Perhaps it is only me, but as a homeowner it bugs the hell out of me when after techs worked on the system, left all the old parts behind in the attic. I am referring to the blower motor, boxes and all the trash behind. My motto has always been cleaning up the mess and leaving the place as neat as before.
I think he's commenting on how people sabotage either their clients or themselves (Anti DIY) for either failure to maintain the HVAC (or doing it incorrectly) or putting it together in a way that will obviously fail. The other point being, simply hiring a competent HVAC company to do yearly maintenance would save the owners thousands of dollars in water damage, so you don't sabotage yourself in the future.
With the condensate drain pipe just exiting the home and draining down by the outside of the house, wouldn't that cause a basement or foundation issue? In the summer when the ac is running, it can produce 5 to 10 gallons or more of water every day.
As a former HVAC professional, I enjoy your videos. I notice you are wearing a ring. You've probably heard this before, but those can be a real injury hazard. I knew a fellow service tech who lost a finger when his ring caught on the ladder he was taking off his truck roof. Stay safe! :>)
Gotta love the insulation plugging up the drain line. Seeing its a carrier I was afraid that cheap plastic drain pan cracked from someone over-tightening or bumping into it.
So to this guy every job he goes to is somebody sabotaging stuff?? Enough with the sabotage in every video title, if anything this is just negligence by the home owner for not maintaining that drain line.
Why isn't the pan drain hooked up? Doesn't make any sense to me. I work in mantaince and sny time I go into a attic I see 9 times out of ten the pan drain is stubbed off
All that crap done / left by a former "technician". Sadly seems to be more the norm than the exception. Exactly the reason why I do most of my own work.
This video is exactly why I hate for people to put the unit in the attic bc when that drain pan gets full it over flows and ruins the ceiling and it could become very dangerous if not fixed on time. You do a great job so keep up the great work.
About 2 years ago we had the evap coil and air handler replaced. not sure if p trap was on the original unit. last year the pan was overflowing into the ceiling. the warranty company sent the same company out and cleared the line. This year same issue but a new company says we need a p-trap. installing company has gone out of business. would they remove the P-trap for the coil install? and if it wasn't one present when installing evap coil and air handler, why wouldn't they install one?
Man its hard to believe that people still cap off the secondary emergency drain pan and just not take the time to run a second 3/4" PVC pipe so this cannot happen. In Maryland its CODE that all HVAC systems installed in a attic space have 2 drain lines and at least 2 condensate overflow safety switch's. I always install a SS-2 safety switch on the auxiliary evaporator coil drain pan connection and a overflow switch on the secondary emergency drain pan as well. Myself and brother do all our own HVAC system installs together for over 30 years now and have never had one ceiling damaged to water. Less chance for ceiling water damage when you have 2 -3/4" PVC pipes draining outside and when using safety over flow switches. Keep up the great work Ted . Peace \m/\m/....
Looks like you still have a drip at the threaded connection as you can see the water in the pan move every 10 seconds or so. Surprised you didn't use a few wraps of thread tape or pipe dope.
I did some clean-up/maintenance on my air handler that is in my crawlspace about a month ago. There was no water frm the drain line and I pretty much already knew why from being underneath doing some wire running several months ago. Whoever installed the unit made their own "trap" using four 90's and sections of pipe. Obviously a freakin clog waiting to happen. I cut that whole mess out, spliced in some pipe length, and ran it straight out of the foundation exit hole with it on a pretty steep slope to make sure it drained. I didn't put any kind of trap or extra vent in the line and Ive been underneath a few times to make sure it was good to go and water drains out of the line perfectly. My drain is definitely in front of the blower so its a negative pressure situation. According to what Im hearing/reading, a trap has to be used in this situation? If I'm getting perfect drainage with zero backup in the air handler, why would I add a trap other than the tiny/unnoticeable amount of air that is supposedly being drawn back in through the drain line into the handler?
There is no other reason to have a p-trap in the condensate line: blocking unconditioned air and anything else outside from mixing with conditioned air. You may not notice how your humidity removal is effected, but without a p-trap it is reduced.
I hope you removed that old blower and such. One of my pet peeves with tradespeople/hvac techs/ contractors leaving junk in attic is unacceptable. Leaves a bad name and bad stereotype for all.
This is an easy one. Ask the home owner if they want you to haul the trash out of the attic. (And optionally, to the dump.) Line items! It takes 2 seconds to ask, and if they say no, at least you did your due diligence. (Especially if you're recording every second of it for a youtube video.) "I will not juggle for free."
@@DW-vl2wi Yeah I've have my fair share, I won't lie. But when I worked at a residential company it was nothing but those types of calls. Residential has it's days, but commerical gets me using my brain most of the time. Ngl i run many residential side jobs, but I can never work for another residential company. Compared to where I work now, residential companies are awful.
