Furnace condensate draining directly to crawl space dirt floor

On of our high-efficiency furnaces has its condensate pipe draining directly to a patch of dirt in the far corner of our crawl space (the rest of the crawl space floor is covered in black plastic).

The furnace itself is small (it heats only the kitchen and a guest room above it) and the condensate which drips out slowly seems to get absorbed immediately into the ground -- there is no pooling and only maybe a 12inch diameter area of moist soil. There are no wood columns near any of the moist dirt.

Is it ok to leave the situation this way or should I extend the pipe back from the far end of the crawl space to the regular basement where I can then drain it into a proper drain?

The reason I ask is that the crawl space is tight so it would be a PITA to run properly sloped rigid pipe there. Also, the current drainage area is about 40 feet from the actual basement opening so I'm afraid that it might be a bit far for a standard condensate pump.

Could one even argue that in the winter (which is when the furnace runs), it is not even that bad to have a little moisture in the crawl space/basement since the air is so dry then anyway (vs. the summer when the basement and crawl space require a dehumidifier).

Note that the other 2 (larger) furnaces in the home are located in the basement proper and are properly drained by a condensate pump.

Please advise... Thanks, Jeff

Reply to
blueman333
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Do it right, unless you really like mold.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Sounds like a bad idea to me..You better find a way to drain that out properly before you start a humidity problem in there, oh and that condensate is very acidic, which can't possibly be good either.

Reply to
Mikey S.

I'm not sure, but if I discovered that I'd be concerned too, and warming up a can of whoop ass to the folks whose sticker is on the furnace wanting me to call them for service.

Even if in that particular situation it turns out to be fine, I'd be concerned about whether it's code, or if itll come up when I go to sell the house and cost me money in repair amounts to fix real or perceived "safety hazards."

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

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Reply to
Todd H.

You seem to have properly evaluated the potential problems so I suggest you leave it be. I'm sure that after every rain, your crawl space is many times more moist than what the condensate makes it.

Reply to
DK

IMHO:

Injecting any moisture into your crawlspace is a bad idea. See if you can have a condensate pump setup to pump it into a better area. Maybe a drain somewhere.

Just guessing....

tom @

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Reply to
Tom The Great

At the very least, Continue the plastic to cover the whole area with a tight seal around the pipe, so the moisture doesn't evaporate into the crawl space.

Bob

Reply to
Bob F

termites need a little moisture too.

Reply to
Bob

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