Originally posted by oktx
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AC in the attic is draining.
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Watch your emergency drain now for the rest of the day and make sure no water is coming from it. That will tell you that you cleared the primary and everything is back to normal. I have had the primary re-clog (or refill) within an hour forcing water out the backup drain and had to reshoot with compressed air. The second time finished the deal and we were good to go.
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Originally posted by Smart View PostPut your mouth over the drain tube and blow or suck....you Sooners should be good at that....
I have it happen once every 2-3 years. The bleach thing doesn't help much. Basically an algae/gunk/crud is building up in your drain pipe from the water draining into it and you need to unclog the primary drain. I plumbed in a ball valve where I can cut off the backflow in the drain and shoot a light shot of compressed air down the pipe to force the clog on down the pipe.....
If you have no place built in off the coil to blow compressed air or run a snake, you can turn off the AC, cut into you main drain line, do the air deal (and yes actually blowing with your mouth like on a straw will work as well if the clog is not too heavy) and then repair. Make sure you have pvc coupling ready for the repair.
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Originally posted by oktx View PostYou are a big help!. My concern is that the tray is very full even with it draining outside.
That's odd because in my unit, the tray is the back up to the emergency drain.. I've never had water in my tray as long as the outside emergency drain was dripping. I've never had water in there actually.
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Originally posted by oktx View PostYou are a big help!. My concern is that the tray is very full even with it draining outside.
The emergency drain is higher on the pan than the primary drain so naturally if the emergency drain us flowing there will be water backed up in the pan. Once the primary is cleared the water in the pan should drain out pretty quickly.
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Originally posted by bboswell View PostThe emergency drain is higher on the pan than the primary drain so naturally if the emergency drain us flowing there will be water backed up in the pan. Once the primary is cleared the water in the pan should drain out pretty quickly.
I guess the good news is it sounds like his primary is now unclogged and he has learned how to do it so he shouldn't have an issue going forward..Last edited by Smart; 06-18-2017, 10:50 AM.
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Originally posted by Smart View PostHmmmm.....I guess my AC install folks screwed the pooch on that install. My pan does not get any water when the primary is clogged. They told me that if the secondary was clogged the pan would fill up as a back up to it. Is it normal for a pan to hold water when the secondary is doing its job? I need to check that out if it is. Maybe this winter when its not 200 degrees in the attic though.. .
I guess the good news is it sounds like his primary is now unclogged and he has learned how to do it so he shouldn't have an issue going forward..
That's the way all mine have been. If secondary and primary were at the same level both would drain all the time. With the secondary being higher it won't drain until there is some back up indicating a clogged primary.
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Originally posted by bboswell View PostThat's the way all mine have been. If secondary and primary were at the same level both would drain all the time. With the secondary being higher it won't drain until there is some back up indicating a clogged primary.
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Originally posted by warrington View PostMine was clogged in the sink below. A lot of time the main drain for the a/c, will tie into a sink drain in a room below the a/c. You can get that plugged up. I cleaned mine out there and then shot a air compressor up the line. This broke it up
I got your email.
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Ok we ran to town for a minute and when we came back the secondary was still dripping. I got the shop vac out and sucked the secondary first and got A LOT of water from it. Went inside to the bathroom where its plumed in and too the pea (sp)? off and nothing was draining. Put the shop vac on it and didn't get much but it is now dripping. The pan under the unit is now dry. Thanks for the help...even you Smart!
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One of my houses always clogged up where it drained into the p traps with blown in insulation. It got to where i just ended up cleaning it out at the p traps every six months. This occurred until I changed the units out. In my case apparently my plenum was leaking. Good deal that you repaired yours.
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