Condensate Neutrelization?

Dave Yates (GrandPAH)_1

Same thing that clogs the silly - hole-drilled-in-the-concrete condensate drain cheap-trick short-cut.

Near as we've ever figured, it's a combination of air-borne particles caught in the AC & combustion condensate along with either algae or bacteria or both. But, the only time we've seen quantities like you're describing, is in the half-fast short-cut method. Haven't yet seen a problem with pumped condensate. Could there have been a large qty of the junk in the AC coil pan that suddenly broke free & overwhelmed the pump?

schiller

Condensate Neutralization ?

Ok, I admit that this is for a forced air system. this system was installed 2 years ago, shortly after the install (2 to 3 weeks)the condensate pump failed and spilled on to the basement floor. when I arrived ( and yes installed a wet switch to shut the system off) the con pump was filled with a very thick solution (like semi set jello) I was not sure what caused it at the time and went back once a week for a while to make sure it was not happing again. Now about a year later it happend again. this time no flood just a late night no heat service call. so any ideas, I'm grasping at the condensate neutralization thing, but ideas would help even a a few S.W.A.G.s might lead me to the right soultion.
Thanks
Troy

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Sure sounds like the stuff I see growing in A/C condensate drains/condensate pumps. Not sure if it also grows in furnace condensate. Perhaps same condensate pump used for both? Bleach seems to be a fairly effective killer. 8oz or so twice a year seems to keep it from accumulating in A/C lines.

jp_2

color?

what color is it? rusty redish orange by chance? I see this in a crawl space where FHA condensate drains into ground directly. i thought it was an algea?

schiller

Snot is the best description I've heard so far. it's nearly color less and very thick, the little Gaint pump wont event move it, which makes me wonder how it "drained in to the pump to begin w/. It's all bran new (less 2 years) high end eq. vairable speed furnace, 2 stage condensing unit, humidifier, EAC. but no UV light. I'm stumped.

chris_86

It didn't drain into the pump,...

It grew there...try a smaller pump or smaller tubing, the idea is to limit the standing water, we had similar problems with customers that installed water filters on the bubblers in the prudential center building. Some emploee thought that the install would solve all sorts of problems. But now the water sits in plastic vessels versus the copper piping, remember copper has a slight antibacterial property! Well the filters never got changed the unknowing didn't like the cost of changing them and they didn't belive it was necessary. people still were getting sick though, not legonella but they would have a few sips from the bubblers and then vomit about 15 min later..but it couldent be the bubblers because "we installed filters." So JJ canistraro and american plumbing, pj sullivan, amongst others, the names are listed because of the experience and other issues discovered, like the 40 pound pile of "snot" that came out of one bubbler on one of Mass Electric's floors in front of 20-30 people when someone spun off on of the clogged filters. I never knew that the Prudential building had galv pipe for water lines? Another brilliant cost saving manueover that failed. But it sure was fun watching that thing come out of the pipes...it was like a play dough machine on steroids and completly covered the hallway floor and once it started no one dared touch it because it just looked really creeapy. But for a while they did start changing the filters on a regular basis, do they still do this? Did I mention it was the Prudential building in Boston?

chris_86

Oh, I forgot...

There are a number of commercialy avalable algicides that you can pour into the sump recivers of these little giant and others pumps. Bleach tends to crack the plastic and kill plants if you just run it outside.
Actually this may be a bigger unadressed problem than most attribute as it is quite common and is the same mecanism that took place in the American Legion Building.