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AC Condensate Trap on Positive Preassure side?
I posted previously about my year old Trane S9V2 not going into 2nd stage correctly in the new heating season (no problems last winter). The problem ended up being that the AC and Furnace condensate line were tied together and was causing back pressure not allowing 2nd stage to operate correctly.
Tech was out this week and separated the lines. I asked him about the need for a trap on the AC condensate side (per the info I got on this site) and he said it wasn’t needed as it is under positive pressure.
Here are my questions:
(1) Besides efficiency loss, is there any good reason to put a trap on AC condensate line that is under positive pressure?
(2) wouldn’t a trap on AC side under positive pressure dry up anyway over the summer? So what’s the point
(3) can I just keep the PVC service cap off and allow the little bit or air that escapes to go up into the furnace room instead of down into the the drain? Will this have any effect on proper drainage? Or does this basically act as a vent to allow water to drain even better?
(4) I noticed the tech didn’t put a service cap on furnace drain. Is this acting as a vent? Or did he forget?
Thanks.
Here are the pics (with service cap and without)
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The cap on the coil is for cleaning out.
The lack of a cap on the furnace is acting as a vent.
"Better tell the sandman to stay away, because we're gonna be workin on this one all night."
"Dude, you need more than 2 wires to a condenser to run a 2 stage heatpump."
"Just get it done son."
Dad adjusted
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Thanks—so is it ok to just leave the AC cap off? Wouldn’t that also act like a vent?
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Maybe its just me, but it looks like standing water in the water heater drip pan.???
Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk
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A trap on the positive pressure coil is "not necessary" for drainage but is recommended if it drains outside of the conditioned space as that will increase the infiltration rate as it depressurizes the building. As long as the ac is running its constantly filling up the trap, the trap can dry out during winter if you have those crappy preformed traps, I prefer to build my own for ease of cleaning
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https://www.trane.com/content/dam/Tr...N_11112016.pdf
Still not to mfr's instructions.
I thought I remembered some funky requirements for the condensate.
The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free meals and stamps EVER.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed the Animals". Their stated reason for this policy "... the animals become dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."
from an excerpt by Paul Jacob in Sun City, AZ
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Is that a carbon monoxide monitor laying on the condensate pipes? You've got no auxiliary drain line or overflow switch to shut down the ac when the drain line clogs, that will be a costly repair. Ask your hvac contractor to wire in a float switch, very cheap protection
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Originally Posted by
pacnw
I read the manual—I don’t see any mention of a trap...what part do you think is wrong?
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Originally Posted by
CEAS-AC-TECH
Maybe its just me, but it looks like standing water in the water heater drip pan.???
Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk
No standing water—I actually have a water alarm in that pan that would go off it it was leaking.
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Post Likes - 1 Likes, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
Makeitcold
Is that a carbon monoxide monitor laying on the condensate pipes? You've got no auxiliary drain line or overflow switch to shut down the ac when the drain line clogs, that will be a costly repair. Ask your hvac contractor to wire in a float switch, very cheap protection
Yes, it’s a CO detector.
Do you have an image of this auxiliary drain line? So like a pan under the line in case it leaks?
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Originally Posted by
DVA79
Yes, it’s a CO detector.
Do you have an image of this auxiliary drain line? So like a pan under the line in case it leaks?
The auxiliary drain is the one that's plugged on the evaporator coil. Since you don't have a secondary drain pan it would be wise to either pipe that secondary drain to the floor drain or add a safety switch so the unit shuts down in case of a clogged primary drain. If the mechanical room is in a finished basement I would suggest adding a wet switch to the system to shut it down when that floor drain backs up.
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Look on our wall of fame forum to get a good idea of what we mean, its conveniently next to the wall of shame forum. Flyersfan makes a great point I forgot about the main drain backing up. Had this happen to a customer 2 years ago in the finished basement while they were on vacation in Europe for 3 weeks, that was a powerful smell in the middle of July
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Originally Posted by
Makeitcold
Look on our wall of fame forum to get a good idea of what we mean, its conveniently next to the wall of shame forum. Flyersfan makes a great point I forgot about the main drain backing up. Had this happen to a customer 2 years ago in the finished basement while they were on vacation in Europe for 3 weeks, that was a powerful smell in the middle of July
Is this what we are talking about?
https://rectorseal.com/product/safe-t-switch-ss1/
Looks like a genius idea. So I would just screw that into the secondary drain and then connect the wires to the AC terminal?
Or would I be better served just running another line to the floor drain?
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That could work but you'll need a contractor to wire it in so that it controls the correct equipment. I also add a delay timer so that it cant short cycle the condenser. Around my area we run two drain lines but almost all units are in the attic, the primary drains usually right where the lineset comes out of the wall and the secondary is piped so it pokes out of the soffits and will drain right in front of a window. This is done to hopefully alert the homeowner that the primary is plugged and needs service asap. Personally I'd do 2 drain lines with a wet switch near that floor drain
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Originally Posted by
Makeitcold
That could work but you'll need a contractor to wire it in so that it controls the correct equipment. I also add a delay timer so that it cant short cycle the condenser. Around my area we run two drain lines but almost all units are in the attic, the primary drains usually right where the lineset comes out of the wall and the secondary is piped so it pokes out of the soffits and will drain right in front of a window. This is done to hopefully alert the homeowner that the primary is plugged and needs service asap. Personally I'd do 2 drain lines with a wet switch near that floor drain
Great, thanks for the helpful reply. What exactly is a wet switch? Like a water alarm that will shut off AC?
Also, do you see any problem with keeping the service cap off? Since there is no trap, I would rather have that conditioned air going up than down into the drain.
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That's precisely what it should do if its wired correctly. Personally I would have put a trap in there so none of the air is escaping, I guess it's ok if the mechanical room in the pic is in the conditioned space. I'd also leave the vertical pipe that the cap attaches to off if your not going to have a trap installed.