Among other problems with our geothermal heating system, I noticed the other day that there is standing water in the condensate catch pan under the coils. Almost a half inch. This may explain the musty smell that I've noticed coming from the air registers when the unit is running (both heat and a/c). I took the pvc drain pipe off and cleaned a bunch of crud out but, the water still didn't drain out of the pan... even with the drain pipe "off". Yes, the drain hole was open, the pan was full, and the water didn't come rushing out like I thought it would. So, I put a bubble level on the pan and saw that it is perfectly level. WTH? Isn't the condensate catch pan supposed to be slightly tilted toward the drain hole ?? I have neither the tools nor the knowledge of how to fix this so, I guess I'll have to put in a call to the contractor. Just wanted to double check here first that the catch pan should be mostly dry, correct?
The drain is cleaned out. I did it last night. Took the whole 2 foot-ish long pvc pipe off the side of the unit and cleaned a bunch of crap out of it. The hole on the side of the furnace was wide open, with the catch pan still full, and yet no water came out. Bubble level on the pan shows it to be perfectly level. Shouldn't it be slightly tilted?
If it is tilted away from the drain hole, I can see an issue. But I haven't seen a condensate pan yet that doesn't drain when the heat pump is level. That being said, it's easy to tilt your heat pump with a shim or such. Jam a wire up the hole and unclog it.
Yep, did that too... used a 1" diameter pipe cleaning brush to clean out the hole where the pvc tubing attaches.
Put your level on top of the Unit and see if it is also level. If not, the direction of out of plumb could be making your pan level instead of directing the water out of the pan. The pan needs to be set up like a house gutter with a slight out of bubble or the water will stand every time.
Thank you. I like your gutter analogy.... that's the same thing I've been telling the hvac contractor. But, he seems to think that ALL catch pans are set level and have standing water in them during the cooling season. WTH? *scratching my head* Also, does it matter that the pan and the coil are all one piece ? I guess that's how Hydron makes them. So there's very little tilting that can be done with the pan because the entire coil has to be shifted also.
My Trane has a pull out tray/pan which makes cleaning easier and it is angled down to the drain connection. My Son has a Carrier Unit that has a built in condensate tray/pan like yours. The water should flow out otherwise you end up with dust forming the mud you have in your pictures. There may be a sensor that shuts down the unit when the water level reaches a probe at a high level in the pan. After you find the problem put on some gloves and wipe out the pan, the use a disinfectant like Clorox or Pinesol to clean the pan. That should clean up the air odors that the water has caused.
Looks like the Pro's will need to respond since the pan & coil were built as one piece and both are level. I would think the drain would have to connect to the bottom of the pan with that design.
Thanks. I always thought they were supposed to be angled too ! Yes, there is a sensor at the end of the pan... its in the shadow on the far right side of that photo that I posted. So, it will shut down before it overflows. I'll try the Pinesol suggestion today. But, we will be getting a new coil / catch pan next week. We've been battling a sweet chemical smell in the basement (sometimes throughout the house) since last November 2015. I'm the primary person that's been suffering from the smell... it causes severe headaches, dizziness, heart palpitations, tremors, etc and has put me in the ER several times with anaphylaxis. I have had to keep windows open since last fall to avoid going to the ER. The smell doesn't effect anyone else in my family like it effects me. In January, the unit finally sprung a liquid leak at one of the pumps and pee'd out onto the furnace room floor. I said, "That's it, that's what I've been smelling." It was propylene glycol. Several phone calls to the contractor and several service call later, we finally thought we had it fixed. Then the smell got worse again. Called an alternate contractor who inspected things and found a leak on the manifold (which the original contractor should've replaced but, didn't). Had the alternate contractor install a new manifold. The smell persisted. This spring we flushed both of the loops (one radiant floor heat for the basement and one loop in the front yard that runs the forced air furnace) and replaced the propylene glycol with water for the summer, knowing that we'll have to put glycol back in by this fall or the coils will ice up. We're just working on getting rid of the smell right now. But, even with water in the loops, the smell persisted. We had the walls, ceilings, and all furniture in the finished basement steam cleaned a few weeks ago. The smell is still there. We started wondering about mold, so we had air samples sent to a high quality lab for analysis with GC Mass Spectrometry... no mold. All the P-traps have water in them. Finally, with the catch pan problem, I asked our alternate contractor to bring a 410A sniffer with him when he came to inspect the catch pan this past thursday. I didn't think he'd find a problem because the unit seems to heat and cool just fine. But, he found a 410A leak on the coil in an area that he can't get his tools in to fix. So, on tuesday morning he's going to order a new coil / pan, have it shipped overnight, and hopefully installed and working by the end of next week. Maybe this refrigerant leak has been the source of the smell for the past six months. It would be great to finally be rid of it. And now that I research "410A exposure symptoms".... the majority of those listed symptoms are exactly what i've been feeling for the past six months.
Hydron usually has 2 drain connections, one in the front, one in the back, which is the reason the drain pan is not tilted. The unit is designed to be field adjustable as left or right hand return, which is why they have 2 different drain connectors. They are very specific what they want you to use in terms of trap connection. They do get air locked easily and clog. You usually have to blow them out. http://residential.hydronmodule.com/products/series/revolution-xt-multi-position-vertical See installation manual page 18.
Yep, the unit has two drain holes on it. The one being used is the closest to the the floor drain. There is water in the trap on the pvc pipe leading from the unit to the floor drain. We have taken that pipe off and completely cleaned it out, as mentioned in the first post. And while the pvc pipe was off of the unit, and the catch still had water in it, absolutely no water came out of the hole when the pipe was removed. That's what led me to ask if the pan was not tilted correctly.
Sak, I had a leak in the A coil for a trailer we own and it would give off a sweet smell for a few seconds when the Heat Pump fan started up. If you change out the Geothermal water loop for any reason, ask about using Methanol for the antifreeze. It's cheap at less than $200 for a 55 gallon drum and once mixed in the loop I've never smelled it again. Methanol is mixed with water & a blue dye and used as antifreeze/automobile window cleaner, probably mixed to 20% Methanol & water.
mrrxtech, you got to have some foresight in telling someone to pick up a 55 gallon drum of pure methanol? That's a pretty big material handling issue even for pro's.
Make sure you teach someone how to handle it too. Blindness upon eye contact (safety glasses!) and flammability without visible flame might be some issues you want to touch.
Thanks for the reminder Doc. Please read the Material Safety Data Sheet for methanol before opening the drum. Avoid breathing the fumes by working outside. Transfer the methanol from the drum into a drum of water using volumes of each needed to reach the loops desired concentration for freeze protection in each drum. I used 3 drums prefilled with water to transfer the Methanol into to eliminate the possibility of fire or explosion. Most people recognize Methanol as Funny Car fuel which is highly flammable before mixed with water. Safety glasses, nitrile or rubber gloves & face shield should be worn.
very good. The bottom line is that methanol is nothing for DIY unless they know how to handle it and know the precautions necessary.
