I just moved into a house with a friend, and I notice his outside a/c unit has some issues, so any experts out there.maybe you can tell me if this is normal, is it a cheap a/c unit, or something that's covered under warrantyIt's over 9yrs old and I just found out the ten yr warranty is almost up.I just sold my house and had a/c problems so I'm a little familiarI do know the fins are supposed to be straight; mine were, and looked like a solid metalThat unit was 11 yrs old.Several areas on the outside of these units (2) are completely disintegratingEach bottom corner is a pile of, is it aluminum? All crumbly, dusty; a messOn each side of the unit many areas look like this, and the fins that aren't bent all look about to fall apartThey look like grey, faded, cheap metal or something.I haven't mentioned this yet; don't want to worry him if nothing's wrongIt is cooling the houseHe's not a handyman type whatsoever, and I'm no expert, but this looks weird.Thanks!
The aluminum part of the coil is disintegrating, maybe from salt water (on the coast?) or chemicals but the tubing itself is probably copper and still intactWill make it a little more inefficient but there is nothing you can do short of replacing the coil and a 9 year old unit is not worth thatJust plan on replacing the unit when you can afford to and if your on the coast near salt water look into getting a unit that has a protective paint on the coils to resist salt.
I would go with the TraneIf you want to save a buck get American StandardWhich is a made by TraneJust wont be paying for the know name if that make sense Lennox was the worst when it came to replacement parts, and they charge a an arm and a leg for parts.
