say early June before the cottonwood bloomed, then had it cleaned this year AFTER it bloomed, then you'd have two seasons of the crap in there. I talked to an HVAC guy out here last year for some roof top units and he advised to always wait until after it bloomed to do any cleaning if possible lest it just get fouled up again in a months time or so.

[TripleDigitRide]

The evaporator coils are sealed inside the big box on the outside of the home. A vast majority appears to be insulation. It was wet, and looked like it was packed tightly on the coils.

[TripleDigitRide]

The coils were last cleaned in the spring of last year. Well, the tech claimed to have cleaned them. Edited July 17, 2015 by TripleDigitRide

[K191145]

Could this amount of "stuff" possibly accumulate in/on the evaporator coil over the last year or so? My common sense tells me no, but I'm not an expert. To give you an idea, this pile of "stuff" will fill a plastic grocery bag between 1/4 and 1/2 full. 

We had a local HVAC company come out last year to do a cleaning/inspection/service on both of our units. I called the same company to come out for another cleaning/inspection/service. The technician who came out yesterday pulled all of this out/off of the evaporator coil. I'm wondering if the technician who came out last year failed to clean the coils, which may explain why our system seemed to not be performing properly.



 

 

That looks like insulation and dirty crawlspace material. If it's a package unit and duct under the house you may have an opening in the "return" duct possibly from some critter. That's a large amount of nasty material, the service tech should have checked your duct work. After insulation and dust from a crawl space collects for a summer on your evaporator coil it will stay wet all summer from condensation making it look like that. That also blocks the airflow dropping the freon pressures causing ice to collect. If your airflow completly stops and the blower is still running it's likely frozen up. Package units are also insulated inside and some of that insulation could be coming apart, critters love it for a nest.

[K191145]

If you can, try inspecting your return duct work from the return in the house to the unit.

[McGarrett]

looks like a rat's nest

[-boatman-]

I'll go with return duct torn up. He should have checked it while he was there because there is a problem and it will be back in that condition soon. I think you have had a animal under your house. They love to tear into ducts in the winter.

[Clod Stomper]

I know next to nothing about HVAC, but the first thing I thought when I saw that pic was "rodent". I've seen plenty of nests.