Leak In Ruud Air Handler In Attic

Geeteex

I have a weird condensation leak on my 4 year old Ruud central air handler mounted horizontally in the attic and need help figuring why I have the leak.

Back in 2002 Ruud did not offer an emergency galvanized drain pan that mounted underneath the air handler. Up until last year I had the typical
" tray" set up. With the tray, I did not pipe-in the emergency condensate line and " T " into the ac coil drain line. The tray just sat underneath along the rafters beneath the handler. The system functioned perfectly and condensate drain worked fine--NO LEAKS!

then in 2005, I installed the Ruud emergency drain pan specifically designed to mount underneath the air handler. I double checked the " leveling" of the air handler, mounted the metal pan that has a " V" shaped gulley on the long edges of the pan, and tied-in 3/4" pvc drain line into the main coil drain line with trap. Then during the summer, I had a leak at the head of the return intake and the emergency pan was filling. I thought maybe I cracked the a-coil platic tray inside the unit so I replaced it. Then I thought it was out of plumb as well.

The leaking still appeared from condensation. I thought maybe I did not have enough slope from the main coil drain and the emergency pan drain where the " T" was located--and it was back-filling under vaccum. I installed then a 4-way cross PVC coupling then mounted a vent on the top before the trap. Then fall came around and that was that--problem not solved.

last week I removed the entire 3/4" pvc drain configuration and started from scratch. I have a better downward slope from the emrgency pan connecting to the "T" of the a coil, then I revised the trap and checked the slope path again. i did not put a vent in like before.

I want to check before it gets warm here in Pennsylvania if i set this up correctly.

Any thoughts??

Aceinstaller

let me try to figure this.

you said that you get the leak from condensation of the return plenumb?

in this case it would be a simple solution of making sure that all exposed sheet metal is properly insulated.

On the other hand, if it is the actual condensate line having the problem, and there are no obstructions. there should be a trap right after leaving the coil, then the tee to vent the draining condensate. you must however make sure that there is water in the trap to eliminae a vacuum considering that there is negative pressure in horizontal coil cases that are usually installed in the return side of air handlers. The best way to do this is to check the tee that is after your trap when first using the A/C in the spring and look for water. If you don't see water after some time, you will probably hear a gurgling sound from the water that should be draining bieng pulled from the drain opening by negative pressure. simply shut the unit down and all of the water in the coil pan will then drain into your trap and you are good to go.

to put your mind at ease when worrying about flood damage, simply install a flood limit switch in the emergency backup drain pan. this switch will shut down the thermostats call for cooling if insulation or anything plugs your drain pan drain avoiding any flood damage.