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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- Part 2 and 3 links shown down below in description explain how to unclog.
This video is intended to help new Florida (SW and Central) DR Horton owners understand the quirks of clogged drain lines and the monthly maintenance we can perform to prevent the clogs. Please for the love of Pete, don't feel the need to comment about the missing trap or I'm calling the evaporator the condenser. This was setup by DR Horton for the SW Florida region and the whole drain line is a trap. I'm just the home owner sharing the best I can, but my main point is not not use corrosive material when the drain is already blocked or it will work it's way back into the unit where I'm pointing with my finger. Always seek out HVAC experts which I'm clearly not. But hopefully if your AC is out and you are in a bind, this info can help you determine if you have a clog in the drain and point you in right direction to remove clog and get your AC back on-line.
If you are trying to clear out a clogged drain, make sure to following:
Part 2(setup wet vac): • Florida AC drain , how...
Part 3(Use the wet vac): • Florida AC drain, how ...
A little hint, it is a good idea to have the trap as close as possible to the unit, with the clean out directly above the trap, so a brush can clean out the trap debris.
The way the builder/HVAC contractor setup the drain lines, the traps are outside. Setting up a P trap closer to unit would be a second p trap and not recommended.
@@TomHirt I didn’t say add an additional trap close to the unit, I said THE trap should be close to the unit to aid in cleaning it out.
You’ll can end up sucking water back to the tray from the p trap if your fan is pulling the correct CFM . That drain will always be at negative pressure, that’s why you need a vent just after the p trap.
Well finally, a unit that looks a lot more like mine. I have a TRANE. It's rather newish. It's clogged. My mini shop vac sucked about a teaspoon of grey slimey gunk from the dip line outside, but that was all. Still no AC. I checked the overflow unit. Maybe a couple of drops of water was in it. The floaty wasn't in the up position.
I saw one horrific video saying to cut the pvc pipe, after of course I go buy a couple of hose clamps and a piece of tubing slighting larger than the pvc, so the next time you only undo that and rine the line ot RIGHT. I wans't about to do that.
It went out during a 120 degree hot spell. I have an elderly terminally ill husband at home. I called the company we bought it from and installed it. They said try to unclog it myself. Ya..I've tried. It's not working. I realize I need a much stronger HP shop vac. A mini just doesn't do the job.
My debate is..repair man can't get here until the following tuesday. No time given. This happened on a Wed. so I've got a ways to do. I'm thinking ...do I just go buy a high powered shop vac, see if that works and if so it's cheaper than the repairman. However, what if that doesn't work. I clean up and return the shop vac? lol. Thing is, this happened last yr too. The gentleman dropped by on his way home from work (instead of keeping the appointment the following day) he pulled his shop vac out and viola. A nice bunch of gunk came out and the AC returned working. He showed me the float, and said I could do this myself and same some money. He did NOT charge me.
Thing is, what's wrong with these things that they clog so often? I paid out of my pocket to have a new central heat and air installed. Twice in two yrs this now, this clogging has happened.
When we got the new unit. OH..the old unit never had a clog once. The motor went out twice, replace it once. The second time the personal friend HVAC guy, said he could fix it, but it's going to do the the same thing a few months down the line and then you're going to be made at me, b/c it will then cost you a lot of money. I'd just look for a new unit NOW. So we did.
Not knowing a darn thing about this HVAC stuff (learning after owning this home for 30 plus yrs) THe man literally told old....it's computerized. It there's ever a problem we can stuff hook it to this machine and it will read out the what the failure or problem is. He said you have to do NOTHING. Just use the thermostat inside the house to turn it from heat to AC. That was supposed to be ALL WE HAD TO DO. Sounded good at the time. There was no service agreement offered to come inspect it yrly. No one said anything about clogs, what to do about them, how to prevent them. Like I said, our previous unit never had that prob, so I just don't get it,
I guess I just wanted to rant, b/c I didn't see you flush anything out. Yours was already nice and clean. It was merely an explanation, which all video's give that. Guess I'm going to go buy a higher powered shop vac and see if that clears the problem. One problem. The little bent part of overflow arm, where the clopp most likely is located. right in it' There's no way to open it. It's sealed with that blue thread plumbers seal.
Sorry to hear you are having these issues. I will tell you thought, clogged drain lines happen, and they happen repeatedly. So investing in a good shop vax will do the trick. And make sure you watch my part 3 video (link in description) that goes into more detail on sucking the clog out. I do need to do a better video on that. As to the reason why you get the drain clogs, it's a combination of age, moisture, temperature, and inconsistent air filter replacement that leads to the perfect storm of debris, fungus and such collecting and then growing like a science project petri dish growing out of control in your drain line. This video I show how to do a monthly maintenance to help prevent the blocks, but it's not full proof. One last important note I need to stress in the next video, when you are outside sucking the drain line, make sure the cap on the inside drain line maintenance is in place. This will help the process to suck the clog from the drain line. Good luck.
