Central air problem

[Nancy Young]

My house wasn't as cool as I would expect, given that the A/C has been on for a few days. I noticed it but didn't really think much about it. At the same time, I noticed it was really cold in the utility room where the furnace is. Today the weather has turned, and the windows are open and the air conditioner off.

Now I have a lot of water and I can hear ice chunks falling in the furnace/plenum (?) area. I think ice formed in there and caused the condensation to back up.

I have called the company who installed it to come take a look, with any luck they'll be here tomorrow. In the meantime, any ideas out there what could have happened? I've never had this problem before. The A/C unit was replaced last year and has been trouble-free since.

nancy

[Meat Plow]

Your A coil froze up. One sign of less than normal level of freon in the system. Also make sure your filter is clean.

[Moe Jones]

I agree but I also would shut down power to the furnace and do not try to run it until the service tech has a chance to check it out.

If your breaker is labeled then turn it off or you may have a simple light swqitch by the furnace where you can also turn off the power to the furnace.

The reason you want to turn it off is because you could damage the controls or the blower motor because they could get wet and short out.

Good luck and hope it is a minor repair.

[trader4]

Anything that reduces air flow is also a factor, like closing off too many register outlets.

[Nancy Young]

"Moe Jones" wrote

Thank you both so much. It is off and I'll wait for the company to come tell me what's wrong.

nancy

[Nancy Young]

wrote

Heh, yeah, I did close off a couple. Ooops. Thank you, I will mention that to the guy. Will be pretty sorry if I did this to myself.

nancy

[Meat Plow]

Lettuce know what was wrong :)

[Nancy Young]

"Meat Plow" wrote

Heh, you can count on me coming back cryin'.

nancy

[Travis Jordan]

If the tech says that you were low on refrigerant ask him/her where it went. Refrigerant does not get "used up" in a sealed system. Therefore, either you a) have a leak that needs to be located and repaired or b) the tech is incorrect about their diagnosis or c) you are the pending victim of one of the most frequent A/C repair scams.

[Nancy Young]

"Travis Jordan" wrote

Thanks for the heads up! This place is one I've dealt with for a long time, they're reliable. If there is a leak I would certainly like to hear all about it since they installed this A/C unit just last year.

nancy

[<kjpro]

Hehehe.... :-)

[Nancy Young]

"Nancy Young" wrote

The verdict, water was not draining out of the pipe that goes to the outside. He blew it out with air, and checked that it was at the correct angle to drain. A/C is back up and running.

He did ask if I closed vents, I pointed out which ones. He checked the pressure, no problems with the coolant level. Then he looked at the furnace and there was still a lot of water in there.

All better. Thank you all So much for your help, I was glad I knew what to expect, what he&#39;d be looking for.

nancy

[Meat Plow]

Excellent !

[Moe Jones]

There is a couple of items you may want your service tech. to add to your system.

1. There are overflow cut-off switches that are installed on the condensate drain line and when the line stops up, it will shut down the A/C and help prevent overflow that can cause you damage. They retail around .
2. There are dispensers that also can be installed on the drain line which allows you to drop in tablets to help kill the bacteria & slime growth. They retail around .

[Nancy Young]

"Moe Jones" wrote

No kidding! I will be keeping an eye on this situation, and if it happens again I will have that done. Thanks!

nancy

[Moe Jones]

Can you easily get to the outlet of the condensate drain line?

That is what the dispenser is for. You just open it a drop a few tablets or pour some bleach into the drain line once a month to help the drain line stay clear.

If you do nothing most likely the drain line will stop up again. When the line was blown clear the top of the drain line stills has slime and given time the slime will clog the line.

You can even install a tee in the line to be able to pour some bleach.

[Nancy Young]

"Moe Jones" wrote

I went downstairs to take a look. This is the first time I saw the configuration of the drain line. There actually already is an upside down T fitting, open at the top. Thanks for that information, I had no idea. Would be nice if the installers or the guy today said something about it.

nancy