Attic A/C unit leaking into drain pan


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Old 11-06-16, 03:01 PM
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Attic A/C unit leaking into drain pan

Hello all,

I noticed that the AC unit in my attic is leaking into the drain pan from some coils or pipes connected to it. Attached are some photos. I'm not certain where the leak is originating from, but judging from the attached photos it might be coming from the where the pipe is attached to the unit (noticing the brown rust residue along the tape). Or maybe it's from the the little valve (I'm guessing it's a valve) itself. Does anybody have any recommendations on this? Does this look to be a major problem? How much would it cost to resolve this?

The majority of the rust in the photo was existent at the time we bought the house. Sorry, two of the photos are actually upside down... We brought this up to the previous homeowners before closing and they had it fixed. This appears to be another issue that surfaced after we bought the house a year ago.

Thanks all in advance,
Michael

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Last edited by PJmax; 11-06-16 at 03:54 PM. Reason: reoriented pictures
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Old 11-06-16, 03:08 PM
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Even upside down I can tell that the condensate drain pipes are wrong.

That is a expansion valve and no there shouldn't be any water there.
 

Last edited by skaggsje; 11-06-16 at 03:11 PM. Reason: added
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Old 11-06-16, 03:40 PM
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Insulating the TXV and adding a 45 and a 90 to the secondary drain ( to form a trap) and blowing out the primary drain would be a good place to start.
 
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Old 11-06-16, 09:59 PM
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Thanks for the responses. So insulating the expansion valve should resolve the issue? Which drain is considered the secondary and which is primary?
 
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Old 11-06-16, 10:03 PM
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No, I don't think that only insulating the txv would solve the problem.
The short secondary drain pipe from the evaporator coil must also be trapped.

The primary drain pipe is insulated.
The evaporator coil has a secondary pipe running down to a secondary pan. Trap it.

The secondary pan has an uninsulated pipe. I am not referring to this pipe.
 
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Old 11-06-16, 10:12 PM
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Insulating the valve will help the A/C run correctly. Can keep the coil from icing but it will not help your condensate issue.

I labeled the drains. The secondary drain is slightly higher in the unit than the primary one.
When you see water coming out of the secondary drain it means the primary one is clogged.
I can tell by the rust in the pan that plenty of water has been coming out the secondary/overflow drain.

You need to investigate the primary drain to find where it's clogged. Many drain lines need to be cleaned every year.

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