The Daring Dufas wrote:
Brandon McCombs wrote:
Hello,

I'll spare the complete story of the problems I've had in the last few
months with the new AC unit in the house I just bought but I do
mention some of the issues below. I'll mention the newest problem
though that is making me doubt either American Standard or the idiot
who installed it. I haven't figured out exactly who to blame yet.

I'm currently having some semi-major condensation problems with the
blower unit. I ran the AC throughout today and I walk into the utility
room just a few minutes ago to see a lot of standing water coming out
from the bottom of the furnace unit. It seems that condensation had
been building up and drips in multiple locations to find its way to
the cement floor and then seeps its way into the studs that are only a
foot away from the one side of the unit. It is causing water to leak
into the carpet on the other side of the wall where I have my finished
basement.

When I call the HVAC guy out to take a look at this problem it is
going to be the 4th time I've had the AC guy out to my house since I
moved in which was in mid-February and it will be the 3rd time in the
same number of weeks. The first time was because the unit outside
wouldn't even run. They had *never* tested it when they installed it
last Fall.

Should I be demanding something from this guy since he seems to be an
idiot? My IFC board was fried a week ago (3rd visit) and had to be
replaced due to condensation on it (whether it was while running or
due to a clogged hose that he unhooked and let water run everywhere
the previous time [2nd time] he was here is something I do not know).
It is very possible my IFC could be fried again if all this dripping
isn't stopped. I see at least 4 places where water is dripping from
the top of the unit where the furnace portion is located down to the
bottom where the blower is located and then onto the floor. I can't
imagine that is normal. Is a drip pan required? Did the guy forget to
install something? Maybe a hose is just loose? I feel like telling the
guy to verify every hose is hooked up properly and if I have to I'll
watch him do it.

This is getting ridiculous and I'm very frustrated. I'm already having
to deal with mold due to all the water he let run out of the
condensate hose and I wondered why today that I had a fresh spot of
damp carpet, despite a small fan having run all day, and I have a
feeling it is due to all this condensation.

Any suggestions are welcome.



Brandon

American Standard/Trane is some of the best HVAC equipment.
Like any equipment, it will fail if it's not properly installed
and maintained. It's unfortunate that craftsmanship is sadly

I do believe American Standard should protect the IFC boards much more
than they do now (which is no protection at all) given the fact they are
in the lower portion of the furnace unit where all the condensation is
going to be (whether it should be there or not). It is too easy for
water to get on those boards and take down the entire system. FWIW, I
have a Freedom 90 furnace and an Allegiance 13 A/C unit outside.

lacking in a lot of the service industry. You should find a
service company that employs technicians who care about their
work and possess the knowledge and skills to do a proper job.

I'll use this post to reply to all the others. I wanted to thank
everyone for their time in responding. The AC and furnace are new (just
installed last Fall) so still under warranty. The guy I've had come out
here is the guy who installed it and, like I said, he has now been to
here 3 times just while I've lived here since February. I've kept
calling him to come out here because he was the guy who installed it and
because I believe he is the only one in the area for American Standard.
But if anyone can service them then maybe I'll switch to someone else.

There is a drain pan in the evaporator and there are several
things that can cause a leak. The drain line could be clogged,
I often use a shop vac to clear the drain and cleanup the spill.

I believe that was my problem the 2nd time I had him come here and
that's when he was surprised by how much water was in the hose because
it was either clogged or the sump pump wasn't working (not sure which
yet). At least when I inspected it myself a week later I used a bucket
just in case it was clogged. He was never that bright though and now I
have mold problems.

There could be a crack in the drain pan, it can be sealed easily.

Unfortunately I don't know what the drain pan looks like The water is
coming from the furnace portion of it which is surprising to me but then
again I don't know anything about this stuff.

I had drips coming down on the side where the blower fins are visible
and the source was the highest point of the blower's circular shape, I
also had them on the extreme far, front right of the unit where you take
off the service panel and seemed to originate from the hose leading to
black inducer fan (I think that its name?) in the furnace section, and
the other major one was off the metal housing that the IFC board was
mounted, which scared me because I wondered the chances of the water
getting on the board again.

You may have a piece of insulation or something else blocking
the drain. Or the coil could be freezing up and causing the
water to drip anywhere but the drain pan. I'd try a shop vac

I had some freeze up happen prior to him coming out the 3rd (last) time
because the blower stopped working. That was when the circuit board was
fried but the A/C unit outside would be able to still run but the lines
inside would freeze because of course no air was circulating so I know
that isn't the problem.

on the end of the drain line first even if it's a short piece
going to a condensate pump.

TDD