Air Conditioning Drip Pan Problem
 

Hi Folks,

I wonder is anybody can help with this problem a friend of mine in
Florida has?

She has a GrandAire GB3BM-042K-B-10A air conditioning unit in her garage.
One day, a few weeks ago, when she got home from work her garage floor
was flooded with water from the unit.

She called the A/C guy who tinkered with the system, told her it was a
crap system, said the coils where rusting, charged her quite a few
dollars and went away.

Whilst I was on vacation there, she asked me to have a look at it but I
have to admit that A/C is new to me as I live in quite a cool climate.
When I took the cover off, I could see smallish brown pipes (the coils?).
The brown appeared to be a protective coating of paint or plastic and
these did not look rusted to me. Under the pipes was a tray, with turned
up sides, that had about an inch and a half of water in it. She told me
that she has to keep emptying this on a daily basis. Part of the unit's
metal body protrudes into the tray and this has become rusty, probably by
the water rising to that level on occasions.

I am assuming that this tray is a drip tray to catch condensating (sp?)
water off the coils. Should the drip tray have some sort of a drain from
it or would the water be expected to evaporate naturally into the air? Is
this amount of water, or condensation, normal?

I don't know if she has big time problems or if the A/C guy was trying to
get a new A/C unit sale out of her.

I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet search but to
no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

QJ

QuangoJango wrote:

She has a GrandAire GB3BM-042K-B-10A air conditioning unit


I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet search but to
no avail.



Maybe these guys can send you the info you need.

http://www.grandaireac.com/aboutus/contact_us.asp

It would be normal for the condensate pan to be piped either to a
drain or, preferably, outdoors. The condensate drain can become
blocked by algae. It may be necessary to blow or flush out the
drain line and treat the system with bleach or other algaecide.



(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"QuangoJango" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

I wonder is anybody can help with this problem a friend of mine
in
Florida has?

She has a GrandAire GB3BM-042K-B-10A air conditioning unit in
her garage.
One day, a few weeks ago, when she got home from work her garage
floor
was flooded with water from the unit.

She called the A/C guy who tinkered with the system, told her it
was a
crap system, said the coils where rusting, charged her quite a
few
dollars and went away.

Whilst I was on vacation there, she asked me to have a look at
it but I
have to admit that A/C is new to me as I live in quite a cool
climate.
When I took the cover off, I could see smallish brown pipes (the
coils?).
The brown appeared to be a protective coating of paint or
plastic and
these did not look rusted to me. Under the pipes was a tray,
with turned
up sides, that had about an inch and a half of water in it. She
told me
that she has to keep emptying this on a daily basis. Part of
the unit's
metal body protrudes into the tray and this has become rusty,
probably by
the water rising to that level on occasions.

I am assuming that this tray is a drip tray to catch
condensating (sp?)
water off the coils. Should the drip tray have some sort of a
drain from
it or would the water be expected to evaporate naturally into
the air? Is
this amount of water, or condensation, normal?

I don't know if she has big time problems or if the A/C guy was
trying to
get a new A/C unit sale out of her.

I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet
search but to
no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

QJ

"QuangoJango" wrote in message
..
One day, a few weeks ago, when she got home from work her garage floor
was flooded with water from the unit.

That would be condensation. Normal for an AC


She called the A/C guy who tinkered with the system, told her it was a
crap system, said the coils where rusting, charged her quite a few
dollars and went away.

Never saw a rusted coil. They are made from copper tubing nad aluminum fins
in 99% of the cases. Never made from steel or a corrosive material of that
type.


these did not look rusted to me. Under the pipes was a tray, with turned
up sides, that had about an inch and a half of water in it. She told me
that she has to keep emptying this on a daily basis. Part of the unit's
metal body protrudes into the tray and this has become rusty, probably by
the water rising to that level on occasions.

If the tray is steel, it will rust and can contaminate the coile, but as
tated above, the coil is not rusted.


I am assuming that this tray is a drip tray to catch condensating (sp?)
water off the coils. Should the drip tray have some sort of a drain from
it or would the water be expected to evaporate naturally into the air? Is
this amount of water, or condensation, normal?

There is usually a drain. Could be copper or pvc tubing that goes to either
a floor drain or outside.


I don't know if she has big time problems or if the A/C guy was trying to
get a new A/C unit sale out of her.

He is a hack. Never call him again.


I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet search but to
no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Is the unit cooling otherwise? If so, don't get overly concerned about it
(although a service check is a good idea) but get the water drained. It is
also common for these drains to get plugged with an accumulation of dust,
dirt, and other gunk that builds up in the pan over time. In most cases, it
can easily be blown out or cleared by running a wire down the drain. Clean
it with a bleach solution and wash it out well. Repeat as needed, but at
least once a year.

Find out where the drain line goes. Use a wet/dry vac to vacuum the
drain from outside. This way all the water and slime and crap is
pulled out. Then treat the drain pan with a little Clorox. I usually
spray coil cleaner on the coil, Greased Lightning would work reasonably
well. Mix the cleaner with water per the directions. Don't use
anything corrosive, it will eat the coil.

Stretch

I forgot to tell you, rinse the coil with water after you spray the
greased lightning on it.

