Dust, biofilm and grease pack the fins on condensers, chillers and heat exchangers — choking heat transfer, driving up compressor amps, and shortening equipment life. Dry ice clears the fins without bending them, without water, and without a rinse — restoring heat transfer to design spec while the crew works in place.
Pressure washing bends fins and floods the equipment. Chemical foams leave residue and runoff. Dry ice clears the coil dry — non-abrasive, non-conductive, and gone the moment we're done.
Fouling on fins and tubes chokes heat transfer and forces compressors to work harder. Clearing the deposits brings rated capacity back and cuts runtime.
Adjustable pressure and nozzle protect the delicate aluminum and copper fins that pressure washing and coil combs bend flat.
Dry ice sublimates on contact — no wash water to capture, no chemistry to rinse off, no dry-out time before the coil comes back on line.
Non-conductive media works around fan motors, VFDs, sensors and controls that water-based cleaning has to shield or shut down.
Only the removed grime remains — nothing to sump, nothing to treat, nothing to send off site with a manifest.
Nozzles reach between fins and around brackets — where handheld coil combs and pressure wands can't clean without damage.
We see results like this on our own jobs — but you don't have to take our word for it. The figure below comes from an independent, published industry source.
A dirty condenser coil can raise compressor energy consumption by roughly 30%. Fouling acts as insulation across the heat transfer surface, so the compressor works harder — and longer — to reject the same heat.
— U.S. Department of Energy
How much you actually recover depends on how fouled your coil is and how it's loaded — which is why we take before/after readings on the job rather than quoting a savings percentage up front.
From rooftop condensers to shell-and-tube exchangers — dry ice restores heat transfer surfaces without a drop of wash water or a bent fin.
Rooftop, split-system and industrial air-cooled condensers — restore airflow and heat rejection without bending fins.
Air- and water-cooled chillers, evaporator coils and condenser bundles — clean in place, keep the plant on schedule.
Interior and exterior of shells and tube bundles — most commonly cleaned in an outage with tube-lane access.
Industrial fin-fan cooling banks used in oil-gas, refining and process cooling — face and depth cleaning without hydro-blast damage.
Cold-storage and process refrigeration evaporators and condensers — food-safe, non-conductive media around packaged control gear.
Engine, generator and process radiators; transformer cooling radiators. Related: substation & switchgear cleaning.
No. Fin combs and pressure washing bend delicate aluminum fins on impact and lose airflow across the coil. Dry ice is non-abrasive; we tune pressure and nozzle to the fin geometry so the deposits leave and the fins don't.
The U.S. Department of Energy attributes roughly a 30% increase in compressor energy consumption to a dirty condenser coil — fouling insulates the surface, so the compressor works harder to reject the same heat. How much you recover depends on how fouled your coil is and how it's loaded, which is why we take before/after readings instead of quoting you a savings percentage up front.
Yes — that's the point. No teardown, no rinse water to capture, no shutdown of adjacent equipment. We work in the mechanical room, on the roof, or in the yard, in place.
Chemical foams do work, but they leave chemistry to rinse off and the runoff has to go somewhere. Dry ice leaves nothing behind, doesn't drip on the equipment below, and doesn't need a rinse or a dry-out period before the coil comes back online.
Yes, most commonly in an outage or a planned shutdown. Scope depends on tube-lane access and whether we're cleaning the face, the depth, or both. For HRSG finned tubes specifically, see our HRSG cleaning page.
Yes. Non-conductive media around VFDs, controls and sensors — and no water in a raised-floor or CRAC environment — makes dry ice a common fit for critical-facility HVAC and process cooling.
We serve industrial facilities and commercial properties throughout the Phoenix metro and travel for large-scale heat-transfer work. Previous projects include CertainTeed / Saint-Gobain (Phoenix) and clients across Nevada and California.
Outside this area? Call us — we travel for large-scale industrial jobs. (480) 256-8092
Tell us about the coils and your run schedule. We'll take before/after readings so the energy savings are documented, and respond with scope within 4 business hours.
We'll respond with a custom scope within 4 hours. For urgent jobs, call (480) 256-8092.