Home Guides Home Home Improvement Could the AC Unit Cause the Ceiling to Leak? Email Reddit The indoor components of a central A/C condense gallons of water per day. An air conditioner’s called a “conditioner” because it does more than just cool the air. It also extracts humidity. Moist air holds heat energy more efficiently and is harder to cool. Dry air feels cooler and more comfortable. On a humid summer day, the evaporator coil in a residential central air conditioner may extract as much as 20 gallons of water from household air. Water from the Air In a split system central air conditioner, the compressor and the condenser coil are located outdoors in a cabinet. The air handler and evaporator coil are located indoors in an HVAC closet or up in the attic. When everything’s in working order, water vapor condensing at the evaporator coil collects in a condensate drip pan beneath the coil, then drains away through a drain line plumbed into the household sewer pipe. Water Through Your Ceiling A wet condensate drip pan in a hot attic creates a favorable environment for algae to thrive.

Unchecked, algae growth may eventually infiltrate the condensate drain line and clog the line. A clogged drain line soon results in a drip pan overflow. Water leaks down through the ceiling and into living spaces. An HVAC technician can clear the blocked drain line and install time-release algaecide tablets in the drip pan to prevent future algae. References Popular Mechanics: Quick Fixes For Leaky A/C Systems Photo Credits Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images Suggest a Correction What Is the Real Estate Process After a ... Who Is the Trustee & Beneficiary of a ... The trustees and beneficiaries of a mortgage come into ... Do You Need a Lawyer at Your Mortgage ... Having a lawyer at your mortgage closing isn't ... I thought I remember being told that water should drip (condensation) from the bottom pvc that comes out of the house but it should never drip from the top pvc. I thought he told me that if it dripped from the top it meant the "pan" was full and needed to be emptied. I was told recently that it's normal for them to both drip some because of the humidity right now.

I'm not sure which answer is correct and if there is something I need to do about it now. When the forced air unit is in the attic sometimes the condensation is drained into a normal interior drain and a second, outside drain is used for overflow. The overflow drain is in a visible place so you know that the main drain isn't working and you can fix it. In fact I had this very problem a few weeks ago. If you remember being told it should never drip from the upper drain, it sounds to me like it could be a secondary overflow drain. In that case it would be worth getting it checked out. if by "top" PVC you mean the PVC tube coming out of your house that corresponds to your upstairs AC unit, then yes, this is normal. all air conditioners pull water out of the air as they cool, and that water has to go somewhere. however, there is no definite answer we can give you because there are so many ways the condensate drain could be configured. in your old house, you might have had 2 condensate drains on one air conditioner.

the second drain could have been installed so that if the pan was about to overflow, it went down the second drain instead. so the second drain serves as a signal that the first one is clogged. in short, the only way to be sure is to have someone qualified trace the drain lines and figure out how these units are configured.lg split air conditioner price list in chennaiGo in the attic first and check the overflow pan. dual fuel hvac wiringNice tip for ya. brothers auto repair tampa flI used a diaper to absorb all that water.but after that you may want to get it checked out for sure.Browse other questions tagged hvac or ask your own question.There is a story about a contractor specializing in energy conservation who received a frantic call from a homeowner.

The man had just purchased an expensive high-efficiency air-conditioning compressor and had checked his windows and doors for leaking air. Nevertheless, the summertime air-conditioning bill for his 2,000-square-foot home came to almost $400 per month.The air-conditioning contractor rechecked the system carefully. ``Nothing wrong here,`` he told the homeowner.Yet the homeowner`s next electric bill was even higher.The energy sleuths can take advice from Sherlock Holmes: ``Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.``When a system isn`t cooling properly, many contractors and homeowners assume the problem is with the condenser/compressor and air handler. They forget about the duct system, which can leak, pouring cool air into the attic.This was the case in our story.Whoever installed the original duct work had cut a notch in the trunkline at each truss section to fit the duct against the trusses. There were 10 or 12 holes, each measuring about 12 by 6 inches, along a 60-foot span of duct trunkline.

No wonder the homeowner`s bills were high. He was air-conditioning his attic.The customer was flabbergasted. Although several contractors had bid on his new unit, not one had even looked at the existing duct system. The homeowner had just spent a small fortune on new equipment he may not have needed.If you are experiencing high fuel bills, you might need a new, energy- efficient air conditioner -- and many contractors will tell you so. But if your problem is a leaking duct system, it is unlikely anyone will notice, much less tell you about it. Although duct leaks are far more common than we realize -- even newly installed systems can leak -- most contractors don`t inspect the ducts because it`s a messy job.Several types of ducts have been used for home heating and cooling. Originally, ducts were simply metal tubes and rectangles tied into one another and attached to the air handler. Sometimes they were covered with insulating material; sometimes they were simply painted with insulating paint.

As cooling and heating technology progressed, fiberglass duct systems evolved. The rigid system consists of aluminum-backed fiberglass boards shaped into rectangular sections of various sizes. More recently, double-backed flexible aluminum sections have become popular in new construction because they are relatively easy to install.All of these ducts can leak.Even properly installed ducts in a new home can meet with calamity. The duct installer usually is not the last one in the attic before construction is completed. Workers giving the house its final touches may walk on the ducts and pull them loose. After moving in, the homeowner may explore the attic space, unknowingly stepping on and damaging the ducts.Furthermore, intersections where the ducts are joined are seldom sealed well. And duct sections become worn over time and can separate or tear.Fortunately, the matter is not hard to detect or solve, even for a homeowner -- if the ducts are accessible. But the do-it-yourselfer has to brave attic temperatures, dust and insulation.

If you don`t want to do the job yourself, most professional air conditioning companies provide the service.There is another way to check out an air-conditioning system: a ``blower door`` test performed by a trained professional. In this technique, a fan contraption placed over an exterior door opening pressurizes the house. By releasing small puffs of colored smoke with a ``smoke pencil,`` it analyzes the house for air-pressure leaks, including duct leaks. This procedure pinpoints the tiny leaks that may be missed by a feel-as-you-go approach. Since the blower door is a rather new technique, many air-conditioning contractors are just learning it.-- Robert S. Tanenbaum is a free-lance writer who lives in North Lauderdale.DUCT REPAIR TIPS-- Work early in the morning, when the attic will be cooler. Let someone know you are up there, in case you run into trouble, and wear a safety mask, goggles, hard hat, long sleeves, long pants and gloves to protect yourself from insulation and dust.-- Remember to walk only on well-supported framing members and not on the ceiling material.-- Turn on the unit at the thermostat so the fan will run continuously.