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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Muncie, Indiana
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    79

    Smile Secondary drain setup

    Found this attic setup the other day that the seller was so impressed with. The primary drain is there. The secondary drain is there. The condensate pump is there. The only problem is there's no protection in case the condensate pump fails. And the fact the secondary is depending on the same system as the primary drain line. And the debris inside the pan will clog the drain line. Is there anything I am missing on this?
    A different adventure everyday...Jeff G

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  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Philadelphia PA
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    You may have sort of said this already, but there is no way to know that the secondary is draining (i.e., the primary is clogged), because they both go to the pump. The secondary is supposed to drain to a conspicuous location all by its lonesome to alert the occupants to a problem.

    "There is no exception to the rule that every rule has an exception." -James Thurber, writer and cartoonist (1894-1961)
    www.ArnoldHomeInspections.com

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Fletcher, NC
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    Quote Originally Posted by John Arnold View Post
    You may have sort of said this already, but there is no way to know that the secondary is draining (i.e., the primary is clogged), because they both go to the pump. The secondary is supposed to drain to a conspicuous location all by its lonesome to alert the occupants to a problem.
    OR have a shut off switch.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  4. #4
    Tim Moreira's Avatar
    Tim Moreira Guest

    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    Two things I see, or don't see.

    1. Where is the vent for the drain line?

    2. Is the AHU sitting on the 2x8s in the pan. Should the AHU be supported by it's self and the pan independent of the AHU?


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Fletcher, NC
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    No one mentioned the running trap.

    Running traps are not allowed (because they do not work, it's just a bump in the drain line which water flows right on past).

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fuquay Varina, NC
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    (Running traps are not allowed (because they do not work, it's just a bump in the drain line which water flows right on past).

    But the pump box is a trap, isn't it? The boxes I check never drain completeley and the pipe is under the water in the box.

    Mike Schulz License 393
    Affordable Home Inspections
    www.houseinspections.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Schulz View Post
    But the pump box is a trap, isn't it?
    No, the condensate pump is not a trap in the primary condensate line. That line needs to be trapped *before* the condensate pump.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Fuquay Varina, NC
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    Dang It!
    I worded that wrong. I need to check better before I go up against the "man"

    What I meant was, wouldn't that pump "act" like a "trap". I have never seen one completly drain and the pipe is submersed.

    Mike Schulz License 393
    Affordable Home Inspections
    www.houseinspections.com

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
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    Default Re: Secondary drain setup

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Schulz View Post
    What I meant was, wouldn't that pump "act" like a "trap". I have never seen one completly drain and the pipe is submersed.
    Most that I have seen ... no.

    Because the ones (all, or at least *most*) have the condensate line sticking into the condensate pump just slightly, but never all the way to the bottom (never just a little off the bottom), meaning that the end of the condensate line is not (not always, as would be required for a trap) down in the water 2" (don't forget, a trap needs a 2" water seal) at all times.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

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