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735 Review
47 Karma

Review on πŸ”§ Efficient Radiator Maintenance: Allstar ALL10680 Radiator Fin Comb Kit by Centerfold Montague

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Works but has difficulties

The fins on my outdoor air conditioner have been damaged by hail. While the air conditioner is running, bent fins reduce the unit's efficiency, so I bought a fin comb kit to straighten them. The product worked as advertised but the job is much harder than shown in some videos online. To summarize my observations: 1. This was the only product I found that had reasonably small tooth spacing. Most of them only have 15 tpi combs while I've found that I need 20 tpi for my device. You will need to measure the distance between the fins to ensure that the distance between the fins is within the reach of the combs that come with the kit.2. Serious dents required me to first flex the fins one at a time with a nail file on my miniature Swiss Army knife. It was a very lengthy but very necessary process.3. It is very important to start straightening correctly. The tool must be carefully aligned between the teeth or it will actually bend some of the ribs, so it is necessary to straighten out the areas where the ribs were previously severely pinched. However, even then I was not able to completely straighten some of the severely bent fins. Some of them were connected almost by cold welding.4. The teeth of the tool are relatively wide, making them difficult to align with the ribs, especially since the ribs were not originally straight. If you line them up properly and use a straight motion, the ribs will line up as indicated. Due to the protective metal grid, however, only a few centimeters can be straightened at a time. You can remove the grille to speed up this process, but I was cautioned against doing this as it is not easy to do and reinstall properly without damaging the AC unit.5. I can now better appreciate the estimate of over $400 that any repair company willing to value this work was willing to charge for it. Since this was three times the amount allowed by my insurance, I decided to reinforce the fins myself. The teeth on the scraper are plastic (like the handle), sharp metal teeth are set on top. So don't expect to be able to use the crest more than once (twice if the damage isn't too high) on a unit like mine. However, given the low price of the kit and the high repair costs, this is not a serious disadvantage. In general, this kit works, but the job is difficult and the kit will not be enough for many repairs. I'm still looking for a tool with narrower metal teeth, 20 teeth per inch, but haven't found anything yet. This is the best tool I could find for this job. In fact, metal teeth might not be the best choice as I imagine the noise from rubbing against metal ribs can make working without uncomfortable hearing protection extremely frustrating.

Pros
  • Pretty packaging
Cons
  • Does not fit all