Evaporator Coils

An evaporator coil is the indoor half of the air conditioning refrigerant loop — where liquid refrigerant expands and absorbs heat from your indoor air, cooling it before the blower pushes it through your ducts. You need an evaporator coil if you have (or are installing) a gas furnace paired with an outdoor AC condenser or heat pump. The coil mounts directly on top of the furnace; the furnace blower handles airflow. If you're running an all-electric setup with no gas furnace, you want an air handler instead — which combines the coil, blower, and cabinet in one unit.

Three things need to match: (1) tonnage — 2.5-ton condenser = 2.5-ton coil; (2) refrigerant — R-32, R-454B, or R-410A; (3) AHRI rating — the coil + condenser pair must be certified together to hit the advertised SEER2. You also need to match the coil's cabinet width to your furnace. Call us at (352) 438-8992 if you want us to verify the match before you order.

Cased coils are enclosed in a sheet-metal cabinet and install upflow or downflow — the most common option, sits on top of a furnace in closets, basements, and garages. Vertical coils are dedicated-upflow only, typically used when the air handler or furnace is in a closet with limited height. Horizontal coils lay on their side for installations in attics or crawl spaces where vertical height is limited. The coil's form factor has to match your installation orientation — you can't flip a cased upflow coil into horizontal without losing the drain pan function.

No — and this trips up a lot of shoppers. Evaporator coils are refrigerant-specific. A coil labeled 'R-32 only' can only be paired with an R-32 condenser, and you can't top off an R-410A system with R-32 or vice versa. If you're replacing just the indoor coil but keeping an R-410A condenser, you need an R-410A coil. If you're going R-32 on the coil, plan to replace the outdoor unit and line set too.

Measure the top of your gas furnace (or find the width spec in the furnace's model number documentation). Standard widths are 14.5", 17.5", 21", and 24.5". The coil cabinet must match this width exactly so it sits flush and seals against air leaks. Goodman and Ace Air coils on this page list their cabinet widths in the product specifications — if you're unsure, call us before ordering at (352) 438-8992.

Coils typically last 15-20 years — longer than condensers because they're indoor and not weather-exposed. The failure mode is almost always a refrigerant leak from a corroded coil tube (formicary corrosion) or from vibration. Annual maintenance — changing filters on schedule, clearing the condensate drain, checking for rust — meaningfully extends life. When you replace a condenser, it's often worth keeping the coil if it's under 10 years old and the refrigerant matches.

Yes. We ship evaporator coils to all 48 contiguous states from our warehouse in Ocala, FL. Coils are shipped via freight carrier because of their size. Most orders leave within 1-3 business days with tracking and a scheduled delivery appointment. Local pickup is available in Ocala for additional savings.