Any HVAC Experts?

[aquabliss]

Trying to figure this one out on my own before calling a tech which can get $$$.

Last night, noticed that water was dripping from a pvc pipe sticking out near the top of the 2nd story backyard.  Figured it must be from the AC condenser.  Went into the attic and sure enough there was some water in the drip pan (not a lot but enough to cause a slow drip on the secondary drain). 

After looking online, seems that this only happens when the main drain line is clogged/plugged.  Did some further research and they mentioned that the best way to unclog / get rid of the gunk it is to 1) vacuum from the drain location and 2) pour vinegar or bleach  down the open pipe near the unit.

One thing I noticed is that my open pipe near the mainline drain is downstream from the P-Trap, but all the images I found online had the pipe upstream of the P-Trap so that you could clean the P-Trap as well (which is where I would assume most of the buildup happens).

Anyone have any experience doing this themselves and can give any tips?  Below is a picture of my AC unit in the attic explaining what I mean by the pipe being after the P-Trap.  All the joints on the PVC were sealed at installation and I don't really want to break the seal, nor does it seem you should have to for this routine type maintenance.

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Is your home still under warranty?

Do you have a home warranty like AHS?

This happened to us and AHS covered it, the plumber came out, and the clog was actually at drain of the 2nd floor sink. Did you check to see if that's where the clog is? He cleaned it out and we were good.

I think you can use that one access pipe to pour water in to see if it actually drains to your sink, it also looks like it's close enough to that mini P-trap to see if you can unclog it with some pipe cleaner line.

 

[ps99472]

If the main line is clogged, what's clogging it?  Hard water build up?  Dust?

 

[ps99472]

Is there a waiting period for new sign ups for AHS?  Or can I file a claim right away?

 

[irvinehomeowner]

Is there a waiting period for new sign ups for AHS?  Or can I file a claim right away?

No waiting period as far as I know, but you may want to ask.

 

[qwerty]

this exact thing happened to us at the end of last summer. Used cooling air technologies it was under 200. Just call an hvac guy. This is a pretty common issue and they should be able to give u a pretty good estimate over the phone. the fix in our was to cut the piece of the pipe that was clogged and replaced it.

 

[ps99472]

@aqua

New house no?  You must be cranking the A/C

 

[aquabliss]

Home is relatively new but warranty just expired a couple months back.  Haven't bought extended warranty as I tend to think they're worthless (except when you need them of course)!

I think first I'll try on my own to suck out the clog from the 2nd floor sink (access is easy) just haven't done so yet.  I have a shop vac but I think I need to buy some adapter to get good suction (will check HD). 

Good idea IHO about the pipe cleaner or some other object to just reach there and manually unclog any build up there. 

@ps9 - from what I've read its usually just gunk and algae that build up and clog the line.  Most places are saying to clean it annually but I bet less than 5% of homeowners actually clean that thing annually.  I don't think I'm cranking the A/C much.  On hot nights we set the thermostat to around 77 as the thermostat is downstairs which means the upstairs still probably gets to 78/79ish (no dual zone control unfortunately). 

@qwerty - I'll first try to fix it myself this weekend, if no luck I'll have to give someone a call.  I bet they are swamped right now and the good ones will have a waiting period before scheduling you. 

 

[qwerty]

@qwerty - I'll first try to fix it myself this weekend, if no luck I'll have to give someone a call.  I bet they are swamped right now and the good ones will have a waiting period before scheduling you. 

not that im doubting your handyman skills but it may be prudent to schedule an appointment now for some time after this weekend in case you cant fix it

that way you dont have wait till monday to make an appointent and wait even longer. then just cancel the appoinntment if you can fix it. good luck

 

[ps99472]

Is there a waiting period for new sign ups for AHS?  Or can I file a claim right away?

No waiting period as far as I know, but you may want to ask.

Got another AHS mailer, $32/month for the combo plan (systems + appliances) with the $125 copay.  $36/month with $100 copay and $42/month for the lowest $75 copay. Got some nagging electrical/plumbing,HVAC issues.  Not emergencies but nice to have fixed.  I'm gonna look into this today. 

 

[Harajuku]

You may want to check your warranty again.  Usually structural and plumbing are covered for 10 years. 

 

[qwerty]

You may want to check your warranty again.  Usually structural and plumbing are covered for 10 years. 

i generally put in a warranty request and make them tell me know before i fix something. For the clogged drain pipe that is a maintenance issue not a warranty issue.

