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Started By
Message
re: A/C drip pan full. Bleach down PVC drain pipe?
Posted on 10/11/17 at 2:47 pm to King of New Orleans
Posted on 10/11/17 at 2:47 pm to King of New Orleans
Yes
1
Posted on 10/11/17 at 4:07 pm to tketaco
When we had ours installed, I had the crew attach the condensate drain lines with a screw together union. When ours stop up, easy to unscrew blow out and screw back together. Shouldn't be to hard for you to cut the pipe, blow out the line and put it back together with a screw together union. Also had my pans under the units plumbed to the eave by the driveway. If I see water dripping there, I know the drain line is stopped up, but I don't have to worry about the unit cutting off.
I used to go put about a cap full of bleach in a few times a year, before the units were changed out with the unions.
I used to go put about a cap full of bleach in a few times a year, before the units were changed out with the unions.
Posted on 10/11/17 at 4:10 pm to Gorilla Ball
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/16/21 at 5:02 pm
Posted on 10/11/17 at 4:19 pm to puse01
Anywhere in town to find those drain guns? Home Depot and Lowes didn't have them.
Posted on 10/11/17 at 4:22 pm to King of New Orleans
(no message)
This post was edited on 11/16/21 at 5:01 pm
Posted on 10/11/17 at 4:26 pm to puse01
quote:
In most cases the A/C drain line is tied into a house drain line. There is normally not a drain line for the secondary pan. The pan has a float switch that cuts the power to the A/C when the pan fills up.
Mine is tied into the house drain line (actually a vent stack in the attic), I had the secondary pan line run so I don't have to wake up sweating or come home to a 100 degree house when my main line stops up. The float switch is still there too, just in case the secondary pan line is stopped up somehow.
I have seen a lot of older homes where the main line drains outside. I would guess those probably had the units added after the fact and the installers didn't want to mess with the cast iron vent stacks for the main drain.
Posted on 10/11/17 at 8:48 pm to King of New Orleans
Try this:
Model # KD100 Internet #203001423 Store SKU #266571 Store SO SKU #111024
It's available at Home Depot. With a little ingenuity you can press it tight enough to the PVC pipe opening near your drain pain and clean it out. I did this once prior to having an air compressor. It uses compressed air capsules similar to the ones bike shops sell.
You can also try the recommended trick of a wet/dry vac on outside drain but it sounds like you cannot find yours. Can you put a wet/dry vac on the open PVC near your drain pan? Use the funnel shape attachment and duct tape to seal it and make the wet/dry vac blow instead of suck.
Lots of ways to do this job but you have to use some homemade engineering sometimes.
Also, I'm a fan of the pills. Drop them in the pan every few months. Do have to admit I stopped doing all of the above and just put the A/C system on a quarterly maintenance contract/warranty plan when I replaced everything last year.
Model # KD100 Internet #203001423 Store SKU #266571 Store SO SKU #111024
It's available at Home Depot. With a little ingenuity you can press it tight enough to the PVC pipe opening near your drain pain and clean it out. I did this once prior to having an air compressor. It uses compressed air capsules similar to the ones bike shops sell.
You can also try the recommended trick of a wet/dry vac on outside drain but it sounds like you cannot find yours. Can you put a wet/dry vac on the open PVC near your drain pan? Use the funnel shape attachment and duct tape to seal it and make the wet/dry vac blow instead of suck.
Lots of ways to do this job but you have to use some homemade engineering sometimes.
Also, I'm a fan of the pills. Drop them in the pan every few months. Do have to admit I stopped doing all of the above and just put the A/C system on a quarterly maintenance contract/warranty plan when I replaced everything last year.
This post was edited on 10/11/17 at 8:49 pm
Posted on 10/11/17 at 8:51 pm to ELLSSUU
Baam!HP
High Pressure Drain Cleaner/BlasterModel # 87000 Internet #204863180
Home Depot also has this tool which I've not tried but looks like you may be able to make work in a pinch.
