The portable air conditioner is a machine which may sometimes need to be drained. The better models will use the excess water in order to cool the air which is released as exhaust. The best models on the market will never need the water removed, but if you have an appliance which sloshes water on the ground, you need to be able to drain liquid from the unit. Before attempting to drain any water from your machine, make sure it is set up for this task. If it is supposed to use the excess water in a different function, pooling water means your machine is not working properly, and while you can drain the water, it will not improve the function of the machine. You may have other issues your need to look into instead. If you do have a model that can be drained quickly and easily, the more you know about the machine, the easier it will be to drain it. You can find out a lot of information about your particular model by reading the owner's manual. This will also give you a schematic to tell you where everything—including the drip pan—is located.

Many models will allow you to hook up tubing to remove condensation. If you have a model like this, it will be characterized by a small spout sticking out the back end. In order to drain the machine, you will need the right width tubing to connect to the appliance. You will also need for the tubing to be long enough to get to a good dumping source. A window, sink, or drain will work perfectly for this. If none are available, you can use a bucket and then occasionally empty it as you go. It will hold more water than the drip pan which will allow you to drain it less often. When all else fails, simply find where the condensation pan is at. This is usually on the bottom of the exhaust portion of the machine. You should be able to locate it without taking the machine apart, so if it is not readily available, it means you have a unit which is supposed to drain itself. Once you find it, slowly pull the pan out from the air conditioner. Pour the contents slowly into a bucket, or take it outdoors to get rid of it.

Keep an eye on the pan for future dumps. If you are dumping water once a week, there is something wrong with the machine and you need to look into repairing it. Luckily an air conditioner is not a terribly complex piece of machinery. With the right information, you should be able to tackle fixing any minor problems you might be encountering.Water Dripping from Air Conditioner - We have 2 air conditioning units in our house and 2 pipes protrude from the roof. 6 ton air conditioner unitOne of the pipes is dripping water. ac unit in tentWe were told to look for a blockage and to empty the pans. bryant ac parts diagramI don’t see where to check for a blockage. The air conditioning units we have: Bryant models 373LAV, 376CAV Downflow/Horizontal and 383KAV, 395CAV Upflow Gas Furnace.Water Dripping from Air Conditioner |

Condensation Pipe Drain Answer Thanks for visiting High Performance HVAC and asking a good question. I see you have two zones so actually, you should have more than two drains. Possibly 3 or 4 drains depending on where the units are located. Typically air handling units installed in the attic or closet spaces upstairs will have two condensation drain pipes for condensation. There are some systems that utilize a pump rather than a drain.One is the primary condensation drain pipe where the water should continuously drain the condensation during the cooling season and in the winter heating season if you have a high efficiency condensing furnace. In the summer it is possible these drains could get clogged up. Normally what clogs these condensation drain pipes is algae and crud growing in the pipe. It will usually block or clog the primary condensation drain causing the water to back-up in the unit. The water eventually finds its way to the secondary or emergency drain pan which should also have a condensation drain pipe attached to it that drains out the water when the primary condensation drain pipe gets clogged.

We have many other related articles. Water Dripping from Air Conditioner | Condensation Drain PipeThese two different condensation drain pipes should be distinctly different from one another. One should drain out in the flower garden or at the base of the house somewhere. The other should drain over a window or someplace where it will be recognized when it is dripping water. This is a warning sign that the primary condensation drain pipe is clogged and needs to be unclogged.As a third measure of protection to prevent severe water damage to a ceiling a float switch is usually installed in the secondary pan so if it begins to overflow the float switch will kill the unit making it inoperable for use until the drains have been unclogged returning the unit to normal operation with all condensations drains open and freely draining condensation.Diagnostic ChecksThere are different methods of unclogging condensation drains. It is recommended that you call and HVAC Technician to unclog the drains because the unit could have another related problem that causes units to flood and a quick diagnostic check by a qualified HVAC technician will ensure this problem does not exist and it is actually a clogged condensation drain.

A special tool that uses pressurized CO2 cartridges to blow the line is used sometimes while other times a shop Vac can suck the muck out of the line. Water hoses can also be used to flushed the line although one must be very careful because you can actually cause reverse flooding and cause more damage than a clogged condensation drain ever could. Condensation Drain Pipe TerminationFind where the lines terminate outside the house and make sure the ends or not plugged by dirt or something else. Slugs or snails love crawling inside of the pipes and they can also cause a clog so make sure the pipe is up a little and not in the dirt of the flower garden. Please use the search feature to the right to help you find other related articles.To learn more about HVAC click here.Water Dripping from Air ConditionerRemember those kitchen cabinet pulls I installed at Fred and Kim’s house? Did I mention that their air conditioning wasn’t working that day… and that it was 100° outside when I did those?

Well, it was miserable. The Fauth family came to our place to cool off that night, and I told Fred and Kim how a while back our HVAC quit working because the condensation drain was clogged. They went home and checked, and sure enough, found their drain line full of dust, rust, and other gunk. Water pooling inside the drain pan of the air handler was preventing the coils from cooling down, ultimately robbing cold air from the rest of the house. Fred took a temporary measure and cut the drain pipe, then directed the water into a bucket which had to be emptied every 12 hours. It’s a better solution than having interior temperatures reach 90°, but it wasn’t a permanent solution. When my HVAC unit was replaced, the pros installed a clear plastic trap so we can see when it needs to be cleaned. I thought it should be simple enough to install one at Fred’s and Kim’s house. Unfortunately, none of the big box stores carry that component, so I improvised. You can do this project too, if you find your air conditioner giving out due to a condensation line clog.

My goal was to piece together a new drain line and use some clear flexible tubing to recreate the trap. The trap would collect any gunk, and adjustable clamps would allow access for cleaning. I had a gift card for Lowe’s so that’s where I picked up my supplies — ¾” PVC, various fittings, 1′ of clear tubing, a pack of metal clamps (the kind you tighten with a screw driver) and PVC cement. Since this was a drain line and wouldn’t be under pressure, I didn’t need to use any PVC primer (that purple stain you often see on PVC). Here’s a picture of the existing PVC. The drain goes to a small pump. Here’s a pic of the old drain removed. Using the old drain as my template, I began dry fitting everything together. Working the tubing in place. The old drain had a removable cap. I’m not sure if it was to introduce some air or another reason, but I recreated that too. If you’ve ever worked with PVC before, you know that it’s important to make clean, straight cuts and to remove any burrs and debris.

We had a miter saw handy and it worked well. Disregard my lack of safety glasses. When I was satisfied that everything fit together, it was time to start gluing. PVC cement is a chemical solvent that melts the two pieces together making a super strong bond when it cures. Be sure to fully seat the PVC inside the fitting. It’s also a good idea to give it a little twist to ensure good coverage. Keep everything in the right orientation, otherwise you’ll end up with PVC going in the wrong direction. This is the metal clamp I used to secure the flexible tubing. Turning that screw allows you to tighten or loosen the clamp. I actually ended up gluing the left side of the flexible tubing (in addition to the metal clamp) as there was a small leak. Can you see the water in the trap? Here’s a close-up of the bracket I used to keep the PVC in the right spot. When it was all finished, we flushed the line with water to make sure it didn’t leak and everything worked as expected.