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excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 5:18 pm
by escombs
My ac keeps on collecting excessive condensate which is ending up being drawn by the fan draft down onto the floor area . I have cleaned the coils and filters but it keeps rearing its ugly head . My inner brain tells me to I want to rip the thing out of the space and throw it out in the street but I am resisiting the urge for now .

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Tue May 18, 2010 10:16 pm
by Robert
Hi,

Excessive condensation is pretty normal under a heat load. Have you checked for a rusted through or cracked drain pan ?


Clogged drain line ?

IF a-coil is above blower, do you have a trap in the drain line ?


With a load, it will condensate a lot of water, problem may be in the draining from pan to end of drain line.


Thanks,
Robert

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 3:55 pm
by escombs
Thanks Mr. Robert I will look into your suggestions.

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 4:07 pm
by Robert
Hi,

You're very welcome, happy to help. All of those can/will lead to overflowing or dripping from drain pan that will get on lower unit parts, the floor around unit and down in the duct below the unit.


Check for water or water stains in all those areas.



Thanks,
Robert

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 5:25 pm
by escombs
OK I went thru the list you gave me to check and I found that on the A frame on the inside of the front end there is condensate forming .It is forming on the sheet metal . The drain is draining the pan and the pan isn't cracked . The coils are wet on the front of the A frame . The unit blows cold air . I am at a loss as to what to do now . I haven't had this problem before . Could there be a leak around where the coils go through the sheet causing the condensate to form on the inside of the sheet metal? I can see up inside of the aframe and that's the only place there is condensate .Unfortunately they didn't make the drip pan quite big enough to account for this problem and it runs down the sheet metal and onto the to fan motor .

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 10:09 pm
by Robert
Hi,

Probably going to need an insulated coil box to separate the sheetmetal from the warmer ambient air.

The outside is open to warmer temps and when the cold air flows through the coil and hits the backside of the metal, the cooling down of the metal causes the condensation.


Sometimes as a cheaper option, you can insulate both sides of the metal. It may or may not work in this case.


Thanks,
Robert

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 4:12 pm
by escombs
I was thinking about using some black foam insulation to see if that does the trick. The unit is 10 years old and I was told I was lucky to have had it last this long .Only once have I had to have freon added.

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 9:08 pm
by Robert
The copper ends of the coils also condensate and drip. You'll just have to see what works.



Thanks,
Robert

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:06 pm
by icebeast
had a repairman out to my house for heating issues, but i asked about the condensation when using the AC.
he told me that over the years, enough dust got through the filters that i needed to clean the coils off and that he had some "special" chemical that would do it. he ended up burning me on the furnace work and never came back... but i would like to know what is best way to clean coils, etc.

Re: excessive condensate on ac

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 3:58 pm
by Robert
Hi,

In order to keep down confusion as these threads sometimes get lengthy, we keep each thread to the original poster.


Please start a new thread with your questions and concerns and I will reply asap in that thread.



Thanks,
Robert