Hvac Condensate Drain Line Design

Insulation on hvac condensate piping.

Hvac condensate drain line design.

Cooling coil condensate is an important aspect of hvac system design and should be carefully considered to avoid major issues in the future 1. Just pour a cup of bleach in the drain line s access opening near the indoor air conditioning unit. Means for preventing drain pan overflow to protect against untimely flow blockage. The drip pan connects to the condensate drain line which carries water out of the home.

Another sign your condensate lines may be clogged is if no moisture is exiting outdoors. Provisions for priming and debris cleanout. Some designs including some eztrap and other hvac condensate trap products provide a vent in the condensate drain line located after downstream from the trap to prevent siphoning out of the condensate line trap. And a method for preventing trap freeze up in sub freezing environments.

The drain system design features necessary for acceptable condensate trap performance include. Like your kitchen or bathroom sink the a c condensate drain incorporates a u shaped trap as part of its design. When the drip pan becomes full or clogged or the condensate line is clogged water can spill over the drip pan s edges onto the floor surrounding the unit. This will kill any algae mold or mildew that has formed in the pipe.

Tees can be used for inspection. If the condensate drain line is clogged you will need to use a wet dry vacuum or a special pump to unclog the line. It is always a good practice to provide drain pipes with tees. 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.

Geometry dimensions that match the drain pan pressure.