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Ac secondary drip pans have no drain…should they?
Posted on 11/7/23 at 12:10 am
Posted on 11/7/23 at 12:10 am
Asking because I recently went into a friends attic and her pan had overflowed since condensate line got plugged, float shutoff switch failed, and she had a ceiling water leak.
I was looking at mine and it has a capped thru-pan 3/4” pvc fitting. My hot water heater drain line runs 2 ft away and by that point in my attic, it’s a god 6-12” lower than water heater pan. Could I just run and T the AC secondary pan drain into hot water heater drain line since the elevations and gravity flow all would work out? Am I violating a code if I did that? Was thinking it would be peace of mind and a lot easier than running an entire second drain line out through walls or soffit.
I was looking at mine and it has a capped thru-pan 3/4” pvc fitting. My hot water heater drain line runs 2 ft away and by that point in my attic, it’s a god 6-12” lower than water heater pan. Could I just run and T the AC secondary pan drain into hot water heater drain line since the elevations and gravity flow all would work out? Am I violating a code if I did that? Was thinking it would be peace of mind and a lot easier than running an entire second drain line out through walls or soffit.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 1:31 am to man in the stadium
I dont know code but i was always told most people run it out somewhere you can notice it dripping.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 7:11 am to man in the stadium
You can purchase an alarm that triggers with water contact. It lets out a loud shriek that can't be missed. And the pan wouldn't have to be full to the brink before it goes off.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 7:20 am to man in the stadium
I'm used to seeing the secondary pan drained to a point through the soffit so you will see it dripping outside the house.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 8:06 am to man in the stadium
My last one drained but also had a secondary float switch. Cheap and easy to add a backup. That's what I would do in this case.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 10:07 am to man in the stadium
I don’t know code either but I’ve seen them both ways - my secondary only has the shut off float switch. With a drain line in the secondary pan one might not know if they have have a plugged up primary condensate line unless the secondary pan drain line is placed in highly trafficked visible location outside. First I’ve heard of a float switch failing, but obviously they can.
Let me pass on a tip from my plumber BIL, when in the attic check the water pans under water heaters or HVAC (if plumbed outside) for debris, usually pieces of attic insulation, and remove them, b/c he’s seen on multiple occasions where the emergency drain line became plugged with debris with a leak in a water heater and it overflowed the pan and caused ceiling damage even though set up to prevent that. I don’t know debris finds it way into those pans, but it does.
Let me pass on a tip from my plumber BIL, when in the attic check the water pans under water heaters or HVAC (if plumbed outside) for debris, usually pieces of attic insulation, and remove them, b/c he’s seen on multiple occasions where the emergency drain line became plugged with debris with a leak in a water heater and it overflowed the pan and caused ceiling damage even though set up to prevent that. I don’t know debris finds it way into those pans, but it does.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 11:31 am to CrawDude
I found on amazon the alarm mentioned above for my drain pans for a/c and water heaters. in addition to their audible alarm, they are wi-fi to the app on my phone
Posted on 11/7/23 at 1:25 pm to diat150
quote:
I dont know code but i was always told most people run it out somewhere you can notice it dripping.
This.
And I have a water detector in both of my units drip pans.
I think it an older version of this. Mine has a 9v battery and sounds like a smoke detector.
https://www.amazon.com/Govee-Detectors-Wireless-Detector-Sensitive/dp/B07QSFRSJX/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=water+detector&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Posted on 11/7/23 at 1:54 pm to man in the stadium
The pan is of no use if it doesn't have a way to drain. The reason it is there is to catch the water if the primary drain clogs.
It would just be a matter of time before the secondary pan fills and overflows and this could be nasty, especially if your unit is in the attic.
To hell with codes. This is a matter of common sense.
It would just be a matter of time before the secondary pan fills and overflows and this could be nasty, especially if your unit is in the attic.
To hell with codes. This is a matter of common sense.
Posted on 11/7/23 at 6:24 pm to gumbo2176
secondary has a float switch to cutoff if fills
Posted on 11/7/23 at 8:54 pm to man in the stadium
quote:
Could I just run and T the AC secondary pan drain into hot water heater drain line
You could but I wouldn't waste your time. If the float switch in primary fails and water does end up going into pan and into drain line, you'll never know things need attention unless you just happen to see it up in attic. Or eventually the second line would clog and then you'll see it in the form of water on your ceiling.
Have a float switch in primary and if/when that fails, a second switch in emergency pan.
I wouldn't bother with a water alarm but if you do, probably best to use lithium batts since alkaline would quickly fail in a hot attic. Water alarms are great for under sinks, dishwashers, fridges,ect.
Posted on 11/8/23 at 9:04 am to man in the stadium
When I built my houses, I put the float switch and I put a drain on the secondary pan and ran the outflow line to a soffit vent so that I could see when a problem.
That works well.
If you connect to the HW relief valve discharge line it’s possible that if it discharged it could back up into your secondary pan and flood your attic.
If you connect to the drain line off the water Heater pan, I do not see an issue with that if the AC unit pan is higher than your water pan.
If it’s lower you don’t want that either.
That works well.
If you connect to the HW relief valve discharge line it’s possible that if it discharged it could back up into your secondary pan and flood your attic.
If you connect to the drain line off the water Heater pan, I do not see an issue with that if the AC unit pan is higher than your water pan.
If it’s lower you don’t want that either.
Posted on 11/8/23 at 9:09 pm to Turnblad85
quote:
Have a float switch in primary and if/when that fails, a second switch in emergency pan.
I think this is the better approach, and what I had done when my HVAC was changed out the past Feb.
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