Coil dripping water

[Firemedic85]

Hello guys/gals, I know this has been discussed in the past, but haven’t found any clear solutions so to speak. I’m literally going to go insane lol. This is sort of lengthy, so please be patient with me. I’ll try to paint the best picture I can. My wife and I purchased a home last year. It has a Trane 3.5 ton heat pump downstairs, and a York 2.5 ton upstairs. Downstairs is 1600 heated and upstairs is 1100 heated. We live in very humid northern Louisiana. Downstairs unit is 4 years old with about 2 years run time on it. The elderly lady bought the heat pump in 2014, then fell ill and moved in with family in 2015. We purchased the home last summer in 2017. So the house sat a couple of years with the unit barely ever running. I replaced the upstairs heat pump when we bought the house. That’s why they’re 2 different brands. Ok, here we go....my downstairs evaporator coil on the Trane heat pump drips off the coil onto my filter getting it wet. The crazy thing is, it does it on startup only. It’s a upflow coil and drips about 15-20 drops of water, everytime the unit cycles on. I’ve had the coil replaced 2 times this year, and it still does it. The coil is spotless! I’ve used coil cleaner, coil protectant spray from Nu-Calgon. I think that actually made the dripping worse. THIS IS NOT A DRAIN PROBLEM!!!! The unit drains fine and it has a trap, this is water dripping off the coil at start up, missing the drain pan and landing on my filter. The company I’m dealing with is basically done dealing with it, he said it’s just an anomaly!!! �� The Tech came out and measured my superheat/subcool etc. he said there’s nothing wrong with my unit. Please help, I can’t afford a new $ heat pump! Please any and all suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks so much

[Firemedic85]

Hello guys/gals, I know this has been discussed in the past, but haven’t found any clear solutions so to speak. I’m literally going to go insane lol. This is sort of lengthy, so please be patient with me. I’ll try to paint the best picture I can. My wife and I purchased a home last year. It has a Trane 3.5 ton heat pump downstairs, and a York 2.5 ton upstairs. Downstairs is 1600 heated and upstairs is 1100 heated. We live in very humid northern Louisiana. Downstairs unit is 4 years old with about 2 years run time on it. The elderly lady bought the heat pump in 2014, then fell ill and moved in with family in 2015. We purchased the home last summer in 2017. So the house sat a couple of years with the unit barely ever running. I replaced the upstairs heat pump when we bought the house. That’s why they’re 2 different brands. Ok, here we go....my downstairs evaporator coil on the Trane heat pump drips off the coil onto my filter getting it wet. The crazy thing is, it does it on startup only. It’s a upflow coil and drips about 15-20 drops of water, everytime the unit cycles on. I’ve had the coil replaced 2 times this year, and it still does it. The coil is spotless! I’ve used coil cleaner, coil protectant spray from Nu-Calgon. I think that actually made the dripping worse. THIS IS NOT A DRAIN PROBLEM!!!! The unit drains fine and it has a trap, this is water dripping off the coil at start up, missing the drain pan and landing on my filter. The company I’m dealing with is basically done dealing with it, he said it’s just an anomaly!!! �� The Tech came out and measured my superheat/subcool etc. he said there’s nothing wrong with my unit. Please help, I can’t afford a new $ heat pump! Please any and all suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks so much

Anyone please? Any help or ideas are welcome, thanks

[timebuilder]

It sounds as though you need a Trane technician to look at this unit, because there are thousands of them out there and they must have figured out a way to deal with this particular issue other than what you've already tried to do on your own.

I'm hoping that you're not a DIY person because you mentioned that you had installed a heat pump. I hope that means you paid someone to install a heat pump.

Be that as it may, I would look to a company that is well known for doing good work with the Trane brand so that they can advise you how to stop the dripping.

[Firemedic85]

No, I’m absolutely not a DIY, I meant to say had it replaced by a professional.But we aren’t talking about the York unit!! I’ve just had about 12 service calls on the downstairs (Trane) unit in the past year. I’ve had 2 evaporator coils replaced within that time. They always drip water at startup. Could there be a problem with the outside unit? The inside unit is about 14” off the ground, it’s an older home and it’s actually the lowest I’ve ever seen a unit mounted. (Comparing to others I’ve seen in friends/family members homes.) I have return coming in from 3 different directions. I have 3 12”x12” return grills at the closet the unit sits in, so I think it’s getting plenty of air. The company that installed it is confused and is supposed to be talking to Trane. I had another tech come out and he said he’d like to replace the unit! I said well I’m sure you would! Why would 3 evaporator coils all drip water down on my filter? Again, it’s not condensate from the drain pan, I’ve checked

[beenthere]

3-12x12 return grilles is what I would expect for a 2 ton unit. Way small for a 3.5 ton.

With the A/C running, tale a piece of copier paper, and place it at one of the return grilles. If it gets pulled against the grille that it is hard to pull it a way, you definitely don't have enough return air comong through the grilles. Does the closet door bang shut if you open it while the A/C is running. Another sign of not enough return.

