They tied the drain to WHERE?

[thermojohn]

Here is a nice one. Homeowner calls and says he has water dripping out of his horizontal unit under his house, but says he hasn't had his A/C on in two months... And why does it smell putrid? Finally determined through the phone conversation that his drain is connected to the........SEWER!

Needless to say, we found this after the determined homeowner cut the drain line. The homeowner said it shot all over him as he was fumbling around for the pvc cap:

Note the lime he spread around as recommended by a plumber.



Here is the supply plenum after it was cut loose from the furnace. Obvious that it had been leaking for some time. The homeowner is away from home a lot, so these things run unchecked.



We ended up swapping out the system to a new 16 SEER two speed, after re-locating the furnace/coils to a vertical location more practical for service and access. We also installed a new drain line, terminating it at a different location... Outside where it belongs.

Our guys got well acquainted with tyvec suits, and masks for several days. It was a disgusting job to say the least.

The plumber arrived and found what caused the problem. A squirrel had gotten lodged in the sewer line via vent stack, and plugged it up. Lots of gagging and dry heaves to go around this job.

[GorillaTight]

Ugh...that's worth at least DOUBLE the standard rate, right?
That must've took some serious fortitude on your guys' part!

[thermojohn]

Ugh...that's worth at least DOUBLE the standard rate, right?
That must've took some serious fortitude on your guys' part!

Yes, they were good sports, to say the least. Our guys were well taken care of to put up with this $&*^... Literally.

[hvac wiz 79]

thats pretty nasty

[hvacvegas]

The plumber suggested to throw lime down right in your working space eh? What a ba*****.

I'd be pooping in a sump pump hole as payback.

[icesailor]

As a Plumber, I see this a lot. Usuallt though, it is a condensate with vinyl tube ron to a convenient PVC drain pipe with a hole drilled in the PVC pipe, the tube stuck in the hole and some RTV toake it water tight and give it a professional touch.

Usually done by hacksters.

[thermojohn]

The plumber suggested to throw lime down right in your working space eh?

Well, the homeowner already did the lime before we arrived. Did it just for us. Apparantly from a google search, hydrated lime is what they recommend to alleviate sewer smell from spills under homes. Whodathunkit?

[jeremyhall.tech.sc]

ive done jobs where sewer was present under the home and i bought bags of sand to spread and then covered my working area with plastic . if you cant stand the smell just put you some cologne in one of those paper masks.

[thermojohn]

As a Plumber, I see this a lot. Usuallt though, it is a condensate with vinyl tube ron to a convenient PVC drain pipe with a hole drilled in the PVC pipe, the tube stuck in the hole and some RTV toake it water tight and give it a professional touch.

Usually done by hacksters.

Yes, it is somewhat common here, and the types of connections get really imaginative. It is illegal to connect this way for a good reason. It did aid in speeding up the decision-making process for a new system, and re-location.

Speaking of hacksters, I did not mention this system was on a Tjerland HSJ power booster vent. The original install had the relay wired to initiate the booster, but not the differential proving switch, which is supossed to disable call to the gas valve upon failure of airflow.

The horizontal run was 50', vertical run was .5'. Needless to say, they got a power venter with properly configured safety upon failure of venter.

[hvacvegas]

Well, the homeowner already did the lime before we arrived. Did it just for us. Apparantly from a google search, hydrated lime is what they recommend to alleviate sewer smell from spills under homes. Whodathunkit?

Oh yeah, it works. Under my little ladies trailer, they did the same thing.

Then I got in there to do some work.
Sweat + Lime = chemical burn.
Awsomeness.

[84randomdude]

I hope I never have to deal with that kind of thing. sheesh.

[b26440510]

I wonder if it was even legal there to drain to the sewer. Wonder if it met code or passed inspection.

Can you say air gap?

[tunnel_rat]

I wonder if it was even legal there to drain to the sewer. Wonder if it met code or passed inspection.

Can you say air gap?

Not code in counties around here......I'd guess not cool there as well.