Make sure you're looking in the plumbing section too.
This post was edited on 10/11/17 at 8:52 pm
Posted on 10/11/17 at 10:41 pm to King of New Orleans
I didn't read the whole thread, but you realize that if the drain pan was full to the point that the unit shut off, you have two clogged pipes, right? the drain from the unit is plugged and so is the drain from the secondary pan, so you'll need to unstop them both.
Posted on 10/14/17 at 4:47 pm to puse01
Thanks
Posted on 10/14/17 at 5:37 pm to King of New Orleans
Drano
Posted on 10/14/17 at 11:38 pm to BigSquirrel
Best way to solve. I use an old freon tank that still has air pressure in it. Cut line, blow out line then use a coupling to sleeve the line.
If you do use bleach, one cup is plenty but necessary to chase it with up to a gallon of hot water.
If you do use bleach, one cup is plenty but necessary to chase it with up to a gallon of hot water.
Posted on 10/15/17 at 1:00 am to puse01
quote:
In most cases the A/C drain line is tied into a house drain line. There is normally not a drain line for the secondary pan. The pan has a float switch that cuts the power to the A/C when the pan fills up.
The pipes you see coming through the wall outside are for the overflow pan for the water heater and the relief valve for the water heater.
There should be two condensate drain lines.
The main drain line comes straight out of the coil enclosure and down the house waste stack.
The secondary drain is a short pipe coming out of the coil enclosure that will spill into the overflow pan if the main drain line is clogged. The overflow pan will then have a drain line that exits the house to drain water in a conspicuous location. If the homeowner sees water draining from this line in the conspicuous location, they should know that the primary drain line is clogged and the maintenance is needed.
Finally, a float switch should be installed on the overflow pan to shut off the A/C completely if the secondary drain is clogged too.
Posted on 10/15/17 at 6:21 am to Tygerfan
quote:
It will clear it faster but not clean the line. I prefer vinegar over bleach when cleaning the line because bleach over time can do allot more harm to it. Vinegar seems to clean just as much but not be as corrosive.
+1000000
Posted on 10/15/17 at 8:33 am to King of New Orleans
I used my wet vac to suck up anything in the PVC drain pipe in the attic.
I checked the vac tank after to see if anything took and it had water. Is that normal? I was expecting gunk to be in there.
I checked the vac tank after to see if anything took and it had water. Is that normal? I was expecting gunk to be in there.
Posted on 10/15/17 at 9:11 am to King of New Orleans
quote:
How long will it take for the bleach to take effect and should I do it a few times over the next few days?
It should work in a few minutes. Follow up with a shop vac on blower mode and it'll clear out.
Posted on 10/15/17 at 9:55 am to King of New Orleans
quote:
I used my wet vac to suck up anything in the PVC drain pipe in the attic.
I checked the vac tank after to see if anything took and it had water. Is that normal? I was expecting gunk to be in there.
That's normal.
Posted on 10/15/17 at 10:16 am to efrad
quote:
That's normal.
Should that clean it out?
Posted on 10/15/17 at 10:59 am to King of New Orleans
quote:
Should that clean it out?
It should, if you did it right. I would do a pass with blowing and then with sucking from your wet vac. Put your hand around where you stick the vac to the PVC to form a good seal.
But this is just what you’ve done to the PVC connected to the overflow pan below the AC, right? That’s the secondary drain, and if water is accumulating in that pan then your primary drain is clogged too. Under normal operation, water shouldn’t even go into the overflow pan because that is a “backup” drain.
To clean your primary drain, since the pipe is typically glued straight to the AC unit, you’ll have to cut the other PVC line about a foot away from the unit, then use the vac on both sides of the cut to make sure the entire line is unclogged. Then use a 3/4” PVC coupling and PVC cement glue to glue the line back together.
Posted on 10/15/17 at 12:04 pm to efrad
Where is the primary pan? I don't see anything other than the big pan that is on the floor. The only PVC I see is coming off the unit. I don't have a pipe coming out of my exterior.
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