[Firemedic85]

The door will shut, but it doesn’t slam. It’s like anyone gently shutting a door I suppose. I did have one gentleman say my duct work was restrictive, but he says it’s common in older homes, especially 2 story homes. I’ve just never seen low clearance like mine. The coil is 15.5” from bottom of coil to concrete floor. Interesting about the return air size, I’ve had 2 different techs tell me I’ve had plenty. Now you have me wondering. Would not enough return cause the evaporator coil to drip water upon start up? I don’t know the science behind HVAC at all. I just know this is a problem and it’s driving me insane. I can also tell you that the drain pan will drain when unit is running, but it drains really well after the unit turns off. I’ve heard water draining properly up to 25-30 minutes after the unit cuts off.

[Firemedic85]

The reason the coil has low clearance is because the plenum. I guess that’s right? There isn’t enough room because it’s a 2 story. No where for it to go, so they had to lower the unit down. Sorry for so much info, just trying to solve this mystery! I appreciate everyone’s input. I also have a supply going to a room outside the home. The ladies husband had a workshop and he wanted it cooled. It’s not getting any return from that supply. Would that matter?

[beenthere]

Remove the grilles from 2 of the returns for a day or 2, and see if the drip stops.

[Firemedic85]

I’ll give that a try and let you know. Thanks

[beenthere]

I’ll give that a try and let you know. Thanks

Also, hope your not using a 3M air filter.

[Firemedic85]

I’ve used them all. It doesn’t seem to matter to the coil as far as the dripping. Currently using the cheap woven Glasfloss filters

[Firemedic85]

Oh, can’t believe i left this out....the concrete slab the unit sits on stays soaking wet! The condensate line drains into my plumbing so it’s not that. Not sure if that has anything to do with the problem? This is the outside unit I’m referring too. It seeps condensation just as bad as inside lol

[beenthere]

Normal for outside unit to have condensate dripping.

[Firemedic85]

Oh yeah, I know they’ll sweat some...but this is excessive. The church down the road has about 10 of the same type unit working together in series, and none of them sweat like mine. It’s more than just normal sweating, it saturates the entire slab. The upstairs unit, (York) doesn’t do it near as bad. Again, just trying to explain everything as easily as I can. So the outside unit looks like someone sprays it with a water hose everyday and the inside coil drips off the face of coil at startup for about the first 3 minutes of run time. When I get home I’ll remove the return grills and let it run today and see if it helps. So you don’t think 15” clearance is an issue? I really don’t know how to get anymore clearance without going in and completely moving walls and redoing the entire ductwork layout.

[Firemedic85]

Taking the grills off yesterday didn’t help a thing. I was completely wrong on the size 15x15 are the return sizes and again I have 3 of them. All pulling from different directions into the closet. My closet door has a return grill and the walls east and west of the unit have returns. So, it continues to drip. No one has ever really addressed the low clearance. I’m pretty much going to give up at this point. I’ll just have to change my filter every week or two. Thanks for the reply’s. Maybe the next one I’ll get a 3 ton, this one doesn’t stay on long anyway. A normal on cycle is 5-6 minutes. Just stinks I have a $ heat pump that drips water and can’t figure it out.

[beenthere]

15" clearance on the bottom should be enough. 3-15x15 is enough for about 3.5 tons.

As for the drip. Would have to be there and check it out myself why its doing it, to know how to resolve it.

Is the unit level.

[Firemedic85]

Yes sir, the unit is level as far as I know. It looks level. The dripping comes from both sides of the a coil. About half way up, it just drips off the face at startup. I still dont see how it does it at startup then it stops, after about 2 minutes of unit running and it doesn’t drip water when it shuts down. And again, the outside unit will pool water but it’s York counterpart doesn’t do that. Well I appreciate your willingness to help me. This is a great forum. At this point, I’m just out of options. Not even the company that installed it can figure it out. Not even 3 evaporator coils later. That makes me believe it’s either the outside unit causing it somehow or the way it was installed? Unit drains fine though other than the 15-20 drops of water at startup. Definitely one of those things to drive a person mad! Lol

[garyed]

The dripping only when the unit fist starts is strange. Usually when you have water dripping off a coil it happens more when the unit is running for a while & has more time to build up moisture on the coil. Have you tried running the fan continuously to see if it makes a difference? I was just wondering if there is a fan delay on startup that could possibly have something to do with too much moisture for the coil to handle. You might want to ask your servicing company if there are any sensors on the coil that control the fan too.

[Firemedic85]

I’ll have to mention that to them. When you look at the coil, you can see little beads of water everywhere when the unit isn’t running. I know, this is the craziest thing and has stumped many a folk here in North Louisiana. I haven’t tried the fan staying on. When the outside unit kicks on, the inside is simultaneously and the same for when it shuts off.

[beenthere]

Have they tried cleaning the coil with dish soap.