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Message
AC pan not draining well, after 2 visits AC guy says call a plumber
Posted on 7/18/23 at 3:59 pm
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?
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 on 7/18/23 at 4:15 pm to Undertow
Does it drain to the outside of the house?
Regular maintenance - Pour a cup of bleach in the pan once a month.
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:35 pm to Undertow
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 on 7/18/23 at 4:43 pm to Baers Foot
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.
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 on 7/18/23 at 4:45 pm to Baers Foot
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.
And I just made an appointment with the plumber for tomorrow.
Posted on 7/18/23 at 4:48 pm to Undertow
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.
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 on 7/18/23 at 5:36 pm to Undertow
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 on 7/18/23 at 5:39 pm to BigBinBR
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 on 7/18/23 at 6:26 pm to Undertow
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.
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 on 7/18/23 at 6:35 pm to BigBinBR
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 on 7/19/23 at 12:55 am to Undertow
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.
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 on 7/19/23 at 8:10 am to Undertow
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!
Happy hunting!
Posted on 7/19/23 at 8:24 am to Undertow
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.
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 on 7/19/23 at 8:46 am to Undertow
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.
Cutting and gluing some PVC is a simple job.
Posted on 7/19/23 at 12:13 pm to Undertow
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 on 7/19/23 at 12:30 pm to Shexter
That will destroy your equipment in no time
Posted on 7/20/23 at 10:19 am to WB Davis
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 on 7/20/23 at 4:06 pm to Undertow
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.
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 on 7/20/23 at 4:36 pm to Undertow
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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