AC drip pan (internal) poor design?

"Larry Barowski" wrote in message news:YtudnWmO_Ooph6nYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

I like for drain pans to drain completely but many don't. It is usually not a problem as the slight amount of water that does not drain will evaporate fairly rapidly if no water is draining into the pan. I would not modify the pan drain.

Don Young

I'm no expert, and I don't know if this is universal, but at least some AC units (like the one I bought) are specifically designed so that the water that condenses on the inside coils is held in the pan below the outside fan, which picks it up and flings it onto the outside coils where the evaporating water increases the cooling efficiency. The drain is only to make sure the water level doesn't get too high...

Until I read your response, I was exclusively thinking of central air or split A.C. units. Your response didn't make any sense to me until I remembered window A.C.'s. Different perspectives. :)

Obviously in the case of a split unit, the condensation pan is designed to be a long way away from the outside (hot) coils so such a design optimization is unlikely.

Though it can work well when the evap and condenser are close enough!

sdb

I was thinking maybe some water in the pan prevents crud from building up, or something like that. If there is no real use for it, then I plan to make the modification.

I can feel a big change in AC temp when rain hits the coils, even when there is no outside temperature drop (here in SW Florida, it often rains with no temperature drop). I wonder what the difference in efficiency would be? Since my drip drain comes out near the outside unit, I'm tempted to try to rig something up.

Water conducts heat much better than air.

"Larry Barowski" wrote in message news:i-GdnVZZmorHhqvYnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

Won't have any significant benefit and likely to cause problems. This has been discussed many, many times. Do a Google search for the discussions.

Don Young

Funny, those discussions have left me with the opposite impression. Of course, there is the caveat that the unit may not work properly with significantly improved cooling...

sdb

Condensate removal is important and to prevent mold or algae build up is also important. But so are mechanical limitations. If it's a small package window air conditioning unit we're talking about, then all the postings are correct. The condensate is removed from the living area's and drained back to the condenser to aid in efficiency [evaporative condenser cooling.]

Perhaps you could check and see how level the unit is? Generally most are installed with a 1/4 bubble lean [from level] to the back so the condensate drains easily. That way, when the unit is idle, the evaporator is not exposed to excessive water storage.