Stretch

There SHOULD be a drain pipe coming from the pan, to some where like a
drain, or out of the house. Go back and look for it. Sometimes you can blow
the dirt out of the drain pipe with compressed air. Or as Stretch suggests,
vacuum the lin eout with a wet vac.

--

Christopher A. Young
Do good work.
It's longer in the short run
but shorter in the long run.
..
..


"QuangoJango" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

I wonder is anybody can help with this problem a friend of mine in
Florida has?

She has a GrandAire GB3BM-042K-B-10A air conditioning unit in her garage.
One day, a few weeks ago, when she got home from work her garage floor
was flooded with water from the unit.

She called the A/C guy who tinkered with the system, told her it was a
crap system, said the coils where rusting, charged her quite a few
dollars and went away.

Whilst I was on vacation there, she asked me to have a look at it but I
have to admit that A/C is new to me as I live in quite a cool climate.
When I took the cover off, I could see smallish brown pipes (the coils?).
The brown appeared to be a protective coating of paint or plastic and
these did not look rusted to me. Under the pipes was a tray, with turned
up sides, that had about an inch and a half of water in it. She told me
that she has to keep emptying this on a daily basis. Part of the unit's
metal body protrudes into the tray and this has become rusty, probably by
the water rising to that level on occasions.

I am assuming that this tray is a drip tray to catch condensating (sp?)
water off the coils. Should the drip tray have some sort of a drain from
it or would the water be expected to evaporate naturally into the air? Is
this amount of water, or condensation, normal?

I don't know if she has big time problems or if the A/C guy was trying to
get a new A/C unit sale out of her.

I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet search but to
no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

QJ

pour a mix of bleach/water down the condensation drain occasionally-will
keep algae from stopping it up.
"QuangoJango" wrote in message
...
Hi Folks,

I wonder is anybody can help with this problem a friend of mine in
Florida has?

She has a GrandAire GB3BM-042K-B-10A air conditioning unit in her garage.
One day, a few weeks ago, when she got home from work her garage floor
was flooded with water from the unit.

She called the A/C guy who tinkered with the system, told her it was a
crap system, said the coils where rusting, charged her quite a few
dollars and went away.

Whilst I was on vacation there, she asked me to have a look at it but I
have to admit that A/C is new to me as I live in quite a cool climate.
When I took the cover off, I could see smallish brown pipes (the coils?).
The brown appeared to be a protective coating of paint or plastic and
these did not look rusted to me. Under the pipes was a tray, with turned
up sides, that had about an inch and a half of water in it. She told me
that she has to keep emptying this on a daily basis. Part of the unit's
metal body protrudes into the tray and this has become rusty, probably by
the water rising to that level on occasions.

I am assuming that this tray is a drip tray to catch condensating (sp?)
water off the coils. Should the drip tray have some sort of a drain from
it or would the water be expected to evaporate naturally into the air? Is
this amount of water, or condensation, normal?

I don't know if she has big time problems or if the A/C guy was trying to
get a new A/C unit sale out of her.

I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet search but to
no avail.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

QJ

QuangoJango wrote:

I am assuming that this tray is a drip tray to catch condensating
(sp?) water off the coils. Should the drip tray have some sort of a
drain from it or would the water be expected to evaporate naturally
into the air? Is this amount of water, or condensation, normal?

Not exactly. Condensate from the coils should drain away, unseen by human
eyes. There are TWO drains.

Only if the primary drain is clogged should water appear in the external
drip-pan.

In other words, the visible drip-pan is the fail-safe mechanism. If you can
see water, the primary drain is clogged. Then, of course, when the external
pan's drain gets clogged, water overflows into the house, garage, or
wherever.

So, then:

1. Find the primary drain and unclog it (blow (hard) into it).
2. Find the access port to the primary condensate collection area and put a
cup of bleach in the collected water. This will kill the alge that's the
original cause of the clog.
3. Un-clog the external drip-pan's drain.
4. Pour a cup of bleach down the external drip-pan's drain.

G Henslee wrote in
:

QuangoJango wrote:

She has a GrandAire GB3BM-042K-B-10A air conditioning unit


I have tried to find details of this unit with an internet search but
to no avail.



Maybe these guys can send you the info you need.

http://www.grandaireac.com/aboutus/contact_us.asp

Thanks for the URL but I keep getting "The page cannot be displayed"

Even cutting the URL down to http://www.grandaireac.com still gives me the
same error.

Can you actually access the site?

OJ

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in
:

http://www.grandaireac.com/products/836a.pdf
tech specs

http://www.grandaireac.com/products/707915a.pdf
Install instructions

http://www.grandaireac.com/products/707917.pdf
Replacement parts

These aren't exactly your model, but they might be close enough. Try
right clicking on the above links, and save the documents.



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Phone: 904-733-9633, Email: Copyright 2002




Again, many thanks for the URLs but I get "Page cannot be displayed" when I
try the all.

OJ

Many thanks to those who responded. She is trying the bleach method so
hopefully that might work.

I don't know if GrandAire have gone out of business but I cannot access any
of their web sites that have been quoted

OJ

QJ
They are still selling it in my area and I accessed the web site just
now with no problem. Maybe you need a new browser or ISP.

Stretch