Aluminum HVAC Repair 

I tried Handy One AL822 on a 1987 4-ton Day-Night condensing unit with an all aluminum coil. It exceeded all my expectations. The homeowner let years of rotting leaf and pine needle litter built up inside the base that badly corroded the bottom two coil rows. The best repair answer was to bypass the bottom two rows, where the hot gas lead from the compressor connected, and transplant the hot gas lead up two rows. Portland, Oregon, has a cool climate, so rarely will the bypassed two rows be missed.I bought some 3/8" Al 3003 .035 wall tubing at Grainger to TIG weld in as my backup plan if the AL822 work went sideways on me. All work was done using propane and a fuel-air Victor Turbo Torch. All old R22 refrigerant was flushed out with a nitrogen purge before starting. The whole unit was vacuumed, then washed with Coil-Bright.De-soldered one of the U-bends just above the corroded tube rows, cutting the U-bend in half first, so I could twist each half free independently... super easy. I de-soldered the hot gas line leading from the compressor, flicking the tube a few times to dislodge the excess factory solder/braze alloy, again super easy. The female joint where I removed the U-bend had quite a bit of residual solder/braze alloy puddled at the bottom side of the swaged tube opening, so I made U-shaped "rake" from an old coat hanger to clean out the molten alloy while heating. Again, you guessed it, super easy. Next, I ground away most, but I'm sure not all, of the old alloy with a Dremel Moto-Tool and 1/4" 60 grit sanding drum. The hot gas line wouldn't fit into the swage female end of the coil due to remaining solder/braze alloy residue, so I heating both lines while wiggling the hot gas line until it slid into place. With the joint still hot, I kept the flame moving over the area and applied Handy One AL822, just as they demonstrated in the video. Flux flowed out of the end of the rod into the joint space. Big joint space, about 1/16" all around. Handy One AL822 has a wide range between solidus and liquidus, so I flowed a bunch of metal into the joint, then backed off the heat and worked AL822 "mush" all around until the joint was completely filled. My first try with the product was a complete success. The flux also did a conspicuous job of reactivating the residual solder/braze alloy, which blended well with the AL822.Pressure tested the system with dry nitrogen while wiggling and tugging on the newly made joint; no hint of any leaks or other problems, just one big successful repair and a very happy customer.

Used it on an older aluminum condensor coil today. Bought at john stone. Worked great. Got to clean the aluminum really well first and it will work great!

One of the toughest and least understood. Apparently it works under perfect infomercial conditions. I want to experiment with it in my A/C shop on some older corroded evap. coils before passing judgement. I know cleaning is the most important aspect AND controlling your heating temperature is going to be crucial. Apparently you have 300 degrees to play with. Might take some experimenting and practice. I feel fairly confident that this stuff just might work and I hope it does. There are some scenerios where repairing vs replacing may be necessary. Greg Owner/Pioneer A/C Ocala going on 40 years in the trade.

How much temperature and pressure it can sustain ?

Hell yeah! Awesome!

Where can I buy this from?

You could easily see 600psi in a R410A system in the condenser. Especially if its dirty in the summer. Not sure about your question though, maybe you coule try it and see what it will hold.

I forgot to say below how tough it was to find AL822 in the Greater Portland, Oregon, area. No one stocked it, and I checked everywhere. The Johnstone Supply catalog claimed to carry it, but they only stocked it in Florida and Arizona. I finally found a guy in Texas on eBay that sent me some.

Amazon not available your product

In Canada we're can I get please tell me

Hi every body , do you know is this aluminum rod temperature needed ? and where can we buy this rod ? thanks,

Well, there's 11 years of testing. How did it do with R-410a on the high side at 400+?

I am with you on that,i could not count the crazy leaks i have repaired on copper,but alum i never even try much on older stuff, we would just replace if possible and not waste the time!

That was pretty easy , having the leaks right on the 180's, when you have to cut fins away from the line this job becomes a pain in the a..

ya and no need to clean or prep it either,hard for me to believe to,i would like to try it just to see it most likely not work,i have not seen much that will work on alum. that will last any time at all,about the time you would hit the alum with the heat it melts to nothing rite away!!!

Which turbo torch tip do you guys recommend for this.

Great video!

How is this different than AL802 brazing rods? Chemically, I see that AL822 is 22% aluminum, where AL802 is only 2% aluminum. But practically, what are the differences that would suggest one over the other?

Hi how can I order from Philippines

This would be great if it can handle the pressure? i would like to try it out just to test and see if it could,as long as the price is affordable.

I know you using a tourch in this, and that is most probably recommended. but would a heat gun not work well in this situation? if it can sustain a temp between the melting point of the aluminium and higher than the rod?

Onde comprar essa solda no Brasil?

nice2 vedio

I'm curious, assuming these are for 410a or other home refrigerants that don't typically see pressures higher than 160 or so. Will this repair hold up on an Automotive 134 line which can at times experience pressures up to 250-300?

where I can find it in home depot or where?

I have been successful with brand new units but never with older units. Maybe I'm just not very good at it but I kind of gave up. GFM

The 16 thumb downs are people that always ask me can you solder aluminum? If you're asking me you need to jump into another line of work.

👍👍👍👍👍

Gotta get me some of that AL 822 depending on the price......however most leaks don't look like this...in fact they're usually in places that can't even be seen or accessed...looks easy though...if we can reach the leak in question....typically I NEVER repair an Evaporator coil leak...especially on a coil that's out of warranty...why get married to it...just replace it...don't even give the customer that option...let some other sucker get married to it...I move on to the next service call.......

I've soldered a ton of elbows in my day. Never have I seen an aluminum coil. I guess it's because I do commercial?

Why are all these wonderful repairs done on new aluminum? Try it on a 15 year old one. Good luck. GFM

I have emailed this business a couple of times to find out where to purchase this stuff but I they have never bothered to reply. Not very good for business. Maybe the product is no good and I will have to look else where.

Hi

In the disclaimer you assume no responsibility? I don't understand why you won't stand behind your product, It is your product? I have used your product and I like it. I questioned why a company brands something that they don't stand behind?

sir please give me

Not worth the time life I’ve never gotten home where it that easy to repair copper coil,are easier thats all there is to it