Trane air handler 2nd floor attic, when algae gets in the pvc drain line,I simply give the p-trap a short blast of water from the hose outside which forces water upwards and the weight of the water forces the pipe to clear itself.
What state you in? I would focus on that as this is just for SW Florida setups.
Also, that sensor should be right out of the coil tray drain, not with a sloping pipe that can accidentally be pushed down to lower than the tray bottom.
Why would you angle it down any? That would cause it to hold water until it could evaporate. I would think it should be perfectly level.
Good point. My main concern was not to leave it leveled up, as most folks move it out of the way to replace the filter and forget to relevel that arm.
My drain pan stays filled with water. I pour water and vinegar down the drain line and goes outside fine. Over all AC works gine and cools the house. I do i clean the very beginning of the 2 drain lines? One with the switch and one without
I would not pour any more vinegar down until you figure out why water is backing up into the bottom pan. You don't have to worry about the line with the switch. I would move onto the second and third video I reference in the description to actually clear the blockage from the drain line.
@@TomHirtis that what the pan treat tabs do...keep the pipe clean where the switch is??
@@Phone-sh7jg Good question and it made me research Pan treatment tablets. Those are indented to keep your bottom pans sanitized if your pans are frequently wet. Which if our primary drain float switch does the job, our pans should remain dry. But I see that some of these tabs can be used in the drain line (not with switch side) for a slow release. That has some potential and I'll research further.
My issues reversed, no idea what to do. My main line clogged a few days ago, I did what I always to, stick my finger in the drain hole and snake a straw from a compressed air can into that hole. Clogged cleared! However the other line is now clogged, which should only occur if the main is backed up, which it's not....so wtf is going on here lol
What air filters are you using and how often are you changing? I have a DR home and am starting to get into my normal AC cleaning groove and wanted to know what you had experience with.
I have a new home in St. Augustine, but don't live there full time. The best I can do is perform this maintenance every 2, sometimes every 3 months. Will I expect issues down the road with that interval?
@@Mr.Martini549 look into an automatic drip system like this. acdrainflo.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1qO0BhDwARIsANfnkv-vgB14-_fzPkQaVxywOvsaxU4ian7OTOi5QGvrT1jc2gxhvVBP0ZkaAoayEALw_wcB
Where is the p trap??
After you shop vac the pipe outside to remove the water, should the system turn back on by itself? It’s not for me and I even turned the circuit breaker on and off. Pretty sure that’s what the HVAC guy did last time??
If your AC has turned off because your drain is backing up, that means one of the two overflow switches (not necessary a circuit breaker) has been tripped. So make sure the switch located on the overflow drain pipe is reset and then check the overflow switch down below in the pan.
So what exactly do I do to unclog it? Shop vac
check out the other two videos I have in the above description. I show the basics on how to clear with a wet vac.
Can you tell me which drain pipe goes to the outside? Would it be going into a silver foil wall then to the outside? Thank you! ❤️
I'm not an HVAC expert and can only speak of southwest Florida's setup. But google your region's AC drain pipe and see if you get better guidance.
Thank you so much!
I was told no never use bleach if the drain is slowing because it will cause corrosion. My a/c drains outside. If it isn't backed up, does it matter?
If it's backed up, the advice is to address the blockage and don't pour anything in for reason you cited. But if the drain isn't backed up, then it's fine.
Are you sure that’s where your condenser coil is, I’m sure you meant the evaporator coil
My main point this is metal in there, regardless what it's called.
My intention was not to show you up but to make a correction, if you’re going to name a component you have to be correct so as not to mislead your viewers, it does matter what you say
That right one is headed upper and(white clog?) mine pops 💦 water out… should i block it? Or how to fix it? Thanks
If you are saying water is coming out of the right side overflow arm, and the float switch is wet, then your primary drain line is blocked. You need to unblock your primary drain. My part 2 and 3 videos in the description cover this.
Im sure you meant evaporater
My drain goes to a weep space .Is it ok to still use the vinager in the drain?.
I'm not familiar with setup, sorry. Maybe a HVAC expert in your area can answer.
I don't have a condensate drain line? Where do put the vinegar?
I pour a 16oz. bottle of vinegar to the air handler drain every month. This drainpipe exits the air handler to outside drain. As this drainpipe is more than likely PVC material it is not wise to use bleach. Bleach can erode the PVC glue causing the pipe to separate at the joints.
thank you!!
And the auto vent?
I dont think vinegar is corrosive? bleach is though
Vinegar is acidic and it’s absolutely corrosive. Not as corrosive as bleach in any case make sure you flush the line with warm water after.