Frost HVAC wouldn’t clog if it were properly flushed at the time of maintenance but in this case it wouldn’t have mattered if it had been flushed or not.
I am sure he knows that, he may have put it on the female side, or there was so much used last time still on there that he didnt feel like more was needed... he may have slipped there, but at least he didnt put pliers on it and crank
The threads are tapered and actually do create a seal. No pressure and as long as draining correctly water just trickles out. Yet Teflon or pipe dope helps seal I have done many drains without. The scary thing with carrier air handlers is the paper-thin plastic pans. Other trades work in the attic pest control, electricians, roofers drain line gets bumped and now that pan is a leaker
3:46 CLEAN UP! CLEAN UP! I insist on leaving the work area better looking than when I first arrived, because I want to be invited back. That's laziness at its finest right there and there's no excuse for it.
"leaving the work area better looking than when I first arrived" YES. That work ethic gets you something better than a repeat customer.. word of mouth.
A nice little trick I’ve seen our residential installers do is double 90* the p trap vent over the secondary so it has the vent but bad stuff like that can’t happen.
BTW you only need to glue one end of the fitting recommend male side not female. * glue is a chemical reaction of melting the plastic for a bond so dont want to melt the interior wall of female fitting or PVC pipe
All that and the first two seconds can surmise, primary clogged pan drain not even connected and pan is overflowing onto cieling below, wow that took 10 seconds!
I can't believe the last people left all the old parts in the attic, I would have fired my guy if he done something like that bc you don't leave trash behind on a job you are doing bc it looks very bad on the owner of the company and it gives you a bad name.
I would suggest sending the Bill for this visit to the morons that installed the ridge vent without covering the A/C unit with a tarp or cleaning up after themselves to prevent drain clogs etc. Why should the Homeowner have to pay for the Stupidity/Laziness of others?
Did you pick up all the wet insulation to say the call need extra expense possibility of it falling through the ceiling or at least getting any wetter and creating more problems
I disagree with your choice to use cement on the piece that the cap sits on because if you want in the future to push a cleaning brush towards the coil pan, you're giving yourself a hindrance, just use a lil Teflon paste or even plumbers grease. Are you out in the country where there's no code against piping condensate to the ground, aka flower bed???
Sir, I have read using 1 cup of bleach 2x a year will eliminate that type of build up. Just today, my AC stopped working because the pan was full and the float switch did it's job. I blew the drain pipe out with a compressor and think it is fixed (ac is working for now). Is bleach bad for PVC and any AC parts in the unit? Someone mentioned white vinegar is better. Can I have your thoughts please?
Bleach is recommended to use during the Summer months when the condensate is being produced and will drain quickly through. White vinegar during the Winter when less condensate is produced. I find bleach kills the mold & mildew a lot better but can damage the glue if it is not flushed good...
wow, a heavy motor and blower wheel resting on drywall, wait till it gets wet, caves in, and motor smacks someone in the head. Can't afford to be lazy in any trade.
Thomas Sullins the condensation from the ac drain can pick up dust, dirt, bugs etc from the air being sucked back into the unit from returns or just from places in the ductwork that aren’t sealed that well
I HATE HATE when guys don't clean up thier mess. Why on earth would you think it's ok to leave the old parts up in the attic. Guess it's the same idiots that leave old equipment up there too.
Here it is .... www.ebay.com/itm/Diyvac-GREEN-Wet-vac-attachment-tool-clears-clogged-a-c-condensate-drain-lines/273939851276?hash=item3fc816680c:g:oUEAAOSw~U5a~siV
Since I'm the 1st comment and I won that Marshall mini stack ... I will use it responsibly and only play rock & roll thru it ... Lol ... Good vid Ted ...
Us HVAC guys don't have to use that lol. I'll use blue alllllll day and I will not worry about a leak. Hell, insulating the drain line is more important than using primer, and that's not done half the time.
15:40 Too bad CODE requires the P-trap. The expense of increased maintenance and ceiling repairs far exceed any benefit of "energy savings." In a world of "intelligent CODE writing," the P-trap would be allowed outside near ground level (for ease of service) and no PVC cement would be needed. Other than "Code requirement," can anyone suggest GOOD reasons to have the P-trap? Any chance of insects, snakes, frogs, etc, entering the house through a drain line? I have eliminated P-trap on drain line in my own house, and leave the cap off at top to allow any dust to exit. Yes, a small amount of conditioned-air escapes, but so what?
Trap is functionally necessary only when the condensate drain is before the blower, in a vacuum or negative pressure situation. The trap works as a one way valve preventing air draw into the evap coil box which would prevent draining.
P-trap is a must. It's not a small amount of unconditioned air, it's a continuous small amount of unconditioned air. Like cracking a door open. Your humidity removal is effected and overall the system is working harder than it should. Put the P-trap back outside where it belongs.
