Thread: Salt Air and the heat pump

Charleston SC. James Island
Two outdoor compressors, Both of these heat pump are 4 years old. One is corroded one is not.
Salt air damages these units but what can be done to protect them?
Will the Lenox warenty help?
4 Years is a joke. Why dont we use geo thermal heat pumps in this case?
Thanks for your help

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Originally Posted by Stephen Houmard

Two outdoor compressors, Both of these heat pump are 4 years old. One is corroded one is not.

One has been lucky. 4 years is about what you should expect in that harsh environment, 5 years is probably the maximum you could expect.

Salt air damages these units but what can be done to protect them?

Not much other than washing them down with clean water from a hose weekly or daily - believe it or not, not only does that make total sense, but it actually works too.

Will the Lenox warenty help?

Only if the warranty protects against that type of environment - which I doubt.

4 Years is a joke. Why dont we use geo thermal heat pumps in this case?

And suck saltish water out of the ground to run through the inside of a geothermal heat pump? Eats those things right up too. Salt does that.

Amana has a nice stainless steel condenser unit they make for harsh environments like there and here (along the same ocean, same effects), except they forgot one thing ... the coil is still aluminum - sure, the HOUSING may not rust out, but the COIL is still going to corrode away just like in the non-stainless steel ones. Of course, they could make the coil out of stainless steel, but that would make a real big difference on the SEER rating and thermal capabilities of trying to transfer the heat out to the air ...

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

. . . . . And suck saltish water out of the ground to run through the inside of a geothermal heat pump? Eats those things right up too. Salt does that.

...

Ground source using closed loop is the way most are done these days.

Originally Posted by Rod Butler

Ground source using closed loop is the way most are done these days.

Maybe depending on where you are, but ground source (ground water, canal water, lake water, etc.) is also prevalent in the areas where those sources are prevalent. They are open loop.

Where the original poster, Stephen, is located, doubt they use closed loop systems there. And any open loop system would be contaminated with salt/brackish water, which would eat the units up from the inside. Which is why it is important for all here to post their locations ... even though some refuse to, for whatever reasons they refuse to ... oh well, there is a reason the information is asked for ...

Lennox units have had problems both in high salt environments as well as with technicians who still use caustic coil cleaners. I personally have seen the decay of these units over a 2 or 3 year period. I try very hard not to "hate" certain brands, but Lennox has left me little choice.