dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
Search similar:


uniqs
105137

marti
Color outside the lines
MVM
join:2001-12-14
Houston, TX

marti

MVM

Air Conditioner -- water dripping outside

There is a tube that comes out of the house that is part of the AC/heating system that is in the attic. I have been working outside today and noticed water dripping out of that tube. Is this normal?

mrknowitall
@anonymouse.org

-1 recommendation

mrknowitall

Anon

yes, it's doing it's job.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

Not necessarily. marti See Profile] Where is the tube? This could be the secondary drain meaning that the primary is stopped up. In this case if you don't get a professional to look at it there could be interior water damage in the near future.

I'm sure glad I don't "know it all"!

mrknowitall
@anonymouse.org

mrknowitall to marti

Anon

to marti
if you would like a more technical answer, that's the humidity been taken out from your house.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

Without knowing which drain line this is you are still giving potentially home destructive advise.

mrknowitall
@anonymouse.org

mrknowitall to robbin

Anon

to robbin
quote:
Not necessarily. marti See Profile] Where is the tube? This could be the secondary drain meaning that the primary is stopped up. In this case if you don't get a professional to look at it there could be interior water damage in the near future.

I'm sure glad I don't "know it all"!
hmmm...usually the one going out is the main and the one inside is the back up with a cut off switch installed in the drip pan.
mrknowitall

mrknowitall to robbin

Anon

to robbin
quote:
Without knowing which drain line this is you are still giving potentially home destructive advise.
well in that case call a proffesional :-P

i'll check what other post.

marti
Color outside the lines
MVM
join:2001-12-14
Houston, TX

marti to robbin

MVM

to robbin
The tube is near the eves and is part of the AC system. I don't know if it is a primary or secondary drain.

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

If it is near the eaves then I would bet on it being the secondary which means you have a stopped up drain line. I know you have lived there for quite a while. Have you ever seen water coming out of this tube before?

Koil
Premium Member
join:2002-09-10
Irmo, SC

Koil to marti

Premium Member

to marti
If ya want a real answer, we'd need to get the make and model number so maybe we could pull up a diagram. While robbin is right, in general, water does come out from the AC, its condensation from the cooling process. Its the same thing with your car when you're driving with the AC on, and you stop the car somewhere. Below the car, you'll get a little puddle of water....thats usually from the AC (barring you having bigger issues)

Ken
MVM
join:2003-06-16
Markle, IN

Ken to marti

MVM

to marti
You would need to climb up in the attic and look at the furnace to see if there are one line or two. If there are two then you would need to see where the other line goes.

mrknowitall
@anonymouse.org

mrknowitall to marti

Anon

to marti
i still say it is normal unless robbin can post why he/she stating that it may not be normal instead of just saying stuff like "Without knowing which drain line this is you are still giving potentially home destructive advise." with out backing his statement why as i did.

marti
Color outside the lines
MVM
join:2001-12-14
Houston, TX

marti

MVM

I went back out and looked. Two pipes, one near the eves and the other goes all the way to the ground. The little one is dripping. I just had an AC guy out here this year to do yearly checking of the AC unit and the heating unit. Maybe he didn't check the drainage system...
Expand your moderator at work

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

1 recommendation

robbin to mrknowitall

Mod

to mrknowitall

Re: Air Conditioner -- water dripping outside

said by mrknowitall :

i still say it is normal unless robbin can post why he/she stating that it may not be normal instead of just saying stuff like "Without knowing which drain line this is you are still giving potentially home destructive advise." with out backing his statement why as i did.
Normally they do not put the primary drain line in the eave in this part of the country. It is either close to the ground or draining into the sewer system. They do put the secondary in the eave or over the tub or some such place where you know there is something wrong because you have never had water dripping from there before.

In any case, you should not just say "it is doing it's job" with the limited knowledge that you have. Yes, it is doing it's job, but that does not mean that everything is working properly and that marti See Profile does not need to worry about it as you do not have sufficient knowledge to make that determination.
robbin

robbin to marti

Mod

to marti
said by marti:

I went back out and looked. Two pipes, one near the eves and the other goes all the way to the ground. The little one is dripping. I just had an AC guy out here this year to do yearly checking of the AC unit and the heating unit. Maybe he didn't check the drainage system...
It sounds like you are saying that the pipe close to the ground where the water normally comes out is dry and instead the water is dripping out from the eave. IF that is the case, I believe that you have a problem.

I am sure that SandShark5 See Profile will be checking in later tonight and he can give you a more professional opinion than I can.

PeeWee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-21
Madera, CA

PeeWee to marti

Premium Member

to marti
Robbin is correct. The upper drain, usually located at the eve or similar elevation and usually over a window (as to get your attention) is an indication of a problem. Usually it's as simple as cleaning out the primary (lower) drain.
PeeWee

PeeWee to mrknowitall

Premium Member

to mrknowitall
said by mrknowitall :
quote:
Not necessarily. marti See Profile] Where is the tube? This could be the secondary drain meaning that the primary is stopped up. In this case if you don't get a professional to look at it there could be interior water damage in the near future.

