Central Air Conditioning: Water On The Floor
When I run my central air conditioning, I am getting puddles of water on the basement floor next to the furnace. I traced the source to a small steady stream of water coming from where the furnace connects with the large metal duct on top of it that carries the cold air out (I'm totally unfamiliar with furnace/air con terminology). I noticed a strip of old dried out duct tape that was attached to the leaking area, probably by the previous owner, at least 7 years ago. I'm assuming the water is from condensation inside the duct that is running down the side of the duct and out the small crack. Do you think this is the case? Is it normal to have so much condensation in the duct? If I re-duct tape and it works, is this an appropriate repair? I did notice something called a condensate pump. It went off once and pumped some water up a tube and into my stationary tub.
Answer:
I would take a good look at the condensate pan on your evaporator coil,("A" coil), above your furnace, in the plenum. It may be leaking, rusted through. How old is it AC? The metal drain pans are lucky to last over 20 years. The tape was probably a get by patch! No, it is not normal to have condensation in side the duct. There should be NO condensation in the duct. The water is from the evaporator coil, as part of the job of the AC is to remove moisture from the air as it cools. There is a pan with a drain under the coil that is how the water leaves the unit...in your case, it goes to a pump and its pumped out of the home. If the water is leaking out of the unit, there is a good chance that the pan is leaking for some reason....crack if plastic, depending on the age of the unit, or its rusted through. Call a tech to come look it over, and if the pan is rusted out, dont be surprised if the coil has to be replaced. Some pans are no longer supplied and serviced. Mortex offers a few but the size of the pan is according to the coil, and depending on the age of the unit, and style of coil, it may not be serviceable. It also could be as simple, depending on the length of run to the pump, that the drain is clogged, and you are only getting a trickle of water to the pump...thats why the pump is still working, but you are getting water outside the unit. All it takes is a little mold, and dust, and you have a clog. Thats why service guys should check it at the start of each season, and clean the coil, pan and line.