There are various reasons why coils can fail prematurely. Sometimes, the coil was selected incorrectly, which made the coil significantly underperform. Most of the time, there is substantial corrosion or something else in the airstream that causes the coil to fail. However, most coils, when selected correctly with proper maintenance, can usually last from 10 to 20 years. Nevertheless, there are many factors that can affect the coil’s lifespan.

Reasons why coils fail prematurely:

• 70% of all coil performance is performed by the finned area on a coil, while the rest will be from the coil's tubes. The fin/tube bond, which is the most important manufacturing process of any coil, becomes less efficient with thermal expansion and contraction over time. This naturally weakens a coil’s life and it became less efficient over time after operating for some years.
• During the routine cleaning of the coils, the dirt are often pushed into the center of the coil, especially on wet washing. This increases the air pressure drop across the coil. The cooling capacity of each coil is directly proportional to the amount of air going through the coil. If the air quantity going through each coil is reduced by 30%, it will mean that your coil capacity will also be reduced by 30%!
• Cleaning agents also corrode the cooling fins and it is detrimental to the coil’s performance, since each area of the fin surface matters in the overall cooling capacity.
• Coils usually fail because of leaks, due to erosion over time. The brazing on the coil construction will be failing from time to time, since the fluid travels through the coil at 0.6 to 1.5 m/s. Therefore, erosion is a major cause of coil failure, regardless of how well the coils are maintained.
• Corrosive air in the environment can also be another cause of coil failure. As such, you need to have a reliable and experienced manufacturer for replacing coils in your HVAC equipments.

What does plant operators usually do?

There are so many factors that contribute to a coil’s life. It is not unusual for operators to choose the easiest way out to try to get the failed coil working again, due to the replacement cost of involved on a new coil or the downtime required to get the coil replaced. In the end, operators are probably spending numerous attempts to try to repair the coil, hoping that it will last as long as possible. Unfortunately, the attempts do not work well and the most likely outcome is that they will need a new coil anyway, so why waste the time and money on a temporary solution?

New Replacement Coil is the Best Solution!

The true fact that coils need to be replaced rather than repaired is mainly due to energy costs. If your coil is not performing to the desired levels, you will need to increase the energy to make it work at its peak performance. Energy increases might be slight at first, but they are guaranteed to continue to rise over time. Whatever adjustment you made to your system, it is going to reduce its energy efficiency and cost you money!
If you have ever experienced repairing a coil, then you know it is labour intensive and typically not a permanent solution. Instead of going through such non-productive attempts, JA Redden will be glad to provide you our Coil Replacement solution anytime.

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