Serpentine vs Laminated car aircon

[SwissArmy]

Help! What's the difference between a Serpentine cooling coil and a Laminated one? Which one is better and in what terms?

Can anyone refer me to an existing thread re this, if there's one? Thanks guys!

[OTEP]

Laminated is more expensive. Pareho lang sila in appearance (because they are designed to fit a specific housing) pero yung laminated ay may blue film parang sa mga room airconditioners ng Kolin. In theory it is less prone to rust. Pero I always use non-laminated ones kasi mas cost-effective (Php 3.5K lang ang hindi laminated sa tindahan ni Mang Mario).

Ok naman ang performance. Lalo na ngayon na gumagana na ang auxillary fan ng condenser ko.

[SwissArmy]

Ey thanks OTEP! Yung coating lang ba ang difference ng dalawa? Any comment sa performance and kung gano tatagal? Ang laki kasi ng diprensya ng presyo (ave. 4K vs 7K) so I was thinking baka there's a big gap in reliability.

[OTEP]

I haven't really tested those laminated things. Primarily because I cannot justify the costs.

Pero ok ang performance ng non-laminated sakin. And I am very harsh with my airconditioner. I operate it even with the windows down and even in dusty conditions (esp. off-road) and my system does not even have a filter so diretso sa coils lahat ng debris. But it has always performed well. Medyo uminit lang dati kasi nasira pala yung mga auxillary fans ko kaya mahina ang heat exchange with the outside environment.

3 years is a reasonable time for it to last (although some of our vehicles have gone more than double that). I don't have my a/c system cleaned because some shops have a tendency to damage the coils with their improper procedures.

[SwissArmy]

Hey thanks ulit for the info.

I also got some advice from friends, and I wanted to share them for the benefit of those who have or will be having car a/c problems.

Pag nawalan ng lamig a/c, the following are possible causes:
>> walang freon
>> leak in the system (like hose or sa cooling coil) kaya nawala ang freon
>> broken or clogged expansion valve
>> broken or clogged drier/filter
>> broken or leaking compressor

Medyo swerte sa napiling kanto a/c service center dahil mabait may-ari. Unlike four others I visited na may quotation agad ni hindi pa nila hinawakan kahit ano, they tested everything at kung magagawan pa ng paraan they give you options. Of course nag-leak test ng mga hoses and pipes, and since ok naman, they checked the drier, ayun barado daw kaya nde pumapasok lamig. Good thing hindi nasira compressor because of pressure, kundi mas malaki damage. Beyond repair ang drier so pinalitan. Then they leak tested the evaporator and checked the expansion valve. Medyo barado rin expnasion valve pero nagawan ng paraan. But the evaporator had a few leaks na hindi na rin marerepair so we had to replace it.

Anyway, sulit naman ang gastos. Ang lamiiiggg!!!