humidifier drain line

[Kyle]

I have an Aprilaire humidifier hooked up to my furnace (natural gas) and this morning I found water on the floor under the condensate pump where the humidifier drains. The pump is attempting to run, but it isn't draining - the reservoir is full and not emptying.

As it was 5.2 degrees (Fahrenheit, not Celsius) this morning and hasn't been above freezing for a few days, I suspect the drain line, which empties outside next to the a/c condenser unit, froze and is blocked.

Question 1: any suggestions for how to thaw the line well, with little risk of refreezing? (Sunshine is not a thawing option, as the line comes out under the back deck and never sees direct light.)

Question 2: since the furnace is in the laundry room and there's no other drain (such as a sink) in the room, is it a good idea to maybe re-route the condensate drain into the pipe where the clothes washer drains?

[Jim Elbrecht]

Pump? Mine works on water pressure. There is a solenoid that you might hear clicking. One click on, one click off. If you hear a hum like a motor you might need a new solenoid.

'Little risk of freezing' might be tough. I'd saddletap it into the cellar drain if it is possible. You are using hot water, right? Also something like 1 1/2 pvc is a lot less likely to freeze than a smaller pipe- though the smaller pipe will handle the volume.

To thaw- us a hair dryer on the end 5-10 minutes should do it.

That's where I'd go with it. Quick and dirty with a saddle-tap of some sort.

Jim

[LouB]

Yes to the second question if the laundry drain inlet is lower than the humidifier outlet.

[jamesgangnc]

That doesn't matter. Read the post, he has a pump already.

The washer drain is fine. If there is room you can just stick the discharge hose into the drain. But check the pump first with another piece of line and a bucket. Soemtimes those thing sound like they are running but really are broken.

[trader4]

Agree. Use the existing hose if it's long enough and you can just cut off the inside piece. Otherwise get a new hose at HD, etc. and route it into the washer drain. Other suitable choice could be the sump pump pit if you have one. I have mine just routed over to the french drain at the edge of the wall without any pump.

[Mikepier]

The drain outside is definately frozen. Either re-route the drain somewhere else or don't use the humidifier until the drain thaws out.

[willshak]

Mikepier wrote the following:

Do you live next door to him and walk over to check the drain?

[Art Todesco]

It doesn't take much of a dip in the line to freeze. Here where the weather is 20 degrees warmer I added a piece of hose to drain the condensate pump into the drain line for the down spouts. It froze just where it was coming through the wall. The dip was less than a 1/4". In my case the furnace shut down because the installer wired the pump overflow sensor to shut down the furnace. I don't have a humidifier but I do have a condensing furnace that can produce quite a bit of water. When the weather warms up, I will put a more permanent solution with no dips. BTW, it was pretty easy to thaw the line using the heat of my hand .... the only problem was that when the ice cleared, it got me right in the shirt.

[Stormin Mormon]

There may be a legal issue with dumping water like that into the sanitary sewer (washing machine drain). Particularly for the AC condensate, when summer arrives. That said, I'd go ahead and run the condensate pump line into the drain. What they don't know won't hurt you.

[LouB]

Heck that water is a lot better than the stuff coming from one's washer.

[hrhofmann]

The volume of water from anything but a washer is so small as to be inconsequential.