No drainage for AC unit in attic

[mauricej74]

I'm getting ready to purchase a new townhome, and during my first walk through noticed something very odd -- Every other unit has a plastic pipe that comes out the back of the homes (which I later learned was for condensate drainage), except for mine. I was later told that this is OK, since the cooling unit sits in a pan with an emergency shut-off switch. This does not quite make sense to me -- is this normal? I think if its summer and my AC shuts off, because the pan gets full, I'm going to be SOL without any AC. It also seems like a bad idea to have water sitting in the pan in my attic without any drainage at all... But I'm not expert!

Thanks for any advice!

Maurice

[RockyCJC]

I don't claim to be an expert on anything but that does sound odd. I have heard that some units actually recycle the water and use it in the cooling process or something like that but I don't know. I would check around the unit for any signs of past water damage. If there has been water damage, you should be able to see effervescent water stains OR you will see oil based primer/paint covering the area where there was water stains.

Also - I assume that you will be having a home inspector take a look at the house. If you are really interested in the townhouse and are not in a huge rush to buy a new home, I would go ahead and start the process and if the home inspector notes this as a problem, have the seller provide you with a credit equal to the cost of having such piping put in or have it done themselves before closing.

The fact that this is > I'm getting ready to purchase a new townhome, and during my first walk

[Al Moran]

You are right, your "expert" is full of crap. I would crawl into the attic and see if there are any pipes there because I have seen condensate pipes routed into the main pipes that are buried in the concrete floor. Either way, code requires that there be a primary and secondary drain line. If you run yours in its present condition it most assuredly will cut off the first time the AC runs for any length of time.

- All the free heating and air answers you want!

[tbasc]

1. Why is one unit different from all others?
2. There should be an overflow / relief drain.

I would pay an HVAC tech to look at the situation and make recommendations. Home inspectors are a first line of defense, and this feels like a special case.

TB

[Stormin Mormon]

The drain might go to the sanitary sewer, or some other place. But AC definitely does need a drain of some sort. I'd keep questioning the matter, so you don't get a bad surprise like water in the ceiling.

[Maurice]

Thanks for all the great advice folks

I did find out later that it was indeed being drained into the laundry room drainage. If I had known that I would have never been concerned :)

Thank You all again Maurice

Storm> The drain might go to the sanitary sewer, or some other place.