This is regarding my a\c condensate line in the attic. I had a clogged line and the p-trap wasn't built correctly, so I rebuilt the condensate line and was going to attach it at the primary drain on the unit. So, after I cut the line, I went to unscrew the pvc adapter from the male metal adapter attached to the unit. It wouldn't budge. It is either extremely old, or somehow cemented together (maybe they used pvc cement instead of tape - don't know). Anyway, I tried sawing through the pvc, twisting it with plyers, this, that, and even more. It is at the stage where I can see the metal through the pvc at one place, but the metal appears to be fused to the pvc, so there is going to be no twisting it off. Does anyone have any ideas on how to dissolve the pvc away from the metal threaded adapter? It looks to me like I'm going to have to cut it off, but that is going to leave just a knub to connect to, and that assumes I can even get a hacksaw behind the pvc to cut it. Any ideas would be helpful?

Do u mean the evaperator drain pan.Were is it located in attic or in house closet.Because the condenser fan motor and coils are located outside.BUT ANY WAY DRAIN LINE MIGHT BE CLOGGED OR IN PAN-BLOW COMPRESS AIR INTO DRAIN LINE.CK END OF PIPES FOR CLOGG.

I am a certified HVAC Technician. I have worked in the field since 1996. I have seen this hundreds of times, if not a thousand times, in the past. Every central air conditioning and heat pump system comes with TWO drain pans, The MAIN drain pan is located within the AIR HANDLER (blower) UNIT, while the EMERGENCY DRAIN PAN is extremely LARGE and sits under the ENTIRE AIR HANDLER (blower) UNIT. The ONLY time water will be INSIDE an EMERGENCY DRAIN PAN is when the MAIN DRAIN PAN condensate drain line is CLOGGED, causing the MAIN DRAIN PAN to overflow. What causes the drains pans OR the drain lines to become clogged is slime and scale from the condensate water as well as debris from within the attic that may have either been blown by the air or may have simply have fallen into the emergency drain pan; or some insects from the out of doors have traveled up into the PVC Drain line and built a nest on the downward side of the P-trap. The P-trap is designed to prevent critters from entering your home through the PVC drain lines. Most CLOGS occur at the P-TRAP location.

The BEST thing to do is:

1. Locate the WHITE PVC drain pipe outside your house and ensure there is NO water draining from it.

2. Locate the same WHITE PVC drain pipe inside your house. You should notice a "TEE" where two WHITE PVC drain pipes merge into ONE WHITE PVC drain pipe.

Follow the below steps, in the order shown:

A. FIRST, find another person to act as your second set of eyes at the end of the WHITE PVC Drain Line that is located outside of your home. That person will be looking for water or debris to EXIT the end of that WHITE PVC DRAIN LINE.

B. SECONDLY, locate the WHITE PVC "P-TRAP" inside your house. It is normally located within a couple to three feet of your indoor air handing (blower) unit.

C. THIRDLY, very gently lift the entire WHITE PVC drain line up in the air as high as you can without breaking it, and slam it down onto the rafters or attic floor or garage floor. You are attempting to dislodge the CLOG within the drain pipe WITHOUT having to actually CUT the PVC and without damaging or breaking the WHITE PVC. Depending on how old the system is, it may or may not be brittle; and it may not take much to damage or break the PVC, which will cause leaks. So, be very careful at this point.

D. Ask the person outside if anything has started to EXIT. You can ALSO usually hear water start to drain if you put your ear up to the drain line. If the person said "NO"and if you don't see the water level getting LOWER in the EMERGENCY drain pan, then REPEAT step "C" above.

E. If the person informs you that there IS water now starting to exit the WHITE PVC DRAIN PIPE, you should then wait until all water has drained from the EMERGENCY DRAIN PAN; and then pour at least 1 quart of BLEACH down that drain, from the EMERGENCY DRAIN PAN exit. The BLEACH will further clear out any SLIME which may be remaining within the "P-TRAP" and will also CLEAN OUT and DISINFECT that drain line.

If the above steps do NOT work for you, then prepare to go into the next LOGICAL phase of your attack. Please NOTE: I am limited to 10,000 characters in my response, so I'll repost additional STEPS in another RESPONSE. Good Luck!!!

With the limited information, i would suggest pulling the service panel off where you can see what is going on. Try to determine exactly where the water is coming from.Does the drain line to the pump basin have a trap? Is there a secondary drain? Is it trapped or sealed? Is there a clean-out "T" on the primary? Is there a cap on this? If the primary drain line is not clogged, the drain pan in the unit is not clogged, and the primary drain is trapped, and the secondary drain is sealed or trapped, then i would check and see if the water is dripping directly off the coils. If it is then the coils need to be cleaned to regain the surface tension to allow the water to run down them into the condensate tray.

Hope this helps.

Hello, it sounds like your condensate line is clogged and not be able to drain into the condensate pump or your condensate pan is cracked and leaking. Best thing to do is clean the condensate line with a shop vac and see if the water will start to drain, if not looks like the pan is cracked.

The condesate drain is clogged, most of the time they clog at the trap close to the furnace.You need to clear the clog and clean the drain line and drip pan if you can get to it.

Hi,
Yes!! You need to blow out the drain... usually it is the trap that clogs...

heatman101

First, air should not be blowing through the trap. The trap is there to isolate the air and to make sure condensate flow is proper. Start by increasing the depth of the trap. The condensate is going to be relatively cold, in the range of 58 degerees F to the Attic's OH MY GOSH hot. Pick up some foam insulation at your favorite hardware or Big Box lumber yard and insulate the pipe.

You have a clogged condensate trap and or line

The reason for the trap is to compensate for the negative pressure the drain line is under. Since the blower is pulling the air, if the trap wasn't there, then the drain wouldn't drain properly.

By having a trap, your blower is pulling air back through the trap while the condensate water is allowed to flow and drain.


With that being said, if you have water forming in your emergency pan, its an indication that the main drain line is clogged up. If you know where the drain line exits the home, take a small shop van and vacuum out the drain line. If its really backed up, it will sound like a golf ball through a garden hose.

If your trap has a clean-out installed, I would recommend pouring some hot water and bleach combination down the trap itself after you have cleared and flushed the drain. The bleach will assist in killing any mold/mildew that has accumulated in the drain.


Also, while your in your attic, ensure your emergency pan has a float switch and that its operating properly.

the drain coming off the unit is the one you need to clear, not the secondary pan. its usually clogged in the P trap which is usaully not far downstream from the outlet on the coil.