Question about Ruud UAKA030 Air Conditioner
I have a Ruud Air conditioner/gas heater with the furnice and air handler located inside in my utility room with the air handler sitting on top of the furnace. Last night I noticed that it was not getting quite as cool as it should be getting inside and the air conditioner kept running. I checked the filter and it was black & soaking wet! I just changed the filter about 4-5 weeks ago. I changed the filter again. This morning when I got up I went to check the filter to make sure everything was lookin ok, only to find water all around the unit on the floor. After watching the unit a while I discovered that I have water dripping (almost running) out of the front left hand side of the unit. I went outside to the condensation pipe and found that the condensation out-put was not as much as it usually is. The pipe appeared to be clogged with brown and slimmy gunk. I took a clothes hanger and cleaned the little "L" pipe out the best I could, which is only about 7-8" long before the pipe takes a 90 degree turn through the wall to the unit. The tempatures here for the past couple of days has been over 100 degrees and the same is predicted for today (current time is 1:03am). The water dripping out of the unit seems to getting worse. I have a dog and 2 cats, not to mention myself, to try and keep cool, but I have been forced turn the unit off until the dog starts panting. I have contacted several HVAC companies, however, with the high temps they are currently booked for a few weeks. A few minutes ago I felt the air handling unit and it feels cold to the touch. Any help, information, and/or suggestions as to what I can do on my own until I can get a professional here to take a look would be greatly appreciated. What would be causing this problem? Other than the water issue the unit seems to be working fine as far as cooling the house. Thanks. Vanessa
You're correct in checking the drain pipe, because it's become blocked. The only trouble is, you're trying to clear the wrong end. The condensate water is spilling out of the air handler because that's where the pipe has a clog. These pipes usually have un-glued joints next to the air handler, for times such as this. If you can't pull them apart, you may have to cut the pipes and reconnect tham with fittings from the hardware store. (which is a normal procedure.) I usually use a wet/dry shop vac when repairing this problem, sucking out the clog & the water, then blowing out the line to where it drains outside. I've also used the clothes hanger technique to drag crud out of the air handler fitting. Hope this is helpful. ;)
Posted on Aug 10, 2007
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