Dumb pump question

[jeffreyswilson]

OK..I have no idea what I am talking about, BUT...we got a new furnace/Central air unit installed 3 (maybe 4) years ago. On the front of the unit there is something with a PVC running into it and a 5/8" clear vinyl tube running out of it. That tubing seems to merge into a copper tubing that runs to the outside of our house. It is hard to tell whether there is murky water in there or it is empty, but the pump seems to be running and nothing is happening. I go outside to where this tubing ends, and there is nothing coming out. The manufacturer is Beckett, but I there is no other identifier on it (the only reason that I know it's a pump is that it is pulled into a receptacle that is labeled PUMP and it sounds like one). Does this meant that the pump is bad? Or maybe there is a clog in the tubing? How can I check each? And the pump looks like it would be really easy to replace, is that right? Can anyone tell me about how much one would be if I need to replace it? Thanks very much for your patience and any help you can give.

[Andy]

Andy comments:

Sounds like an overflow drain to me.

I don't understand why a copper pipe would be pulled into a "receptacle"... Do you mean an electrical receptacle ? If so, please ignore anything I say, cause that would make no sense to me at all....

Otherwise, airconditioners have water drains to get rid of water accumulation across the coils that happens when you aircondition in humid weather. You will ALWAYS have a drain running either outside the house, or into your plumbing drain inside the house. Very little water goes thru this and there is NO pump, just gravity..... Occasionallly these get clogged, and you just go upstairs and pour a little bleach ( Clorox or equiv) into it each year , if needed. Don't worry about not seeing anything in a new system. If you are worried, put a glass under the end to catch the water, and watch it all summer. You should get something thru sooner or later......depending on your attic ventilation and the humidity and temp... If you didn't have this overflow line, if too much water formed in the air conditioner, it would leak out and wet your ceiling and make a mess. Even window mount units have this overflow valve in the back of them to drain the water outside.

Like I said, if this "tube" goes into an electrical receptacle, forget anything I have said....... exxcept the useful parts :>)))))

Andy in Eureka, Texas

PS Check the manual or documentation that came with the new unit. It should talk about it somewheres...

[SQLit]

condensation pump, just like everything else it needs to be cleaned at least once a year.

Sounds like the float is stuck and it is running all of the time.

[jeffreyswilson]

That sounds like it. It keeps running even though there is no water. How would I clean this? And even if I clean it, if the float is stuck, would I need a new pump? And is it as easy to replace as it looks? Thanks so much for your help!

[cornytheclown]

Unplug the pump... the top can be removed from the bottom by 4 or so screws....when you pull the top off it will have the float hanging from it...clean everything....make sure the float will move up and down......while the pump is off make sure the tubing is clear....let things try...put the pump back together hook up tubing and fill pump with water bleach mixture to make sure it works and also to get some bleach into the tube where it might kill an algae in the tube.

If the pump dont work go to home depot and buy a new one....just hook it up to the drain and plug it in....simple

[jeffreyswilson]

Excellent...I will try that. My only concern is if there is a clog in the tubing. it runs about 25-30 feet before it exits the house, so I don't know how I would clear it out. But thanks so much...I will try the bleach and check the float.

[No]

Yea - like was said - its a condensate pump. easy to try and fix, easy to replace if necessary. May want to just go ahead and replace it, they are cheap if I remember correctly. As for the tube. When you have it off try blowing into it. If you cant blow air through then its clogged. That could actually be your problem. Compressed air may work to clear it if you have that available. House water pressure may also clear it out if you can find a way to do that w/o making a mess. You could also just replace the tube. if you see a lot of crud in the tube then it may be easier to just replace it. The orange or blue stores will also have this tubing.

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[Bob]

Just pour some water into the pump. If it goes away, the pump is working. Then just fix the switch problem.

Bob

[jeffreyswilson]

OK...first of all, thank you very much to everyobne that has helped me out with this. It's a great feeling when total strangers are willing help!! It looks lije the problem is a clog. The motor is running but the water stays in there. After running for an hour, there is still 2 inches of water, and I have not even run the A/C in days. Now the tough part...the tubing that leaves the pump is approximately 25 ft long and winds thru my basement. How can I unclog it? Compressed air probably won't work on something that long (or at least, I don't have that kind of comressed air. I could replace the tubing, but it sort of "melds" into a copper pipe, which is what runs out the house. Am I out of my league at this point, and need to bring in an expert? I would hate to pay a couple hundred bucks for someone to do something simple that I could do. Once again, thanks for everyone's help and input.

Jeff

[D. Akers]

Jeff wrote; "Now the tough part...the tubing that leaves the pump is approximately

25 ft long and winds thru my basement. How can I unclog it?" ______________________________________ Re; If you have a wet-vac, try putting the suction hose onto the outlet end of the drain-tube, where the condensate comes out. This should dislodge most clogs; especially if they are still moist.

Dan Akers

[jeffreyswilson]

..and if I don't have one?

[Bob]

Disconnect the hose from the pump outlet. Using appropriate fittings, attach it to your garden hose. Turn on the water - slowly at first - to flush the line. You might need to clean out the bottom of the pump reservoir - it could have an internal plug. If cleaning the hose doesn't fix it, this would be the next step. If the check valve is external to the pump, you might be able to reverse flush the pump to open it up.

Bob