Water leaking around base of furnace


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Old 10-25-13, 01:19 AM
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Water leaking around base of furnace

I live in NY & have an Amana gas furnace (model #HA02224C175B160159 installed 6/18/2001 which is leaking down to the base during heating cycle.It's a high efficiency unit with pvc venting.The drainage tubes are clear/not plugged and water does flow thru them to the reservoir on outside right of furnace & drains down into the floor.


The issue seems to be the black gasket is leaking in the bottom left corner of what I think is called the collector box,which is behind the draft inducer blower.The water has either run down to the right and rusted one of the nuts or it's leaking from the nut itself (difficult to tell) & will probably have to be broken off and replaced.The furnace works fine other than this leak issue which I'd like to resolve.
Is it possible to try & seal this with high temp silicone caulk,or is this a part which can be replaced...or is it time to call an HVAC tech and have them make the repair? Any advice is greatly appreciated.





 
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Old 10-25-13, 03:55 PM
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The short answer is that it's important to correct this problem. Condensate from gas is acidic and will corrode away the sheet metal and other parts if it's not corrected.

If you can stop the leak with some caulk, help yourself. Otherwise you may need to remove the collector box and install a new gasket and inspect the surfaces where the collector box mounts for possible corrosion that is causing the leak.

Just a warning--- most of the time when this kind of thing occurs it is happening because something in the drain system is plugged up, allowing water to accumulate in the area of the collector box and inducer motor fan. I'd start by pulling off the inducer motor housing and inspecting the areas for axccumulations of water and/or corrosion. I'd pour water into the area of the collector box to see if it's draining away freely, or accumulating.
 
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Old 10-25-13, 06:33 PM
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I pulled off the inducer motor housing & there is very limited access to the collector box.I did notice what seems to be a hairline crack towards the bottom of collector box but there is no water leaking from this area at all.I removed the drainage tube which is located in the bottom right corner & inserted a Q-tip cotton swab & it came out dry & as I said previously when the system is running you can see the water draining into the exterior reservoir & down into the floor drain.The leak appears to be limited to a minor amount of seepage coming from the bottom left of collector box/along the black gasket as shown in previous pictures.I'm a bit hesitant in removing the collector box for further inspection as this may cause more problems with the gasket,without my having a replacement gasket on hand.
Also while searching the internet for a solution I found this Youtube video which shows the exact problem and states that Amana no longer produces the gasket in question.
What am I to do?!

*Video link*
What furnace not to buy. - YouTube
 
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Last edited by MrJ-NY; 10-25-13 at 07:05 PM. Reason: additional info
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Old 10-25-13, 09:56 PM
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Are you sure that model number is correct ?
 
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Old 10-25-13, 10:48 PM
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That was the model # on a sticker on the outside of the unit,but I thought it looked a bit long myself.The model # located inside the unit says GUCA070AX30
 
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Old 10-25-13, 11:03 PM
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It looks like the gasket you need is part # D9855802. And it appears to be available from many places.

Service manual:
Johnstone supply TechDocs Amana Gas Furnaces


Parts listing:
Johnstone supply Amana Gas Furnaces Parts List
 
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Old 10-25-13, 11:14 PM
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Trouble with Johnstone is that most locations won't sell retail.
 
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Old 10-25-13, 11:57 PM
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PJmax - From what I can see in the diagrams indicated,the gasket you refer to appears to be mounted directly behind the inducer motor housing .When I remove the housing there is no gasket there.The gasket that is leaking is behind the rectangular shaped collector box that the inducer motor housing connects to and is approx: 13" long.

Is it one of the gaskets listed under - Heat Exchanger/Manifold Assembly and Recupe Coil Assembly/Image 2...

GASKET-FR COV (M2, M3)
part# D9875102
ref #0022

OR am I actually looking for ref# 0012 part# 10197103 COVER-FR RECUPE and the gasket?


Also the Models and manufacturing
numbers in this manual = GUC070X30B
whereas my model # is GUCA070AX30
http://johnstonesupply9.com/TechDocs...CA%20PARTS.pdf
I'm having no luck finding parts using the above manual link which matches my model number/part numbers
 

Last edited by MrJ-NY; 10-26-13 at 02:33 AM.
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Old 10-27-13, 05:24 PM
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Well I went ahead & sealed it up with red high temp silicone & she's running bone dry now...no leaks.This will have to do for now as the correct parts needed seem to be unobtainable.
 
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Old 10-28-13, 05:02 PM
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I'd still like to know if the parts I have listed in my previous post (2 posts ago) are the correct parts that need replacing on this unit and if so where might I find them

http://johnstonesupply9.com/TechDocs...CA%20PARTS.pdf

Recupe Coil Assembly

Ref # 0031 - Part # 20170802 Cover front M2

Ref # 0041 - Part # 20215701

why does part 0041 show two different parts/gaskets?
 

Last edited by MrJ-NY; 10-28-13 at 05:35 PM.
 

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