HO and I are having a disagreement about what makes for a trouble free AC condensate drain. I don’t think she needs this vent hole near the coil. After her recent flood, I tore her duct taped enhanced model out and replaced it with what I think looks solid. I did it without bothering to consult her. She says she’s fought this for a long time and I don’t know the whole truth on AC condensate drains.
My system starts with 3/4 copper coming out of the York. I added a copper deal that ends with 3/4 npt, a coupler, a street elbow, another deal with 3/4 npt to a hose barb and finally 3/4 clear vinyl hose to the floor drain.
Big Macs – 99 cents
Replies
Your solution sounds logical. What did the homeowner have in mind ?
Sounds good to me provided the vinyl tubing has a continous downward pitch.
That clear plastic tubing can really grow some algae / mold / goo / smutz if water pools in it for extended periods. Water + light = biology experiment in hydroponics.
What did they have in mind -- more duct tape?
Do you have the information that came with the AC? Some units require a trap in the line. The rest of your hook-up should have 3/4 pvc all the way to the drain. A vent on the line may be right, but the maker will tell you what they want.LOL.
I have a really long run to a drain on my system. The installer provided a upward faccing vent pipe just as the drain leaves the coil cabinet. I was instructed to periodically pour some bleach down the pipe to flush it and kill any thing growing in it. Seems to work quite well and I sure flush some nasty looking stuff out sometimes.
around here its copper to trap then outside to a french drain. no water on top of ground
Around here, the REALLY high quality builders just drill a hole in the basement floor and stick the clear tube in there.(-:
Dance like nobody's watching. Unless you're a white guy, in which case, you already are.
No Kiddin....guess $50.00 for a condensate pump, a fitting & some tubing breakes the budget...hey, it'll drain down to the sump anyway, right.....Sigh....
Yeah, in a lot of ways the condensate pump is likely to be more reliable than other approaches. Use a very short line to the pump, then the hose from it can go overhead to a washer standpipe or some such. Since the water moves under pressure at a fairly fast clip it's less likely to clog than a long, nearly horizontal gravity drain, and the pumps are quite reliable.For a little insurance, get a pump with an overflow switch and wire it to the AC controls.
I'd use an overflow switch if the unit was in an attic, but it's on the basement slab, no AC, just 90% furnace condensate, so if the pump quits it's no big deal....if we're talking AC drains, you betcha....amazing how fast a clog in the AC drain can put lots of water out....
Sounds like you're only running 5-10 feet, and it's naturally downhill. Should be fine.
In theory you're supposed to have a vent near the coil, but in practice it won't do much. You don't need a trap since you're just running a short distance, and into a floor drain in the same room.
The only reason you'd need the vent would be if there was an unnatural pressure differential between coil and room air, but what you should have is a very slight pressure blowing outward, which should be fine.
My system starts with
Mine has the A coil drain run in 1/2" pvc to a wet vent connection (as installed by the hvac contractor to local code, wet vent and all). The drip pan under the coil drains to 1/2" abs which just daylights out of the gable end.