Drain line help!

[gman69_1999]

The setup:

Air-handler in attic
Drain line leaking somewhere in between 2nd and 1st floor.

My thought:

Run new drain line.

The problem: I ran 20 ft of 3/4 PVC to the opposite end of the attic because it had easy access to drill in to the wall and add a drain outlet. The PVC is at an angle and the drain outlet is 8-12 inches below the handler line.

After the first day there was water in the opening after the p-trap and if I went to the outside drain and did a quick syphon the water flowed out.

Since the water was coming out the presumable breathing hole I added a temp plug but is this the best thing to do or should I do something different?

Help please......

[gman69_1999]

Here is what I have. The line from the unit does not look like a regular p-trap. This morning I removed the trap cleaner plug and a bunch of water flowed out. It also appeared that water leaked around the plug overnight and cause some water rings on the ceiling drywall.



[Edited by gman69_1999 on 06-15-2005 at 03:00 PM]

[gman69_1999]

Here is another view:



[Edited by gman69_1999 on 06-15-2005 at 03:01 PM]

[gman69_1999]

And here you can see the main drain line crossing the overflow pan line. Notice it (main drain line) is on a decent drain angle.



[Edited by gman69_1999 on 06-15-2005 at 03:01 PM]

[gman69_1999]

And here is the outside view of where it drains:



[Edited by gman69_1999 on 06-15-2005 at 03:02 PM]

[gman69_1999]

So this morning I went ahead an put a bead of silicon around the trap cleaner plug as I suspect that the water is leaking from there. What I am more concerned about is the fact that the water is at that plug point as it was not prior to me running the new line.

If it doesn't leak in the next 24 hours, I will feel better but not knowing what is happening with the water in the PVC will be on my mind all the time.

Any ideas or suggestions?

[Gunnery Sergeant Hartman]

Post some pics that work...

[gman69_1999]

I can see the pics just fine??..??I went ahead and moved the images to a different domain to see if that helps.

[Edited by gman69_1999 on 06-15-2005 at 03:02 PM]

[gman69_1999]

Images should be ok now

[troyorr]

You installed the trap backwards.

[troyorr]

Sorry.I didn't look at the picture correctly. My mistake. How did the trap get scorched and distorted? Is the trap restricted? Could be it can't drain fast enough because of the distortion.

[gman69_1999]

That is what the AC service company did 2 years ago when they put the new unit in. It looks like they made their own trap.

Beyond this, prior to me running the new PVC line, the trap cleaner (or open top of the T) did not have water setting in the opening or spilling out for that matter. Is it possible with the length of the new run that I need a real trap all together or can I do without?

[west_seth]

I had a problem with my drain line. Installer flat out did it wrong and I could not get him back out. Someone here pointed me this site at Trane.

http://www.trane.com/commercial/issues/iaq/iaq5.asp


I agree the line looks constricted. Maybe they tried to make the trap by heating the plastic pipe. You can make one from elbows very easily. See the link and good luck.

[gman69_1999]

Not sure it is a trap issue unless someone with some know-how and experience can tell me if the running of the longer drain pipe would require a better trap or no trap at all.

As I stated before, the previous drain run worked fine, except it was leaking somewhere between the first and second floor in the wall (i.e. cracked pipe or bad pipe connection). This is why I made the new run.

[gman69_1999]

It's been 24 hours since I added the silicon around the trap cleaner plug and I don't see any evidence of leakage. I will monitor the unit for the next week or so to see if there are any other leaks. I am still concerned about the water build up in the drain line.

[fat bob]

If the trap is on the negative pressure side, it has to be sized properly to prevent air from being sucked into the coil box and restricting condensate flow. If the trap is on the positive pressure side (and air is blowing out of any hole in the coil box) it shouldn't affect the water flow unless it's blocked somehow. If that cap at the tee is leaking, you can use pvc glue and glue a piece of pipe where you have the cap. As long as the pipe is taller than the trap it won't leak even if it's not capped. But make sure you remove all the silicone because nothing will stick to silicone.

[marks]

I posted this on another thread.
Do you have more when the unit cycles off?

I have seen many times where there is a sag in the lineafter the trap. In other words the line has 2 traps. If this is the case the water will move up and down in the trap, at times raising the level up in to the connection at the coil. The air between the traps is the culprit.

If this is the case,try adding some height to the T you have installed after the trap and drill a hole in the cap.

[marks]

By more, i mean more water flow

[gman69_1999]

The cap seemed to do the job and I have witnessed the water draining outside. All appears fine. Removing the air in the pipe seemed to do the trick...either that or the pile up of the water along the PVC finally pushed its way to the end.?.?

[brian in mass]

For peace of mind I would flush out the line with something like a gallo gun just to make sure that something like a piece of insulation didn't get stuck in the pipe.