Cleaning A/C Condensate Lines

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Any suggestions/tricks for cleaning and keeping them from clogging?

Three of older central A/C systems I maintain have the condensate piped in 3/8" soft copper--no traps and running to floor drains. Unfortunately they are in finished basements and whoever did the work really didn't care about ever accessing things and routing is such that you either have to remove walls or equipment to replace!

Know this is crude, but I usually wind up sucking out the lines with my mouth--can't get enough pressure when blowing--and the mouthful of gunk I got today was especially disgusting...

JB_2

sucking

mike- do not use your mouth!!!!! try a wet/ dry vac. 1 or 2 gal. range. to blow back the line try a co2 gun for blowing back oil lines. works well. hope your reading this and rinsing with wiskey? jb

Jeff Lawrence_24

Re-pipe?

Is it possible to repipe the lines to 3/4" or even 1/2"?

To clean drains, I usually use a wet vac/vaccum cleaner. I usually go outside and vac out the drains. I try to vac it out all the way to the drain pan on the evap coil.

For treating the pans and condensate pumps, I buy some of the pan tabs the wholesalers sell.

Jeff

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DaveGateway

3/8 tube.....ouch!!

I piped from a second floor attic to a basement drain with 3/4 pvc and the inspector said go to 1" for that long of run next time. A 3/8 line WILL clog darn near every year. Compressed air or a nitrogen tank blast is the best. One of those air tanks you fill up at the gas station is all you need really. Give it a blast, Mike. I know you're full of hot air but geez....how long are those lines. I'd have to quit smoking for two years before I even attempted it.

DaveGateway

3/8 tube.....ouch!!



OOPS

jim lockard

If your the servicer

After you have repiped with 3/4 Pvc or bigger. Put in clean out tees or unions at the traps so you can clean them every year. I like to add a vent after the trap to pour a shot of clorox down. Best Wishes J.Lockard

curiousity kills

condensate lines

Try an ez trap. It comes set up with acleanout from coil and a cleanout to pump or floor

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Have tried the wet vac route, but with such a small tube it's really hard to get a decent air seal. Don't have a co2 gun--no oil around here. Might try "canned air" but getting a decent seal will still be rough...

Mike T., Swampeast MO

All three are in big finished basements but mechanicals are boxed into tiny spaces. Units from the mid-60s. Nice brass elbow with flare fitting for connection so at least it's easy to open but swear I'd have to remove walls to re-pipe. Do put in one of the tabs whenever I have to open because the pan itself is clogged, but it's a royal pain to open. Guess I could cut in little openings with small covers to insert tabs...

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Hard to tell length as in two I only see beginning and end, but I'm guessing from 10-20'. Yes, they usually clog each year after the first few weeks of really high humidity.

Yea, one of those tanks would be great and bet I can drill a hole through a little cork to insert a small air tube and have it seal against the flare on the condensate tube.

I've cleaned out/replaced so many condensate lines that when I plumb new I do my utmost to use 1½" regardless of length. With a 1½" x 3" bell reducer you get a great place to run a drip drain from the unit with plenty of room for both primary and secondary pan drains.

Mark J Strawcutter

gallo gun?

http://www.diversitech.com/applications/documentlibrary/documents/LIT-PAD-GG.pdf

Mark

Mark J Strawcutter

I'm paranoid

SpacePak air handler in attic of my 2-story house. Float switch in primary (internal) drain pan. Planning to add water sensor (WetSwitch?) to secondary (external) pan wired in series with float switch and freezestat (shuts off condensor but keeps AHU fan running).

Condensate lines have no elbows - where direction changes I used a T (in bull, out thru) with cleanout plug in other thru port. Only 3/4, after reading this thread wish I'd used bigger.

SpacePak-supplied trap is only 1/2in and that's where it tends to gunk up. Bleach down the line at the beginning of the season, and swabbing out the trap with each filter change keeps things moving.

My future project is to wire float, freezestat, wetswitch and condensor safeties thru relays so I can have a bank of indicator lights near the thermostat.

I'd hook them up to an audible alarm but the wife would probably kill me!

Mark

Mike T., Swampeast MO

This drain arrangement seems to work well. 4 years in this install and 8 in another without a clog or backup. Dual ¾" "air traps" drain into drip. Pipe to right is vent for this dedicated 1½" condensate drain.

This is a VERY tight install above ceiling in a closet. Service access isn't the best, but most things can be done without too much trouble. I just hope that air handlers with same physical dimensions are available for a long time... Unit supported on 2 ¾" black iron pipes--in notches at the end you see and hanging by threaded rod at the other end. Amazingly quiet and zero vibration. To remove unit you remove 8 screws at supply connection. Unit is very slightly tilting down to the return end. I reinforced the sheet metal return with angle aluminum and put a closed cell foam strip around the opening. Soaped the foam (literally) and slid air handler into place. It made a really good air-tight seal, but I taped for good measure.

Second photo shows overflow warning indicator (float switch in pan shuts down condensing unit). It's at a little sink (cube frig. above) in the closet. Makes a wonderful night light. For both lights ("OK" and "Trouble") it takes a DPDT relay.

Constantin

Have you tried this?

How about creating a manifold with a series of small ball valves spaced 2" apart. Screw a different size nipple into each ball valve, covering all the common condensate pipe sizes you encounter.

Then slide short pieces of stretchy rubber hoses over the nipples. Their ID will have to to accomodate the common OD of the pipes you deal with. Presto, a universal manifold for the wet-vac.

Naturally, you'll have to make the manifold end fit onto the shop vac but that ought to be an easy problem to fix. Something along the lines of buying a narrow tip at Home Despot, dremmeling its hole to size, then epoxying the manifold in place.

Perhaps this is too bulky, Rubesque, etc. but I think it would work and it promises to be a lot less unpleasant than ingesting muck. Cheers!

Steve Minnich_1

Drains

3/4" PVC drains, MINIMUM

Nitrogen to blow out line and secondary drain pan with float switch as redundant backups.

Water is just capable of too much damage.

Gotta keep those insurance rates low and the cutomers happy.

Steve M

Steve Minnich_1

Drains

3/4" PVC drains, MINIMUM

Nitrogen to blow out line and secondary drain pan with float switch as redundant backups.

Water is just capable of too much damage.

Gotta keep those insurance rates low and the cutomers happy.

Steve M

Dale

CO2

CO2 is pretty cheap and blows condensers out also. Then flush with a 1/4 cup of bleach to a gallon of water. If you can get the bleach water mix running out the end and then plug it for a minute or 2 at least the gunk will all die. I would clean the evap if the gunk hasn' been a problem in the past.

Marty_5

pump it

3/8 just happens to be the most common outlet size for simple condensate pumps. If repiping with with the right size isn't realistic I'd put in a pump(s) Some noise involved with the pumps but thats better than drains clogging all the time.

JB_2

cond. drain

mike- if you have a johnstone supply house near by, they have a pretty good selection of cleaners, and tools for just what you may need.I have a catolog here if you want any info.john

jim lockard

you think

pumps do not fail and 3/8 tube does not clog. I will take a gravity drain any day.

don_42

Sell

them a good media filter,the reason for most clogged drain lines is because dirt is getting in the system.

We see more clogged drain line on unit with the throw away
filters verse the one that have a good filtering system.

Just make sure if you sell them on a new filter system,that your blower can support it.