My central AC unit has frozen over. I had let the air filter get completely dirty to the point where little to no air had gotten through. (I know, I know, I should have known better). I couldn't feel ANY air blowing through the vents after I switched the filter so it must be pretty bad. My question is: how long to leave it off with the fan blowing to get all the ice inside to melt?
2007-06-19 14:13:17 · 3 answers · asked by ChrisPMor 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
Put a hair dryer on it and it takes less than an hour
2007-06-19 14:20:46 · answer #1 · answered by ? 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
rather than turn on heat and have it trip out on the limit switch because there is no airflow. I would turn the fan to 'ON" so you circulate the house's heat load to melt the ice, make sure the system switch is "OFF" so the compressor doesnt come on. After a few hours, you should take some strong household spray cleaner (it would help if it smells good, it will be circulated around the house), and spray the evaporator down to clean it thoroughly. The fact that the filters were so dirty , it means that dirt got past and into the evaporator.
Spray off the cleaner with clean water and allow to dry. Once dry, you can run the system as normal and try to keep up on the filter changes from this point on.
2007-06-19 15:43:10 · answer #2 · answered by jerseydan1977 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how thick the ice on the evaporator coil is. If this is a heat pump, switch it over to heating mode for 15 minutes, and all the ice will be gone. If conventional, it could take up to 4 hours depending on how much ice you have.
2007-06-19 14:18:44 · answer #3 · answered by OrakTheBold 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