moss (or whatever it is) is accumulating on my pool heat pump evaporator coil fins

Hi,

I am hoping someone else has some experience with this problem. The small circular fins surrounding my Jandy heat pump are, in some places, becoming occupied by what looks like moss or lichen or whatever. My concern is that the growth is reducing the open spaces where the warm air is drawn into the evaporator. I checked with Jandy, and they simply referred me to my "pool professional". I checked with several local pool contractors and they are not familiar with the problem. One suggestion I got was to simply run the unit and that this action will cause the growth to be burned off. I have my doubts about this as a remedy, being that the unit does run (alot in the cooler weather) and the growth is obviously still there.

Anybody have any suggestions? I don't want to do anything to harm the fins. I know there are different types of sprays (Ortho products, etc.) that are designed for use on lawns, walkways, etc. I tried spraying with water and also air from my air compressor. Neither worked and so it's more than just an accumulation of dirt and so forth.

Thanks for any help,
Keith

I have no idea. But, I do want to welcome you to the Pool Forum! Hopefully there will be somebody who has some advice for you.

I can think of two options for you:

1. Call your HVAC contractor, and ask him if he does coil cleaning, on outdoor coils. If he does, have him take a look. OR

2. Post pictures on Picasa, Photobucket, Webshots or whatever, and we'll take a look.

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. It was also suggested to me by a local pool technician that I check with a HVAC company. The local pool companies have not run across this problem, although I was told to try simply running the heater for an extended period of time and that it will burn off the growth. I have not tried that yet but will. I'm a bit skeptical of this suggestion but I guess it's worth a shot.

Best,
Keith

Running the unit will not burn it off. It's liquid refrigerant running through it, and at it's coolest point, so there's no heat generated there to burn it off.

You can try a greatly diluted chlorine mix in a spray bottle (2 oz bleach to a quart spray bottle). With the unit off, so it's not sucking the mixuture into the heat pump, spray it on and let it sit a few minutes, it should start turning brown, indicating that it's killing it. Then rinse off thoroughly with fresh water. Rinse the inside of the unit too, in case there was some spray that got to the inside of the unit.

HVAC companies haven't heard of this? I would think that if they provide Preventative maintenance and evaporator coil cleanings, they would have chemical solutions to getting rid of it.
How about your local Home Depot of Lowes?

Poolsean - Thanks for the helpful reply. I think in my research on getting rid of moss and lichen I came across the suggestion to use a mild chlorine / water solution. I can't see that this would do any harm to the evaporator, and if it kills whatever is growing that would be great. I have not yet contacted any HVAC companies, but plan to do that. I'll probably try the chlorine first.

Keith