Check your AC's condensate drain

[BWSmith]

Been especially humid here the last cpl days......duh,it's August.

Reckon I should be happy that the stopped up condensate line was noticed this afternoon?....vs. not noticing and having an even bigger mess to clean up.Probably about two days worth of water overflowed the A-coil pan,then ran out the bttm of the unit......mopped up a cpl sm buckets worth.The filter was just checked a few days ago and was in near perfect condition?Dunno where all the lint/funk,which stopped up the trap,came from?

It takes all of a cpl minutes to blow out your line/trap with compressed air.And is something worth checking....even if you have a service contract.We put a Tee in the drain line on the upstairs unit.The line comes from coil and dumps in the side of the Tee.....The bttm goes to trap....the upper part has a stub and a cap,not glued in to facilitate blowin it out.The downstairs unit has the std,L...then the trap.Soon to be changed to the Tee setup.

 

[patlaw]

Absolutely great advice. The bad pump or clogged drain line can cause THOUSDANDS of dollars in damages.

 

[Phil S]

Easy to overlook so I would suggest a simple upgrade that monitors this and sounds an alarm and shuts the system down. Pretty cheap(about $16) way to prevent a possible costly problem
I use this:

[h=1]AquaGuard AG-3150E Electronic Primary Pan Sensor with Time Delay With Secondary Sensor[/h]

 

[ehpoole]

A lot of times built up mold and algae play as big a role in clogging condensate drains as lint. The best way to purge the drain line is often the use of compressed air, just be sure to plug up the end with the compressed air as best as possible before opening the air valve (limit to about 40psi max), this will help to push the water and gunk through the line if it is not too severely clogged.

The best solution for preventing future messes is the installation of a drain pan under the indoor A/C evaporator unit/air handler, which will ideally have its own backup drain plus a float that will automatically cutoff the compressor should the drain pan ever fill. These do not usually cost much to install and can help avoid the inconvenience of flooded floors as well as the considerable costs of flooding finished living spaces (especially if the incident happens while on vacation).

 

[Joe Scharle]

Clorox works for me.

 

[ehpoole]

Clorox works for me.

Clorox can certainly help avoid clogs if added as part of regular maintenance (poured direct into drain line, not evaporator pan where it can accelerate corrosion), but it does not do much to clear an existing clog.

 

[Phil S]

For people that have a unit in their attic, dragging a compressor and line upstairs can be a real chore. Most HVAC suppliers sell a device that discharges a co2 canister into the line and powers the clog out. The are about $40

 

[redknife]

ironically today had a condensate line problem. Fortunately water collected in code required aluminum pan.

 

[aplpickr]

Better than Clorox, and safer is algaecide briquettes. Large pills placed in drain pan slowly dissolve and keeps drain line free of slime. Slime is a symbiotic crud that is a combination of algae and mold that can grow in an amazingly FEW days. It is very similar to the stuff that causes Legionaire's Disease. If you use Clorox, blow line out first! You don't want a face full of Clorox splatters.

 

[SubGuy]

Ha! I don't have central air! Finally something I am happy about in my area.

 

[BWSmith]

Phil,am going to look into one of those little air units.......might make a nice pump to carry on my motorcycle?Have had all the "usual" suspects in this arena,to include sm,stripped down compressor units.Your linky pump looks like a quick trip into the machineshop for a schrader valve adapter,thanks for the brain jog.

To all,really looking at this "problem" positively.Gonna write in nice big print,to blow out the drain @ specified intervals during the cooling season.Interestingly,and causing HUGE mess...was,the "pan" under the upstairs unit had a big honkin crack in it.So,as luck would find it(ha).....yup,had water pouring out of the ceiling when that drain clogged.It came right out at the return grill,and was lucky to be walking by when it started to drip.

The lower furnace sits,along with W/H,and well tank.......right next to a floor drain.About a 6' radius(very nicely done),or dish was engineered into the concrete.The water on the floor "tried" to run to the drain,but the furnace is HUGE.The A coil end is outside the drain's perimeter.....duh.Took the time to clean coil while the unit is apart(for drying it out)......but,it was spotless.Last cleaned in 2010.I'm gonna gloat a bit(bad juju) on the engineering we put into this Yukon Polar's(dual/fuel) A coil.It's a 24x24 plenum(all metal ducts),so it's a pretty big coil.But the access door easily pops off......and the way we ran the refrig lines,the whole coil will easily slide out about 1/2 way.Cleaning it is painless.

Thank goodness we have a big honkin whole house fan.With low'ish humidity it actually is runnin neck-neck with cooling chores,vs AC.And this IS irrespective of costs....the fan system works that well.And if "speed" was the criteria....the fan is a "Top Fuel" dragster compared to the moped like AC.The fan will lower the house temp,10+ degrees in 10 minutes.It's major downside is,sucking pollen in...and the occasional skunk passing by(happens a cpl times a year).

