Do you have to pump condensate away?


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Old 03-10-15, 11:49 AM
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Do you have to pump condensate away?

or could you let it drip into a container to evaporate away, presumably something built for that purpose? Although I have not yet discovered such a container so it seems there is reason people don't do this.
 
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Old 03-10-15, 12:04 PM
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I assume you don't have a floor drain nearby. I just wouldn't want standing water in my basement. A condensate pump would be your best bet.
 
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Old 03-11-15, 05:34 AM
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Allowing the moisture you removed from the conditioned space to evaporate back into the conditioned space negates the effectiveness of the system.
 
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Old 03-17-15, 02:52 PM
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Sorry, I didn't specify. This condensate is coming from a furnace and a water heater. No air conditioning involved. If anything, where we live, we could do with higher humidity.

We don't have a floor drain nearby and a pump is currently pumping the condensate from both lines through a tube in the ceiling over to a utility sink. On top of having the tube and yet another electrical appliance plugged in you're supposed to change out the neutralizer every once in a while because condensate is acidic. It strikes me as a slightly jury-rigged affair when the simple solution could be to just let it evaporate from a container designed for that purpose. Like a bucket lined with a hydrophilic material to encourage capillary action. Just haven't found anything like that yet in my searches.
 
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Old 03-17-15, 09:31 PM
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My furnace contractor suggested that when he installs my new furnace, he would just install a neutralizer along the PVC which goes across my basement ceiling and drips into a utility/basement sink as well.

Have you seen any problems with this method? I was skeptical at first, but he said it's within code and the right thing to do.
 
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Old 03-18-15, 07:31 AM
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Kevin: That is a well accepted method.

Evan: In order to get enough evaporation, you would have to use some sort or heated container. A condensing gas furnace produces a lot of water since water is a by-product of combustion.
 
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Old 03-19-15, 11:36 AM
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Yeah, that's probably true that there'd be too much water. Ok, just checking. Thanks for the comments.
 
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Old 03-19-15, 11:56 AM
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You are most welcome. You might be able to get rid of some of it by re-routing to a humidifier but I doubt all of it. Besides, the acid would be mighty hard on a humidifier & possibly the ductwork. Wish I had a better answer for you but I'm afraid you're stuck with the pump just be sure to clean it once in a while.
 
 

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