Air Conditioning Hvac Condensate Drain Line Design

Your drain line is a pvc pipe located near your outdoor unit and is attached to the wall of your house.

Air conditioning hvac condensate drain line design.

When everything is working properly condensation runs down the drain line and exits outside your house. Carson dunlop associates sketches left illustrate both acceptable and not recommended locations for the discharge of an air conditioner or heat pump condensate drain line discharge. A c or heat pump system. General one primary function of the air conditioning system is to dehumidify the air by removing water as it passes through the air handler.

Drain s 2015 imc 307 2 2 requires that an air conditioning condensate drain inside diameter should not be smaller than in ch and should not be smaller than the drain pan outlet diameter. This is for the safety of the technician as well as to protect the hvac system from additional condensate related damage. Until an hvac technician can arrive to open the air handler unblock the drain line and clear the pan the air conditioner will be unusable. When your hvac services professional arrives to check your clogged ac drain line they will likely turn the system s power off even if it is already not running.

Plumbing code citation for installation of air conditioning condensate drain piping. That s the line that your air conditioner uses to get rid of all the humidity that it pulls from the air. Uniform mechanical code section 310 0 310 1 condensate disposal. Condensate switches imc 307 2 3 states that all hvac equipment that produces condensate must have either a secondary drain line or a condensate overflow switch a secondary drain pan with a secondary drain line or condensate switch or some combination of these installations should be used to prevent overflow if the primary drain line blocks.

Collected in a drain pan below the cooling coil as illustrated in figure 1 the water must be removed to prevent damage and contamination to the air handler system and building draining water from a condensate drain pan is not a simple process. But that drain line is pretty small so it doesn t take much for it to become clogged. Just pour a cup of bleach in the drain line s access opening near the indoor air conditioning unit. Three quarters of an inch is sufficient for up to 20 tons according to the imc unless the drain outlet size is larger than in ch use t able 307 2 2 for condensate pipe sizing.

This will kill any algae mold or mildew that has formed in the pipe. If the condensate drain line is clogged you will need to use a wet dry vacuum or a special pump to unclog the line. Locate your condensate drain line. Step 1 power off the air conditioning unit.