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AC pan not draining well, after 2 visits AC guy says call a plumber

Posted on 7/18/23 at 3:59 pm
Posted by Undertow
Member since Sep 2016
8416 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 3:59 pm
Friday morning I woke up to find water squishing beneath my feet underneath the flooring in my hallway right outside my AC unit, which is in a closet. AC guys cleaned the line out and installed a safety switch so the unit would shut off when the pan gets full.

So now with the lines clear the pan is still filling up and repeatedly tripping that switch. AC guy said that he thinks the drain vent line is probably clogged with debris and to call a plumber.

Does this seem right to some of you more knowledgeable people?

Also, can anybody recommend a fair and honest plumber in Baton Rouge?
Posted by Shexter
Prairieville
Member since Feb 2014
17067 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:15 pm to

Does it drain to the outside of the house?

Regular maintenance - Pour a cup of bleach in the pan once a month.
Posted by Baers Foot
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Member since Dec 2011
3735 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:35 pm to
quote:

. AC guys cleaned the line out


Might need a pic to see your setup. If he just cleaned out the condensate line (PVC) coming out of your unit, he must be saying your drain that condensate line ties into is clogged.

Can either call a plumber or try to clear it yourself. Pic would help us help you with a DIY solution.
This post was edited on 7/18/23 at 4:36 pm
Posted by Gauxt
Prairieville
Member since Oct 2013
358 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:43 pm to
It may be the vent line that goes up thru the roof.
Shoot a water hose into that vent line from on the roof, you may be able to clear it that way. Had a plumber do that recently.
Posted by Undertow
Member since Sep 2016
8416 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:45 pm to
AC man says the drain lines are clear. He thinks the drain vent is clogged, but he doesn’t work on those. He suggested that I call a plumber.

And I just made an appointment with the plumber for tomorrow.
Posted by WB Davis
Member since May 2018
2327 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:48 pm to
ETA: if a vent line is clogged, the quick solution might be to run a sewer rod with a plastic tip down through the vent.

If that AC guy can't clear a plugged condensate line don't hire him again.

Pros often use a blast of air from a cylinder to clear condensate lines. Depending on the obstruction I've had some success switching the hose on a shop vac to blow out the line.

They make drain cleaning bladders sized for 3/4" condensate drains, but I'd be concerned about the potential for leaks spilling out into the sheetrock below.
This post was edited on 7/18/23 at 4:51 pm
Posted by BigBinBR
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2023
7571 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 5:36 pm to
quote:

AC man says the drain lines are clear. He thinks the drain vent is clogged, but he doesn’t work on those. He suggested that I call a plumber.


If a drain vent is clogged it creates a vacuum and either nothing will go down, or it will only go down very slowly. Do as the other poster suggested and see if you can clean it out using a hose. If the water backs up and overflows from the top of the vent you have a large clog and should probably hire a pro.
Posted by 3oliv3
Member since Aug 2016
746 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 5:39 pm to
Had the same thing happen- house is covered by live oaks so there was a ton of debris in the vent stack that the AC line drained into. AC guy came out and blasted all that shite out with compressed air. Was pretty cool to watch. Put screens over the vents and haven’t had a problem in the 3 years since. I just make sure the screen isn’t caked up a couple times a year after the oaks drop their leaves when I blow leaves off the roof.
Posted by ItzMe1972
Member since Dec 2013
11503 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 6:26 pm to
I fixed a similar situation at a rental a couple of weeks ago. The unit was in a hall closet and leaked into the hallway.

The condensate drain feed into the plumbing at a P-trap. I blew out the pvc, but the P-Trap continuted to fill up.

I used a hand held snake and cleaned it out. Then took a garden hose and flushed it. The pipe drained all the water coming from the hose.

My AC guys typically will clear the clog regardless of where the plug is. But I can certainly see them asking for the plumber to tag team if necessary.
This post was edited on 7/18/23 at 6:27 pm
Posted by good_2_geaux
Member since Feb 2015
780 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 6:35 pm to
Make sure you don’t have two (2) pea traps in the drain line. That will also cause a vacuum especially after AC baw blasts air down it.
Posted by WeagleEagle
Folsom Prison
Member since Sep 2011
2381 posts
Posted on 7/18/23 at 7:06 pm to
Shop vac
Posted by LSUDad
Still on the move
Member since May 2004
60774 posts
Posted on 7/19/23 at 12:55 am to
If the line goes outside, shop vac it.
If it goes into a vent stack, so go into a bath sink area. See where the A/C unit tail line goes. That’s where you start.
Posted by Lutcher Lad
South of the Mason-Dixon Line
Member since Sep 2009
6751 posts
Posted on 7/19/23 at 8:10 am to
Get yourself a 20-ft length of 1/2-inch wire rope from Home Depot and go up on your roof with it. Go to each of your vents coming out of your roof and push the wire rope down into the vent. The stiff, yet flexible cable will break up any obstructions like bird nests, etc.
Happy hunting!
Posted by TeddyPadillac
Member since Dec 2010
28712 posts
Posted on 7/19/23 at 8:24 am to
just a word of advice from a recent experience.
I had all my AC equipment replaced a few years ago. Never had an issue with the drain clogging before.
Started having issues a few months after they installed everything with the drain clogging and the drip pan filling up.
They'd come out and blow it and pour some vinegar mixture down and it would be ok for a while then i'd have the problem again a few months later.
i figured there was some attic insulation that got into the drain line during installation. just needed to get it out.