I'm sure glad I don't "know it all"!
hmmm...usually the one going out is the main and the one inside is the back up with a cut off switch installed in the drip pan.
In that last sentence you seem to be describing failsafe on what is usually a large commercial unit. The expense and upkeep involved is unjustifiable in a residential unit where all that is necessary is to have a safe way to vacate the moisture until it is fixed. The location of which visually serves to be the notifier in this case. Most homeowners have no idea that the moisture from the A.C. is constantly draining outside until the upper drain gets their attention, the desired effect.

mrknowitall
@anonymouse.org

mrknowitall to robbin

Anon

to robbin
i'm from houston i guess i'm part of "the country". all the attic installed a/c i've worked on have the main going outside. and the second when it's not possible or convenient the hose goes to the sink or bathtub. but usually goes to a big drip pan unoder the atic unit. heck my house has the main going out near the eave to the ground.

at any rate i hope the op posts pictures.
HarryH3
Premium Member
join:2005-02-21

1 recommendation

HarryH3 to marti

Premium Member

to marti
Marti is in Houston, where they have just begun their annual 6-month-long humidity festival. :wink: LOTS of water condenses on the a/c evaporator around there! The house we used to live in down there had the main a/c drains going into the sewer system. The secondary drains were routed to the eve, where they would drip over the windows looking into the back yard.

Our house here has the primary drains routed outside, but they drip just a foot or so above ground level. The secondary pans have pipes that go through the side of the house and drip over a window. As an extra precaution, each pan has a float switch that will turn the system off if the secondary drain should also become clogged, before overflowing water into the house. (Last year I found that one of the secondary drain lines had never even been connected. It would have really made a mess if the primary clogged. One coupling and some PVC cement later and all is well.)

So yes, marti, water dripping from an eve tube in Texas quite probably means that the primary drain is clogged. If you have easy access to the attic, you will be able to see water in the drain pan under the unit if the main drain is clogged.

Cho Baka
MVM
join:2000-11-23
there

Cho Baka to mrknowitall

MVM

to mrknowitall
said by mrknowitall :

at any rate i hope
The rest of us just really hope that people who don't know what they are talking about don't give advice.

marti
Color outside the lines
MVM
join:2001-12-14
Houston, TX

marti

MVM

I am not going into the attic to look around, as I don't go that far into the attic! (I have mild claustrophobia!)

Pictures:

Near the eves:




Near the ground:



robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin to mrknowitall

Mod

to mrknowitall
said by mrknowitall :

i'm from houston i guess i'm part of "the country".
Actually you are totally anonymous. I still disagree with your first post in this thread. You would have much more respect here if you were a member (and probably even more if you didn't claim to know it all)!

mityfowl
Premium Member
join:2000-11-06
Dallas, TX

mityfowl to marti

Premium Member

to marti
If you won't do it you need the AC man out to blow out the pipes.

Also once a year you need to put a cup or 2 of bleach in both of those lines.

PeeWee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-21
Madera, CA

1 edit

PeeWee to marti

Premium Member

to marti
According to what you see in the picture the lower one should drain most of the time when the unit is running. When the upper one drains it is an indication of a problem with the othe drain. If it gets plugged too it then drips into te attic! The other one needs to be cleaned out.

edtit-spelling-again!

robbin
Mod
join:2000-09-21
Leander, TX

robbin

Mod

I agree with PeeWee See Profile -- your primary drain which goes to the ground is clogged. Everything is fine until the one in the eave clogs and then you will be replacing sheetrock and possibly wood floor ect. It is not an emergency, but it needs to be corrected.
boombie
join:2000-12-01
Milwaukee, WI

boombie to marti

Member

to marti
In most cases you can unclog the primary drain line with a shop vac. Just find the end of the line in the grass, attach your shop vac hose and turn on the vac. If that doesn't work, someone will need to go in the attic and use compressed air to blow out the drain.

mrknowitall
@anonymouse.org

mrknowitall to marti

Anon

to marti
well i will agree i jumped to conclusion right away with out taking in consideration that not all systems drip pans are the same. so i got this one wrong big deal, we all make mistakes and that the beauty of it, thats how we learn though i prefer to learn from other mistakes rather then mine.

peewee, some home systems have this switch. do you want prove? like i said i speak from experience and logic.
quote:
The rest of us just really hope that people who don't know what they are talking about don't give advice.
i would like for you to tell me how the drip pan works and i will tell you how the drip pan works and see who has more knowledge about this subject. my mistake was that i assumed all drip pans systems are the same as the one's i have worked in.
quote:
Actually you are totally anonymous. I still disagree with your first post in this thread. You would have much more respect here if you were a member (and probably even more if you didn't claim to know it all)!
huh, so i was wrong in assuming all drip pans are the same and i get discredited that i don't know what i'm talking about. ok, whatever you say.

why do you ask sandshark to post his opinion? now that there are pics it's crystal clear whats going on. the main got clogged so it's not really an emergency because it would take even months for the second line to clog. tell me i'm wrong?

plus blowing the lines is not the proper way of cleaning the lines. but heck i'm not a professional lol. tell me i'm wrong?
Expand your moderator at work
mrknowitall

mrknowitall to mityfowl

Anon

to mityfowl

Re: Air Conditioner -- water dripping outside

quote:
Also once a year you need to put a cup or 2 of bleach in both of those lines.
bleach is corrosive for metal which some if not most drip pans are made off. there are special tables for this purpose. tell me i'm wrong and back it up?