 

[JimD]

We bought an old house last October. This spring we got a rude surprise. Our older daughter used the room over the garage as her bedroom before she went back to college a couple weeks ago. It has one of those through the wall heater/ac units like you see in old hotels. It worked fine in the winter and was OK for about a week or so we thought on AC. What we then realized is that the water from it was running into the garage on items we had stored in the garage. It was installed into a 5 foot high knee wall and discharged into the lower ceiling area, not to the outside. I knew that but thought it had to have a condensate drain. But a through investigation revealed it did not. We turned it off and borrowed a window unit from my son. The room over is being expanded as part of the same process that gets me a shop. A proper HVAC will be installed before she comes back from college. That's assuming we continue to be able to solve problems with our contractor. We almost got finished framing Friday but now need a dormer redone. Not fun but we are making progress.

 

[fsdogwood]

Better than Clorox, and safer is algaecide briquettes. Large pills placed in drain pan slowly dissolve and keeps drain line free of slime. Slime is a symbiotic crud that is a combination of algae and mold that can grow in an amazingly FEW days. It is very similar to the stuff that causes Legionaire's Disease. If you use Clorox, blow line out first! You don't want a face full of Clorox splatters.

Could you mind give a name of the pill? May need to apply it now.

As far as blowing the drain, here's my question: so I've found water running out from the unit, rather
than from the plastic drain pipe. I rotated the pipe vertical and back to horizontal, now water flows
from the pipe. The pipe comes out from the unit, has a catch, then a vertical/up empty-ended pipe and
a horizontal end (up-side-down T). How should I blow air? from the upper T or the end T?

Help appreciated!

Pinwu
PS. looks like the pipe sections are glued together and dirt blocked the full-rotation of the pipe, thus I
am afraid I'd have a hard time taking the pipe off. Or I can saw it off, put some thread to make it
dis-assemble-able?

 

[aplpickr]

Remove a panel from the A-coil, insert a hose into the start of the drain pipe. Cover the top of the vent tee and blow air into the drain. After it is clear, pour enough clear water into pan to refill the p-trap, place an algaecide tablet in the pan near the drain. Close everything up and restart HVAC unit. Always refill the trap. Certain duct flows can create a negative pressure that will pull water back up the drain

Air conditioner pan tablets are available at HD and Amazon

 

[fsdogwood]

Remove a panel from the A-coil, insert a hose into the start of the drain pipe. Cover the top of the vent tee and blow air into the drain. After it is clear, pour enough clear water into pan to refill the p-trap, place an algaecide tablet in the pan near the drain. Close everything up and restart HVAC unit. Always refill the trap. Certain duct flows can create a negative pressure that will pull water back up the drain

Air conditioner pan tablets are available at HD and Amazon

Thanks seems that I need to remove a panel to work on it.

 

[chris_goris]

Ive had problems with mine twice in 8 years. First time the pump died, not much of a rela problem since my airhandler is in the basemenat and I noticed a large puddle forming. the second time I noticed it, the pump was running and even 130 PSI wouldnt blow it out... went outside and found the end, it had been plugged up by mud dobbers for about a foot!

 

[weelis]

Also can attach ur shop vac to outside end of drain line and suck it out. I do the Clorox, tabs, and vacuum. You probably can guess why I do that.

 

[richlife]

Remove a panel from the A-coil, insert a hose into the start of the drain pipe. Cover the top of the vent tee and blow air into the drain. After it is clear, pour enough clear water into pan to refill the p-trap, place an algaecide tablet in the pan near the drain. Close everything up and restart HVAC unit. Always refill the trap. Certain duct flows can create a negative pressure that will pull water back up the drain

Air conditioner pan tablets are available at HD and Amazon

A special thank you from me -- the pan tablets will get ordered as soon as I check my current AC setup. We had the system replaced last year, but about a year before that we had huge leakage in our basement. The required pan was there (4" deep!), but the condensation was so heavy that year that the pan overflowed (due to the sludge buildup in the drain) and, when drained, the pan refilled overnight! It took a while to figure this out and clean everything up. But know now about these tablets is a pure godsend.

Rich

 

[redknife]

but the condensation was so heavy that year that the pan overflowed (due to the sludge buildup in the drain) and, when drained, the pan refilled overnight! It took a while to figure this out and clean everything up.
Rich

FYI, a condensate pan float switch can (in theory) avert this overflow problem.

 

[aplpickr]

A three ton household AC in humid weather can remove thirty pints of water/daily. A float switch is a good preventative.