Attic furnance sitting in water - http://www.hvacmechanic.com/ Forums
Original message
| mike929
 |  "Attic furnance sitting in water"
, posted Wed 23 Jul 08:41:  
Hello,
Some information about the issue. Newly built townhouse, lived in now for 8months.
From furnace:
ARUF364216AA - hope that is enough for someone to know this brand
Yesterday I noticed that my up stairs was not cooling off to much. I pressed the reset button on my wall control unit then reset the temp ( it was set to 75 but showed the room temp at 81 ).
So I closed all my doors upstairs thinking it would help cool each room faster. Well last night at 4am the inside temp according to the wall control unit was 85. Later this morning i looked up in the attic to see the pan full of water and some leaked out as well.
My questions are:
1. I do not see how this pan drains ( check pictures ) as you see the only pipe coming from the furnace is located high from the pan. The pipe attached to the pan is capped off.
2. I see a sensor is in the pan. Notice in the pictures it is submerged in water. My control panel did not indicate any issue, should it have?
3. I have a maintenace call in and am awaiting a call as to the time they will arrive. What should I make sure they do to insure this is properly fixed?
4. I included a picture from my bathroom under the furnace. As you can see the ceiling is now cracked. My home warranty person has been contacted and wants to be contacted after the work is done on the furnace for all fixes he will need to provide. What should I have them check for? I do not want mold or water damage.
Here is a link to my pictures of this issue.
My Picture Page
http://ImageEvent.com/mike929/atticfurnance
Yes, I spelled furnace wrong. I could not edit the picture link after it was created :-) sorry
Michael
[this message was edited by mike929 on Wed 23 Jul 08:45] |
| Replies:
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| mississippi
| "Re(1):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Wed 23 Jul 09:48
your emergency drain should not be capped off also should be a float switch in pan to shut the unit down if this happens it probably shut your outside unit off this is why its not cooling,the cause of the water is more than likely your main drain is stopped up.
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| | mike929
| "Re(2):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Wed 23 Jul 10:04
I'm not sure why that drain is capped off. And unless the "main" drain is inside the unit itself I don't see any other way for water to drain from the pan.
Michael
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| | mississippi
| "Re(3):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Wed 23 Jul 10:31
the auxillary drain should be pipid to the outside or into your plumbing.the "main" drain should be coming out of the unit and going to the outside or to your plumbing.if you have water in your pan then the "main" drain is clogged and the water is spilling over the pan inside the unit.if drain not clogged then the pan may have a crack in it,but at no time under normal operation should you have water in the emergency pan!
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| | mike929
| "Re(4):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Wed 23 Jul 10:40
I see what your saying. I actually checked the lines outside with a coat hanger to see if there was a clog. Maybe the drain at the pan's location is clogged.
Waiting on repair people now
Michael
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| | mike929
| "Re(5):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Thu 24 Jul 11:17
Well, this is what happened.
The repair man came out and found algae in the P-Trap located at the furnace. He cleaned it out and checked the drainage afterwards.
I was told by my home warranty that this is home owner maintenance not a warranty issue. Basically you or anyone reading this should put bleach in the pipe once every thirty days.
Even though i've only brought the property 8months ago and actually lived in it for 3-4months, i suspect this could happen to anyone.
Michael
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| | theduke03
| "Re(6):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Thu 24 Jul 20:49
Mike, that is part of routine maintenance. I see no reason to put bleach in the drain monthly, that's a pain in the ass and messy. I would suggest an annual service to clean the drain, clean the coils, and check charge, etc.
Or if you're a cheapskate you can put a wetvac on the drain outlet and suck. Then flush drain with a gallon or two of water into the drain pan (this is necessary to prime the trap and check drainage). This should only be needed once a year, ideally at the beginning of cooling season. Maybe more if you live in the south.
"My dad was the most feared furnace fighter in Northern Indiana."
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| | mike929
| "Re(7):Attic furnance sitting in water" , posted Thu 24 Jul 21:35
Thanks duke,
I think i will flush it out with vinegar I heard that was good to use as well. The repair guy said to do it once a month, which i think is alot as well. But then again i've only lived in my home for about 3-4 months and this happened...so a more frequent cleaning maybe in order.
Michael
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