PTAC unit drips on neighbor

[judie]

We have 3 PTAC units here in our condo unit. When running AC one of them drips water onto the window sill of the neighbor below. She calls us, husband pulls out the unit, sops up excess moisture in the condensation tray, etc.
There is a tube/pipe to drain condensation out of tray and away from bldg. While water drains through it sometimes, it obviously comes out elsewhere other times. What can we do to correct this? Perhaps tray tilts away from drain? We can't really tell . . . .

[acmech13]

call a service tech. you should never have water in your secondary drain pan.

[BaldLoonie]

Most PTACs use a "slinger" ring on the condenser fan to throw condensate on the condenser coil to evaporate it. Others do use a drain system. Probably should have a pro look and see what's going on and what can be done to stop the drip on the bat downstairs.

[acmech13]

window units will drip alittle bit if its really humid out. i would not suffer cause the lady downstairs window is getting wet. she will have to deal with it or keep her window closed. if its dripping it means the bottom of the coil is in the water coolingbut there is too much humidity in the air.

[The Penguin]

hmm try condo living - its not always as easy as you think.

get a pro to check out the problem - it could be as simple as the drain tube not lining up correctly

good luck

[Shophound]

I once worked in a hotel in San Diego that was full of PTAC's in the guest rooms. Upper floor units would drip condensate on lower floor units, often times annoying the guests. A coworker and I devised a gutter system for each unit, connecting them together with PVC pipe. It worked great...no more annoyed guests....at least for that reason! :D

[tpa-fl]

You didn't say what type of PTAC you have, but just about all of them support using a drain of some sort. Even the motel-style PTACs usually have some provision to connect to a drain system.

Call in a pro and see what can be done. Also, if all 3 of your PTACs are the same and only one of them is dumping condensate, there's probably something that isn't quite right with that particular unit.

The motel-style units often have the slinger-wheel arrangement which is supposed to reduce the amount of condensate drippage that happens. BUT, tiny droplets of water do make it through the evaporator. At any rate, it's most likely a problem which can be fixed.