Condenser? Condenser coils? Where is the drain trap?
In my example, the drain pipe is going to the left, and I pull the drain trap plug less then a foot away from the condenser unit.
I understand why you are calling it a condenser unit, but it is the evaporator coil section. Refrigeration systems use the refrigerant cycle as the naming of the units. So, the indoor coil is where the refrigerant evaporates, and the outside unit is where the refrigerant condenses.
@@TomHirt I don’t think you understand a p-trap, that others viewers are asking about, the air handler requires a p-trap and you don’t have one so if the air handle sucks air it won’t let water drain until it satisfies and then will drain…..
@@josejulian5116 I don't believe you understand the situation. I didn't install the the drain line. This is one of 600 homes that DR Horton built here in a SW Florida community. So I'll repeat, the whole drain line is a P trap. It's the way the builder designed the drain lines.
2:26 "Condenser coils"?
I meant to sat evaporation coils. Point is there's metal in there.
Can you use ammonia
no, and many recommend not to use Vinegar, but rather use a product that is safe for AC equipment in case the water backs up.
Hi if my unit didn’t build the back up drain float… so how can I clean ?
The backup drain float is optional and can be capped off. Just follow the lone drain pipe to find the drain trap. In my video, it's the pipe going left.
In your video the pipe on the left… but mine didn’t have anything beside red cap with a square looking shape… on the right there is a long pipe … ..
@@Xx_eeveemocha_xX hmmmm, I'm not a hvac expert, i was just trying to help those in my community with the same system. If you want to upload an image, I'll be happy to review, but might be better to involve an expert.
@@Xx_eeveemocha_xX I have a red cap as well that's angled higher than the other vent where the water drains out
@@OGCJ10 I would love to see a photo. If you can post link maybe others can chime in.
There is no copper in new coils. Therefore no antibacterial. They sell a string thats wicked in copper and silver. Im thinking about just tossing a sanded cooper pipe in my coil area in a nook. And you need to move your clean out higher. Just cut a longer pipe or couple it. And never leave important documentation in your pan. Thats a designated wet spot and should be treated as such at all times even dry. And you need a condensate trap. Youre losing air.
DR Horton setup the hole condenser drain line to be a trap. I'm getting tired of explaining this to "experts" outside of SW Florida.
@@TomHirt Glad you were able to make the video and help others. Take that literature out of the drain pain, you dont want soggy literature when you might need it. Take care man.
My central ac line doesn’t have a p trap or access spot on the line. wtf. Who installs these things? My drain line goes out to the gutter and drains in that. I have no way of getting a vaccum on the end of the drain ljne. Not climbing to the second story of the house. I think these ac companies install these without clean outs on purpose.
I was told to put 4 cups of bleach followed by 4 cups of hot water.
How much water
It's not really that strict a rule, as long as you put in a cup of vinegar once a month is the important part. If you can flush it with 4 cups that is more than enough.
@@TomHirt I use a 16.9 oz plastic bottle into a funnel every month into the drainpipe.
Wtf with that piping? Are you even licensed?
Please grace us with your knowledge. What do you see wrong? I'll remind you to actually read the title description.
Missing a p trap. That’s a no no
I suspect DR Horton referenced the following. Current IRC and Florida code (M1411. 3) does not require a p-trap in the condensate drain line. It only specifies a minimum 1/8” per foot slope for the line, and that the condensate "shall not discharge into a street, alley or other areas where it would cause a nuisance.”
@@TomHirt air handlers. Have a negative pressure due to the position of the blower. It’s imperative that you put in a trap.
@@vladekvladinov5753 Thanks. So in layman terms, are you saying that since the drain line has no trap, that when the blower is on, that can channel in outside air, which can exacerbate the clogging problem, and cause inefficacies with the AC performance? And can I ask, are you located in Florida?
@@TomHirt what I’m saying, is that without the water weight in the p trap your drain pan will over flow (spill). In the unit.
I’m in Kansas
@@vladekvladinov5753 I think I see your confusion. First, thanks for trying to help and assist. But things are done a little differently here in this Florida DR Horton community. There is no need for a p trap because the the drain line goes under the foundation for a few feet, with the starting point 2 ft above ground and the terminating end 12 inches above ground.
I don’t know why these morons that have designed these unit put their refrigerant lines and the drain lines in the same place. I guess this is the way they’ve always done it and we can’t get a free thinking mind to make it reasonable to locate the refrigerant lines away from the drain lines. WTF? I guess that the engineer and designer has never spent a day in the field. Same with the condenser access ports. All of the electronics can’t be reduced so we have access to the service ports? The problem is that is status quo and don’t have the fortitude to do the right thing. Piss on the service technician that has to deal with the poor design of the equipment.