Need advice installing cold room dehumidifier condensate line
Hello. Newbie here, hoping for some advice. I have a cold room underneath my front porch adjacent to a finished basement. During the summer, it gets quite humid which limits how we can use the room.
I’d like to install a dehumidifier in there with a pump to automatically drain the condensate. This would only run in the summer, humidity where we’re at is fine during the other seasons. Two things I’m trying to figure out:
1) What’s the best way to route the condensate line through the block masonry wall of the cold room. I’m leaning towards taking the 1/4 tube condensate line from the dehumidifier and using a 1/4 barbed adapter to tap into a 1/2″ PVC line. Then I would run this 1/2 PVC through a 1″ hole made by a 1″ masonry bit. Does this make sense or should i step up to 3/4″ pvc?
2) What I should do with the condensate once it’s outside the cold room. It seems i have two good options. The first is to tap into a nearby gutter downspout that attaches to the exterior wall of the cold room. The second is to tap into a nearby exterior clean out for my basement’s gravity drain system. I’m leaning towards the gutter downspout because it seems simpler, but what’s the best way to tap a gutter downspout with a condensate line?
Any thoughts/suggestions/feedback are appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Replies
I think it is good practice (might be code) to have a condensate line end with a gap from wherever it drains. (to avoid back-flow)
You could install a downspout Y and route PVC to end where it drains into the downspout.
I would want to make sure it runs downhill all the way to avoid freezing issues.
Thank you. What's the best way to create that air gap between the PVC line and the downspout Y?
How much condensate will the dehumidifier be producing?
I think the 1/2 PVC should be sufficient for a dehumidifier. Check the specifications for the pump capacity and head.
What is outside the cold room?
If a garden bed, feeding the water into a drip tube will help keep the plants happy.
It's a 50 pint dehumidifier, so in a worse case scenario I think we're talking about 6 gallons per day or so. On the other side of the coldroom wall is a narrow bed containing boxwood hedges.
Also, know that sooner or later condensate lines get filled with gunk and have to be cleaned out.
I have condensate lines for my heat pump and two water heaters. There's not that much water - I just let it run out of the ground. No issues for the part 15 years. I use a 3/8" line on my heat pump (it has a condensate pump), and I use 1/2" PVC for the heat pump water heaters (gravity)
To run the line through the block, I'd use a piece of PVC as a sleeve, and run the plastic line through it. If you need to replace it - they can get clogged - it's easier.
Best of luck.