re: Any HVAC Professionals here? [Updated - Evap Coil Pics pg 4]

Forgot to add, this just happened to me after putting in the new unit. There was a plug in the drain line. HVAC came and blew it out. It happened again, so they came back, and replaced the drain elbow. It was dripping at the elbow from the drain, then running down to the lowest point, which was a bedroom ceiling, causing a wet stain.

My point, it might not just be sweating, but actually a leak in the drain fitting.

But that is separate from any possible freon leak. It was from a dirty drip pan and a very old fitting that needed to be repaired.

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That vertical 2" PVC pipe is definitely sweating.

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Ok, so then all of that needs insulating.

Again I'm not a professional, but I would also question why a 2" PVC pipe is sweating from AC. It may not be draining properly. Seems like its holding a lot of water in your system and not draining very fast. You may be able to get it to drain faster so that there is never enough water in the pipe to drop the temp enough to sweat.

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Ok, so then all of that needs insulating.

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I'm not saying you are wrong, but i have never heard or seen anyone insulating a sewage/drain line pvc pipe. and if we pay to insulate the vertical portion of it, i feel like we are only pushing the problem further down the pipe. i don't know where the horizontal portion of the yellow pipe in my drawing goes.

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Again I'm not a professional, but I would also question why a 2" PVC pipe is sweating from AC. It may not be draining properly. Seems like its holding a lot of water in your system and not draining very fast. You may be able to get it to drain faster so that there is never enough water in the pipe to drop the temp enough to sweat.

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this is something i've questioned the entire time. even if ice cold, why would a vertical pvc drain pipe hold the water long enough to sweat.

Poorly drawn? shite, son, I've seen engineering documents that were worse than that.

Get a new HVAC contractor. You clearly have a refrigerant leak and they haven't addressed it outside of just pumping more in. Leaks are usually progressive problems that result in the need for very expensive repairs that have a good chance of failing or replacement of equipment. Whether it's through incompetence or greed or the contractor playing ball with the "warranty" company, the HVAC contractor is not operating in your best interests and they need to be shitcanned.

Your home "warranty" company is going to advocate for not replacing the unit, even if it needs it. If they pay a guy a couple of hundred dollars every 6 months to come out and help that unit limp along until the warranty's up, they've effectively fricked you into paying for it even though it's "warranted", haven't they? Hold their fricking feet to the fire.

Go to Home Depot and buy some insulation for all exposed refrigerant line in your attic. Insulate all the refrigerant line between the air handler and the penetration through the exterior wall. It is NOT a fix for the greater problem you have, but it should help mitigate problems with condensation until the larger root issues can be addressed.

Make sure your drain pain isn't overflowing. Algae and shite like that can grow in and plug the drain line. The air handler should have a float switch that stops the system if the water in the drain pan gets too high to prevent overflows, but they can fail. Make sure the pan's draining properly. You can also test the switch by lifting up on the float while the unit is running to see if it stops. While you're up there, pour some bleach into the drain line to kill anything that might be growing in there. If properly installed, there should be a short vertical access stub in the drain line near the air handler. Just drop a cup of bleach slowly into that line. If properly installed, it should all flow away from the air handler and into your sewer line, not back into the drain pan.

"Condensate" is not a verb. Condense.

first off i have 32 years in the business doing a/c repairs

its a 2013 system with a pretty fast leaking evaporator coil

at this point the only smart, as well as good financial advice, is to replace the system with a new high efficiency system.

the cost savings in electricity alone with the high efficiency unit will pay for itself in a few years.

the drain line sweating is because the indoor coil has ice from freezing up and you literally have ice water running down the drain line making it sweat. the line will stop sweating only after the freon leak is fixed and that old unit is not worth fixing

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there are 2 lines.
1 1/4" copper line (what i assume is Freon).
another wrapped and insulated line that i think is 3/4th".

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That's a big run honestly. usually they are 3/4 and 3/8. How many tons is the compressor?

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Poorly drawn? shite, son, I've seen engineering documents that were worse than that.

Get a new HVAC contractor. You clearly have a refrigerant leak and they haven't addressed it outside of just pumping more in. Leaks are usually progressive problems that result in the need for very expensive repairs that have a good chance of failing or replacement of equipment. Whether it's through incompetence or greed or the contractor playing ball with the "warranty" company, the HVAC contractor is not operating in your best interests and they need to be shitcanned.

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not to blame my wife. but she handled most of the warranty discussions and HVAC face to face's over the summer. I think it's time for me to take over in that sense. I won't hesitate to follow them everywhere they go and question them on everything.

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Go to Home Depot and buy some insulation for all exposed refrigerant line in your attic. Insulate all the refrigerant line between the air handler and the penetration through the exterior wall. It is NOT a fix for the greater problem you have, but it will help mitigate problems with condensation until the larger root issues can be addressed.

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did that Saturday.

That 3/4" refrigerant line is now covered with rubber self-sealing pipe insulation everywhere i have access to it. I'm going to post another picture of me removing the old insulation and when i ran my hand up that pipe it covered it in a oily type substance.

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Make sure your drain pain isn't overflowing. Algae and shite like that can grow in and plug the drain line. The air handler should have a float switch that stops the system if the water in the drain pan gets too high to prevent overflows, but they can fail. Make sure the pan's draining properly.

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Drain pan. Is bone dry. Has been since we moved in. I've never seen an ounce of water in it.

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While you're up there, pour some bleach into the drain line to kill anything that might be growing in there. If properly installed, there should be a short vertical access stub in the drain line near the air handler. Just drop a cup of bleach slowly into that line. If properly installed, it should all flow away from the air handler and into your sewer line, not back into the drain pan.

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i can attest this all sounds correct. or what you are describing as the way it should work, it does. i've poured the powder they sell at Lowe's into the pee trap to help clean it out. I do this every 6 months as precaution. But i'll try real Bleach this afternoon.

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"Condensate" is not a verb. Condense.

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haha, noted. sorry.

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its a 2013 system with a pretty fast leaking evaporator coil

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Come on. Its 5 years old, I've had 20 year old systems before and that's 25 year old tech. Why would you replace an entire system for a small leak that's likely a sub $250 fix?

OP, your freon lines are copper and there is no way they are 1". Maybe they are that big after being insulated.

And is she white or Mexican?

The biggest thing as others have mentioned, is you need to confirm if the pipe is actually sweating or if that is simply where the water is running to the lowest part and then dripping. As said it would not be abnormal for the copper to rub the PVC pipe, the copper be sweating and then the water run down the PVC to finally drip.

If your pvc runs vertical, you can tie a rag or towel around it and see if that stops the dripping. This will let you know if the water is running down the pipe or if its actually sweating. Even with ice in there, I'm still not convinced that 2" PVC would sweat though.