The goal today was to clean the radiator and condenser fins. Funny how tasks have a way of increasing in scope. It was a successful day though. What really surprised me was just how dirty the fins were. I do use compressed air and the two tools shown in the first/second photos and felt my periodic cleanings were OK. The one with the bend is an issue HF wand that lost its rubber tip. The second is one that I modified to blow at a right angle in tighter spaces. It easily fits between the radiator and condenser coils. The end was tapped and a machine screw was run in till tight, then cut off. Just clear of the end of the machine screw, I made a kerf so air would exit the side.
The sequence was first blowing from the fan side of the radiator. Then the condenser coils were blown toward the front as well with both screens removed. The radiator fins looked pretty good at that point, but the condenser and hydro cooler looked pretty awful when examined more closely.
Next step was washing from the front of the condenser coils after placing a piece of sheet metal between the condenser coils and the radiator so the junk wouldn't get blown in to the radiator. Then out came the little DeWalt 12V pressure washer (DCPW550) with a fairly wide tip and held at a distance that was enough to not damage the fins. I didn't feel comfortable using the gas PW with thousands of PSI. Then the condenser coils were blown again from the back side and the black juice and chunks flew. You can see it if you zoom in on the third picture. It looked like the stuff found in rain gutters.
To complete the cleaning I removed the battery and washed and dried the whole area, and reassembled it. All happy again in the last photo.
The sequence was first blowing from the fan side of the radiator. Then the condenser coils were blown toward the front as well with both screens removed. The radiator fins looked pretty good at that point, but the condenser and hydro cooler looked pretty awful when examined more closely.
Next step was washing from the front of the condenser coils after placing a piece of sheet metal between the condenser coils and the radiator so the junk wouldn't get blown in to the radiator. Then out came the little DeWalt 12V pressure washer (DCPW550) with a fairly wide tip and held at a distance that was enough to not damage the fins. I didn't feel comfortable using the gas PW with thousands of PSI. Then the condenser coils were blown again from the back side and the black juice and chunks flew. You can see it if you zoom in on the third picture. It looked like the stuff found in rain gutters.
To complete the cleaning I removed the battery and washed and dried the whole area, and reassembled it. All happy again in the last photo.