My complaint was that this was happening every so often, and it never did before, so what changed?
they brought the owner of the AC company out, and he noticed immediately that there was no valve between the unit and the drain vent where you blow the air through. SO when they woudl blow the air, maybe some was going down the drain, but more than likely most was going back into the unit. there needs to be a valve there to close when you are blowing the drain to ensure all the compressed air goes down the drain.

they put valves on, blew it out, and i haven't had an issue with clogged drains since then.

so long story short, make sure there's valves in place, b/c if not then they aren't really accomplishing anything by trying to blow the line clean.
Posted by Ricardo
Member since Sep 2016
5793 posts
Posted on 7/19/23 at 8:46 am to
I bought an older home and every so often the drain would stop flowing. Tried cleaning it with every method I could. Eventually, just cut and replaced the PVC. There were so many right angles that were almost fully clogged that there was almost no way simply blowing it out was going to work.

Cutting and gluing some PVC is a simple job.
Posted by Boudreaux35
BR
Member since Sep 2007
22281 posts
Posted on 7/19/23 at 12:13 pm to
quote:

AC guys cleaned the line out


Did you see how he "cleaned it out"? You need to use AT LEAST compressed air, and if you really want a clean line, force water through it. If he just stuck a wire, like a "fishing" wire, he may have just moved the clog. Also, their may be a P-trap that is blocked.

Your AC has 2 drains. One for the unit and another to drain the pan. Obviously the pan line is clogged. The line should have a T in it. You need to block that off and push compressed air from the pan opening.
Posted by jmkidder
lafayette
Member since Sep 2005
486 posts
Posted on 7/19/23 at 12:30 pm to
That will destroy your equipment in no time
Posted by BobABooey
Parts Unknown
Member since Oct 2004
15497 posts
Posted on 7/20/23 at 10:19 am to
quote:

Pros often use a blast of air from a cylinder to clear condensate lines.

Not sure this was the same procedure but I had an A/C guy blast air into some line to clear it one time. He said to put a towel in every bathroom sink before blasting. I looked at the towels after the blast and there was a bunch of that funky black crud buildup you see in the drains of bathroom sinks. If we didn’t put towels down, it would have made a huge mess.
Posted by BilbeauTBaggins
probably stuck in traffic
Member since May 2021
7279 posts
Posted on 7/20/23 at 4:06 pm to
He installed a float switch? Surprised your unit didn’t come with one originally.

From my experience, if you’re filling up that fast then your drain isn’t draining fast enough. From some type of clog. The drains are designed with a weird pea trap to keep the water flowing out safely and to avoid it backing up if your unit is running hard and can’t keep up, along with the float switch.

It really sounds like he doesn’t know what he’s doing and it’s still clogged. Crap will build up all the time. There are tablets you can put in your t pipe that connects to the drain that will help keep the pipes cleaner often. Pour a small bottle of bleach and boiling hot water. You can use your mouth and push air down that t pipe connection to help force water out. That solved my problem and *knock on wood* I haven’t had drain issues all summer when I used to have it every 2 weeks from spring thru winter.
Posted by keakar
Member since Jan 2017
30152 posts
Posted on 7/20/23 at 4:36 pm to
quote:

So now with the lines clear the pan is still filling up and repeatedly tripping that switch. AC guy said that he thinks the drain vent line is probably clogged with debris and to call a plumber.



cut the drain line near the unit, put a rag around the downstream pipe and blow hard with your mouth, if you can blow, its clear, if not, its clogged so get an air compressor and blow it out.

this isnt rocket science, so no need to pay a guy for doing this.

now, that said, is there a cap on the drain line? or is it left open in the closet?

it needs a cap or it sucks in air, preventing the unit from draining until the unit shuts off and the fan stops.

also, get another a/c guy, because that guy is an idiot if he didnt do as i described for you above. doing that is standard routine troubleshooting drain issues
This post was edited on 7/21/23 at 1:17 pm
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