My condensor in the furnace ices up which restricts the airflow. Is this normal. When I shut off the air conditioner the ice melts and causes a minor flood in the furnace. thanks

If it is a Heat Pump and you are talking about the outdoor unit, icing is a normal part of the cycle when it is operating in cold weather.
If you are talking about the indoor coil section, ice on the coil is caused by low airflow across the coil. The filters may have to be changed. The blades on the blower may be dirty. These can be cleaned by removal of the blower section. If there has been inadequate, damaged or non-existing filters, the air entering side of the coil may be blocked (dirty) .

Sounds like you're using it when the outside temp is cooler than the inside temp. when this happens, frost will build up on the condensor. Turn the unit off until the ice melts off with a shim under the unit tilting it back towards the outside of the window to drain. If it continues to drip after melting all the ice off and letting it dry out, you have a small leak in the condensor, (unit must be old or worn out) that the freon pressure has leaked out causing it to condensate more. A good checklist would be to check the level of the unit, make sure the coils are clean and not bent, the age of the unit and for small areas of corrosion or white marks on the condensor before replacing it.

There ae several causes for the symptom you describe.

Initial problem:
Unit off 5 hours and now seems to be making it's own ice. (Hail reference)

This is usually caused by a restriction in the coolant system. Most often the restriction occurs at the evaporator manifold. Once debris (internal corrosion in coolant system or any particulate) is in the coolant system is blocks 1 or 2 of the 3 manifold distribution holes of the evaporator. When that happens one or 2 sections of the evaporator start freezing up. As it freezes up the temp sensor notices the vast temp change and shuts off the compressor. (Fan still running) The ice then melts from fan air and then gets injested into the blower fan. Hence you get the hail sound.

As for the drain problem An Air-Conditioner that is used 19 - 24 hours everyday should have a 90 day total cleaning cycle. This involves removing the fan assy and using a power washer on the condensor, evaporator and both fan blades. If you look in the drain pan drain area it will will have a mucous looking goo in the drain pan. Once the drain hole is clogged the condensor gets dirty and the unit efficiency degrades.

I doubt there is anything that you as the homeowner can do to stop the icing. The coolant system will most likely have to be purged to get rid of the internal foreign debris and the coolant levels serviced. You can have it cleaned but even after cleaning it is highly probable that your symtom is going to repeat.

Thanks for choosing FixYa.

Kelly

After the ice melts and you turn on the unit and your fans work the problem is your unit is low on freon normally R22 you will need to have someone who is licensed to fill it and ck for leaks. If your fan does not run replace fan first if fan runs but low air flow thru condenser or evap coil clean coil first. good luck i believe your unit is low on freon more than likely.

Have you cleaned to condensor coil on the back of the box at the bottom where the compressor is at take a vacuum cleaner and clean the coils see if this helps sounds like you have an airflow problem.

Turn your System OFF and put the Fan switch at your thermostat in the FAN or ON position. Allow it to run like this for 4 hours minimum. Before turning the system back on, ensure the air filter(s) and coils are clean. Also make sure all of the supply registers are open. All of these items affect airflow. Improper airflow is the number one cause of an iced up evaporator coil (as indicated by your observation of ice on the black hose). If, after doing all these things, you continue to have a problem, you most likely have a refrigerant problem (not enough or a restriction). This would require paying a CFC certified electrician to diagnose and repair. Try the air filters, coils, and registers first. :-)

I just had one giving me the somewhat the same problem. Upon taking it apart I found that the entire inside was filthy. This thing runs in a work area in my basement and sucks up all of the dirty air. When you take the water out of the dirty air you have nothing but the dirt and the water. When you mix those together you get mud which is what clogged everything up in mine.

Dehumidifiers need to be clean on the inside to run properly especially all of the fins on the condensor. You will probably have to take it apart and clean it. Concentrate on the fins and the water collection areas. Dehumidifiers remove heat from the air which causes the humidity to collect on the condensor. As it collects it turns into water droplets. Gravity pulls the water droplets into the water collection areas and that flows to your tank. There is some sort of float in your tank that lets the dehumidifier know it is full and shuts it off with some sort of switch. It does this so it does not just keep running and eventually pour water onto your floor. It sounds like your switch and/or float is stuck. Find the float and switch and manually work them to make certain they are working freely, clean if necessary.

If the dehumidifier does not remove water like it should it is probably not getting good airflow. There are ice sensors on the evaporator that tells the compressor to stop working. However the fan will still run to pull warm air across the ice so that it melts, goes into the water collection area and into your tank. Some of these ice sensors work by measuring air flow. If there is no air flow or very limited air flow the sensor will tell the compressor not to work. The fan will run again to melt the ice so that it melts and is removed. If your condensor is dirty and does not allow the air to flow, this could cause your problem.

Check the A-coil in the furnace to see if it is iced up. That will cause a poor airflow condition. If that is it you will have to find the cause of the iced coils. Eric

Sounds like your blower motor in your furnace or air handler has burned up. shut the unit down and replace the motor. make sure the ice is melted and the unit is dry before you turn it back on.

Change the furnace filter. Make sure you use a cheap one when air conditioning, as the better ones restrict airflow when they filter out so much stuff and then plug up, not allowing enough air to pass over the cooling coil in the furnace's air plenum. Turn the A/C off for a few hours (with only the furnace fan on if possible) to melt the ice off the cooling unit inside the furnace.