Re: A/C Question

On 11 May 2008 01:14:34 GMT, Steve <respond@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

kjw <kjw@xxxxxxx> wrote in news:dogc245cahl0rlms33sh7g1lu1nt1kmueo@
4ax.com:

Our house is about 8 years old and I remember the builder saying
something about watching for water dripping from the drip pipes under
the eaves, saying that it identified a problem with the air
conditioning unit.

We noticed today that it is dripping, but don't remember what this
means, exactly. Can anyone shed some light on this? I don't want to
call an A/C company, only to have them "find" a problem.

Description of typical system:
When the A/C cools the air, the air can't hold as much moisture (that's
what "relative humidity" is all about). The water condenses on the
evaporator fins inside the cabinet in the attic. The condensed water
runs down into a drip pan that's under the unit. A pipe carries this
water over to the eaves and allows it to drip out. This is normal.

There are high-end units that do fancy stuff like capture the water and
spray it in strategic locations to improve cooling. If you have one of
these, you'll definitely need a technician. I suspect you don't.

Common things that can go wrong:
- Mold and mildew grow inside the drain pipe. Run a little bleach in
there a couple of times a year. Blow it out with compressed air if it
seems slow. Use low pressure air.
- There's usually an overflow switch on the side of the drip pan to
shut everything down in case the drain clogs and the drip pan fills up.
The switch can get misaligned or fail.

Any other things that go wrong require a technician unless you want to
study up on A/C service.

Thanks for the info, Steve. It was excessively humid here yesterday,
so that may be it. I'll keep an eye on it.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Whats the live expentacy of a deep well pump
    ... pump after the pipe breaks :-( As it is an emergency device, ... Would I try the SS wire or find some way of "hooking" the pipe ... This is a situation where you pray for a little water leak at the ... And how does the system manage to inject some air each ...
    (misc.rural)
  • Re: A/C Question
    ... When the A/C cools the air, the air can't hold as much moisture (that's ... The water condenses on the ... runs down into a drip pan that's under the unit. ... Mold and mildew grow inside the drain pipe. ...
    (misc.consumers.house)
  • Vexing plumbing problem
    ... My kitchen faucet does the drip, ... I shut off the water at the cold water shutoff, remove the stem from the ... condition (galvanized pipe), ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Having trouble soldering copper pipe
    ... Anyone else think this could be a trapped air problem? ... Trapped *air* is never a problem when soldering pipes; ... Trapped *water* is a problem, ... the pipe down to that spot. ...
    (alt.home.repair)
  • Re: Noisy pipes upstairs.
    ... Water hammer can be alleviated by dead leg air arrestors. ... a short length of sealed pipe is placed in the system, ...
    (alt.home.repair)