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  1. #1
    Jim McClendon's Avatar
    Jim McClendon Guest

    Default What's wrong with this picture?

    Inspection Referral

  2. #2
    Jim Zborowski's Avatar
    Jim Zborowski Guest

    Wink Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Could have used a diffuser to reduce the harshness of the front lighting and could use a little fill lighting to reduce the shadows.


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Caledon, Ontario
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    4,982

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    No water pan and drain under the air handler, and I don't think the condensate waste line should have a cap.


  4. #4
    Jim McClendon's Avatar
    Jim McClendon Guest

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Zborowski View Post
    Could have used a diffuser to reduce the harshness of the front lighting and could use a little fill lighting to reduce the shadows.
    Thanks for the photography lesson Jim. How are things in Peru these days.

    Jim


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Spring Hill (Nashville), TN
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    5,851

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    I can see an external drain pan. Looks like the unit is sitting on a wooden box inside the pan. What is puzzling is that it also looks like somebody made their own drain port in the cabinet of the unit. You can see the red caps on the primary and secondary drain line and then you have the drain coming out the corner of the unit. I don't recall ever seeing it this way.

    I'm attaching a diagram of a condensation drain line, it should help. The vent should be after the trap and open.

    Also looks like it is leaking or condensation is forming. If it is condensation that line needs to be insulated for several feet after it leaves the unit. I can't recall the proper distance, but for some reason 3 to 6 feet is stuck in my mind.

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    Scott Patterson, ACI
    Spring Hill, TN
    www.traceinspections.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Caledon, Ontario
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    4,982

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Have seen secondary plugs as in the photo. Very common at least in my area.


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Rockwall Texas
    Posts
    4,521

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Most of the manufacture installations say that a drain line is to be connected to the secondary drain. Where is that water going to drain to if the primary drain line backs up? Its going to back up into the coil box and then drain out of the evaporator coil box and then drip all over Mrs. Jones ceiling and ruin that Baby Grand Piano that has been in the family for 100 plus years and has a sedimental value of a million bucks.

    What would a drain pan and a secondary line have cost at the time of installation? Maybe 35. bucks.

    rick


  8. #8
    Chris Kynard's Avatar
    Chris Kynard Guest

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Scott, I have been told the vent in this pic is correct. My hvac guy told me the traps tend to build algea and become clogged, so the vent is there before the trap in order to pour bleach down it periodically to keep it clear.


  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Kynard View Post
    Scott, I have been told the vent in this pic is correct. My hvac guy told me the traps tend to build algea and become clogged, so the vent is there before the trap in order to pour bleach down it periodically to keep it clear.
    Chris,

    Your HVAC guy is kind of right, but also wrong.

    That is capped (as it should be) and is 'not a vent', it is a 'clean out access' - just remove the cap.

    Now, however, a 'vent' is required on the downstream side of the trap.

    There is no pan 'under' the AHU.

    There is no secondary condensate drain, that opening is plugged. That will lead to overflowing into the unit, which will soak and wet the insulation, rendering the insulation useless, and, in time, rust the unit out from the inside.

    There is something metallic down there, it looks like an 'L' base flashing ... or ... is that the perimeter of the pan and all that non-treated wood is setting down in the pan?

    If that is a pan, then it answers my nest question: What is that other condensate line near the top of the photo for?

    Assuming it is a pan - there are many things wrong, which I covered above.

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

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    745

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Hurst View Post
    Where is that water going to drain to if the primary drain line backs up? rick
    The OSB's going to absorb all the water. Isn't that what OSB does?

    Another question.....What is that PVC line farther towards the back? Do you think it's the drain line for the pan? Maybe!


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Charlotte NC
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    2,304

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    You can see the red caps on the primary and secondary drain line and then you have the drain coming out the corner of the unit. I don't recall ever seeing it this way.
    Scott, the three condensate ports are so the unit can be installed vertical or horizontal. You have to have installation instructions or look inside to determine primary & secondary.

    Also looks like it is leaking or condensation is forming. If it is condensation that line needs to be insulated for several feet after it leaves the unit. I can't recall the proper distance, but for some reason 3 to 6 feet is stuck in my mind.

    The trap is sweating and not above the auxiliary drain pan. It should be insulated either way (just the trap) but I only call it out if not over the pan. The trap is not deep enough by the pic to meet code as I remember it; I think it has to be 3" deep.

    Jerry is right about it being a cleanout and needs a cap. The manufactures normally state that a vent is only required if local code requires it. If you think about it, the 3/4" drain line is never going to be full of condensate to siphon the trap so the only reason to vent is to comply with code. But then the only real reason to trap it in the first place is if it is a heat-pump. (negative pressure) Not sure but I think the manufactures began requiring all condensate lines to be trapped because so many of the installers could not figure out which was which, so just trap them all!

    The wood support screams DIY job, as no HVAC installer would take the time to build it. Just use 4 4x8x16 blocks instead. This would make me look harder at the whole installation.


  12. #12
    Jim Zborowski's Avatar
    Jim Zborowski Guest

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Pretty wet, actually......river is up 8' and rising. In fact, they're pumping water out of the power station, have water over the railroad tracks, and NOW they're saying flood watch. Go figure.


  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
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    28,032

    Default Re: What's wrong with this picture?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Zborowski View Post
    NOW they're saying flood watch. Go figure.
    Jim,

    I think you misunderstood what they were saying ... not "flood watch", "watch the flood" ...

    Hope you stay dry enough.

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

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