air filter home

If I remove the air filter on my home's AC, will that damage it?

It's very hot in Arizona and I get much more airflow without a filter on my AC. It feels good now, but will it damage my AC to run it without a filter?

YES IT WILL DAMAGE IT!!!!

If your coils get clogged with dust your coil will eventually flood liquid refrigerant down the suction line to the compressor due to lack of air flow.

This can cause 2 major problems. The first would likely be that the oil in the crankcase could be washed out and your compressor would suffer from poor lubrication and a shortened life.

The second is that if your compressor piston cylinder is flooded with liquid refrigerant it cannot compress and will be "slugged" and generally break a piston rod or do serious damage to the valves. Either way you are buying a new one and they are not cheap.

A compressor is a vapor pump. Liquid cannot be compressed and you might as well be dropping a chunk of steel in your cylinder.

My answer is the true purpose of an air filter in the return duct of your AC system. Dust mites I can deal with, but $1500 compressor on a 101° day is a different story.