Hail Damage to AC

[Jerryg]

Due to a recent hail storm, the Duo-Therm AC on my fiver sustained major damage to the cooling fins on condenser unit on the roof. The fins are badly beaten-up and are just about impossible to straighten. What will happen if I run the unit the way it is? Will it affect performance (or worse) or does the unit have to be replaced?

Thanks for your help.
Jerryg

[Jerryg]

Due to a recent hail storm, the Duo-Therm AC on my fiver sustained major damage to the cooling fins on condenser unit on the roof. The fins are badly beaten-up and are just about impossible to straighten. What will happen if I run the unit the way it is? Will it affect performance (or worse) or does the unit have to be replaced?

Thanks for your help.
Jerryg

[RustyJC]

Have you tried a fin comb on the condenser fins? Assuming you don't have access to an HVAC supply wholesaler, you might find them at Lowe's, Home Depot or even NAPA.

Rusty

[Cubey]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jerryg:
Due to a recent hail storm, the Duo-Therm AC on my fiver sustained major damage to the cooling fins on condenser unit on the roof. The fins are badly beaten-up and are just about impossible to straighten. What will happen if I run the unit the way it is? Will it affect performance (or worse) or does the unit have to be replaced?

Thanks for your help.
Jerryg </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Definitely don't run it as-is. You may burn it up then it will need replacement. Try a fin comb as Rusty suggested.

[Jerryg]

Unfortunately, I think mine is beyond a fin comb fix. 75% or so of the surface area is smashed flat (from the ground it looks like a shiny sheet of aluminum). I even painstakenly tried using a small probe to straighten each fin but that doesn't work either. So if it will burn up if I run it the way it is, it looks like I will be making a trip to CW. I see they are having a sale on AC's this week.
Thanks
Jerryg

[chasfm11]

Jerry, we had the same thing happen to both of A/Cs at a Boomer's rally a couple of years ago. I went to a plumbing supply store and bought several different fin combs because my fins were so badly bent over that I couldn't even tell which comb was correct.

On ours, all of the flattening occured left to right as you looked at the fins, I started on the left bottom and, at first, used my finger nail to raise the center of each fin. I was told to stay away from the joints if possible because that is where cracks can occur from too much pressure. I worked a set of fins up enough that I could get the proper sized comb through them. I was using the comb as much as a gap gauge as I was a straightener. I'll tell you that it was a long, tedious process. It took about 3 hours total per unit. I did the work in a couple of sittings (actually I was lying on the roof in front of them) for each unit.

We've been running both A/Cs since with no problems. I guess it comes down to how much time and effort you want to put into it.