 

[aquabliss]

Holy smokes I fixed it.  Did the following:

1) Unhooked the pipe from the drainage point (2nd floor bathroom) and shop vac'd for 3 min.  Got about 1/4" of water in the shop vac but didn't notice anything really gunky.
2) Went up in the attic and shop vac'd through the open PVC for about 1 minute.  Got much less water but still some. 
3) Poured 1 cup bleach into the open PVC (waited 30 min to turn on the A/C so it could do it's thing)
4) Blotted up all the standing water in the drain pan to ensure if I found drips that it wasn't due to the existing built up water.
5) Put a bucket outside to catch any drips from the 2nd story secondary drain pipe
6) Turned A/C on overnight, waited.

This morning I went out and not a single drip in the bucket.  I was like 90% sure it would still be dripping but for once I'm glad to be wrong.  I'll keep an eye on it but probably saved myself some $ this time.

 

[Chairman]

Awesome work, aquabliss.

You were able to squeeze into your attic crawl space? My area is really narrow and really hard to move around once you are up there.

 

[aquabliss]

Awesome work, aquabliss.

You were able to squeeze into your attic crawl space? My area is really narrow and really hard to move around once you are up there.

I think I got lucky.  The builder put the unit right next to the crawl space entry.

I'm 6'1" so I think if the AC unit was a crawl away, I'd think twice about getting myself over there into those tighter spaces.

 

[eyephone]

Awesome work, aquabliss.

You were able to squeeze into your attic crawl space? My area is really narrow and really hard to move around once you are up there.

I think I got lucky.  The builder put the unit right next to the crawl space entry.

I'm 6'1" so I think if the AC unit was a crawl away, I'd think twice about getting myself over there into those tighter spaces.

Do you play hoops on the court? (Basketball)

 

[ps99472]

Holy smokes I fixed it.  Did the following:

1) Unhooked the pipe from the drainage point (2nd floor bathroom) and shop vac'd for 3 min.  Got about 1/4" of water in the shop vac but didn't notice anything really gunky.
2) Went up in the attic and shop vac'd through the open PVC for about 1 minute.  Got much less water but still some. 
3) Poured 1 cup bleach into the open PVC (waited 30 min to turn on the A/C so it could do it's thing)
4) Blotted up all the standing water in the drain pan to ensure if I found drips that it wasn't due to the existing built up water.
5) Put a bucket outside to catch any drips from the 2nd story secondary drain pipe
6) Turned A/C on overnight, waited.

This morning I went out and not a single drip in the bucket.  I was like 90% sure it would still be dripping but for once I'm glad to be wrong.  I'll keep an eye on it but probably saved myself some $ this time.

Cool, glad to hear it all went well, all PP residents can now hire you for an annual HVAC maintenance vacuum

So how did you vacuum the drain from the second sink?  Did you get an adapter from HD?  And is it normal to hear water draining into the sink?  Been in my house for 3 years and today just happen to pass by that bathroom and hear water draining, looked under the sink and found the drain from the AC unit.  Wondering why I never heard it before, we use our AC frequently. 

 

[aquabliss]

Awesome work, aquabliss.

You were able to squeeze into your attic crawl space? My area is really narrow and really hard to move around once you are up there.

I think I got lucky.  The builder put the unit right next to the crawl space entry.

I'm 6'1" so I think if the AC unit was a crawl away, I'd think twice about getting myself over there into those tighter spaces.

Do you play hoops on the court? (Basketball)

Not much, I mean I can play but I'm not like out there every week or anything so I'm probably quite rusty.

 

[aquabliss]

Cool, glad to hear it all went well, all PP residents can now hire you for an annual HVAC maintenance vacuum

So how did you vacuum the drain from the second sink?  Did you get an adapter from HD?  And is it normal to hear water draining into the sink?  Been in my house for 3 years and today just happen to pass by that bathroom and hear water draining, looked under the sink and found the drain from the AC unit.  Wondering why I never heard it before, we use our AC frequently. 

I bought an adapter from HD but it didn't fit quite right.  I was able to force it onto the drain in the bathroom but after 1 minute didn't get any water.  Then i tried again without the adapter and just put the whole mouth of the shopvac up against the pipe coming out of the wall and it worked much better. 

I wouldn't think you'd hear any water draining to that sink (I never have).  The amount of water that drains from the AC should be very little not like pouring water down a pipe or something where you could hear it. 

 

[ps99472]

Gonna try that, thanks for the tip, though I haven't seen any water from the secondary drain so maybe it corrected itself.  Humidity reading has been high at over 50%,  same for everybody?