For more than one hundred years , contractors have used water to remove chemicals when cleaning air conditioners .
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
BUSINESS AND TRAINING
Does water clean ? Written by Michael Blow
For more than one hundred years , contractors have used water to remove chemicals when cleaning air conditioners .
Many have used water only , but water doesn ’ t clean . If water cleaned , we wouldn ’ t need soap in our showers or baths , would we ?
Water has always been considered as ‘ cheap ’ and readily available . Now in 2023 , South Africa is waking up to the fact that water is no longer cheap and needs to be saved if we are to meet the demands of all the people in the country .
For the past few years , O3 Chemicals has been working on a new methodology which eliminates the use of tap water in the coil cleaning process . In the Western Cape , Airtek Air-conditioning has been cleaning HVACs , splits , consoles , cassettes and condensers in more than 20 000 services per year using the O3 Chemicals waterless methodology – which includes applying our chemicals with oil-free compressors . Among their clients are Capitec Bank , FNB , Nedbank and GrowthPoint – all of which demand high service levels .
We clean HVACs , splits , consoles and cassettes without using any water . In the case of HVACs and splits , we restore barrel-fans to mint condition without removing them from the unit . Cleaning times for consoles are reduced to 30 minutes , and cassettes are cleaned without using large quantities of water , with no mess .
During the trials for cleaning AHUs , we used one of the Western Cape ’ s top aircon companies – SFI Group . The sites chosen by SFI were the Old Mutual head office in Pinelands and Cavendish Square in Clairmont . Trials were done using a 50l oil-free compressor set at five bars to apply the chemicals . Cleaning times were halved , chemical usage was cut by 60 % and the 2 000l of water which would normally be used to rinse off , was replaced by 10l of O3 SmartFinish .
Old Mutual Property is known for its ‘ Going Green ’ policies . The service level agreements for their new contractors stipulate no tap water is to be used and the chemicals are to be applied using oil-free compressors . We have targeted a saving of two million litres of water per year in all of their malls .
Grant Laidlaw at the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy ( ACRA ) has adopted a course on the O3 coil cleaning methodology eliminating tap water and applying the chemicals with oil-free compressors .
At the same time Ampair ’ s new training academy will also be training aspiring technicians in the new O3 methodology .
MACS Cool is the first national distributor to offer their clients the new O3 PRO range of waterless chemicals . O3 PRO is competitively priced and is designed to allow the ‘ bakkie brigade ’ to participate in the new O3 coil cleaning methodology .
For those folk who still believe water is the cheapest way to clean coils , we have included a spreadsheet which illustrates this is not true ! Water is expensive and made even more expensive when the property owner has to pay an additional 80 % sewerage charge on top of the water used for cleaning .
Property owners : if your contractor wants to use water , tell him to bring his own ! CLA
Grant Laidlaw at the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy ( ACRA ) has adopted a course on the O3 coil cleaning methodology eliminating tap water and applying the chemicals with oil-free compressors .
Visit our website at www . o3chemicals . co . za where you will find answers to most of your questions . If you need any additional information , please contact Michael Blow at + 27 ( 0 ) 84 500 0213 or Dave Papenfus on + 27 ( 0 ) 83 232 3000 .
Supplied by Mike Blow
Cost for CPT waterless .
COLD LINK AFRICA • October 2023 www . coldlinkafrica . co . za 21