watercondensation in the furnace/air condition room

[Pawel Skudlarski]

I have a central air using forced air ducting from the furnace, now whet is is hot and humid the whole room is complelely dump, there is water condensing on the air ducts. Should i just add a fan to ventilate this room better (it has two small vent windows)?

Also part of the ceiling panel s are missing and i can see the water condensing on the ducts that should be enclosed in the space between the upper floor and the ceiling, shall i leave this space open? I would close it to prevent warm humid air to go in and condense, but am afraid that the condensation will be happening anyway and i got a serious problems with mold in this enclosed space.

[m Ransley]

Get dehumidifier or cut in a return - supply to condition the basement and drop the humidity

[HeatMan]

Hire someone to insulate the ductwork.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

Uninsulated Ductwork running air condition through them will sweat up a storm. HeatMan got it Insulate them.

TURTLE

[Chet Hayes]

There is so much we don't know here, like where the furnace is located. If those vent windows are to the outside, I'd close them, as they are making things worse. They are allowing hot humid air from outside to come into the basement and then condense on anything cold, like your furnace ducts. In my basement, if I open windows to the outside, anything cold starts to sweat.

Also part of the ceiling panel s are missing and i can see the water

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

If any ductwork is properly insulated from the air going through the pipes from the outside area of the pipe. The pipes will not sweat because of the air going through the pipes. If things are sweating in the furnace room it is being cause by something else and is hot air hitting cold material in the room or cold air hitting hot material in the room.

TURTLE

[Chet Hayes]

Since when did cold air hitting hot material ever cause condensation?

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

1) Second your theroy of hot air going through a uninsulated duct system can't sweat is not correct. You can have the air in the basement at 32ºF which will lower the temperature of the metal ducts to 32ºF and then when the furnace comes on it sends 90ºF+ air through the duct. Till the metal of the duct gets up to 90ºF or so. Sweat will form on the pipe till the pipe is warmed up. Now most of the moisture or sweating will happen inside the pipe but a little will form on the out side. Now if the heating system is running just about 50% of the time. The pipe does not have time to cool off to get the sweating process going. You can see this happen when on a freezing outdoor temperature. You blow your breath on a single pain window and moisture will form on the window. This is the glass / Pipe is cold and your putting warm air on it. This process will not happen til the pipe cools way down and then warm air is blown on it. 2) Number 2 rarely ever happen because everything has to be just right for it to happen. 3) Never say something can't happen for it will.

TURTLE