I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this morning, something that's been on my urgent project list for several years now. It works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights don't dim like they did with the old one.

My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a drain hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the user's manual and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan at the bottom of the unit, which it has already after one day's use. They said this is normal, don't worry about it. They also state that sometimes, in periods of very high humidity, there might be some condensate overflow from the unit on the outside of the house.

My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and install an overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it, maybe I should save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it will.

Any thoughts about or experience with such things?

Paul

On Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:16:59 -0700 (PDT), Pavel314
wrote:

I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this morning, something that's been on my urgent project list for several years now. It works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights don't dim like they did with the old one.

My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a drain hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the user's manual and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan at the bottom of the unit, which it has already after one day's use. They said this is normal, don't worry about it. They also state that sometimes, in periods of very high humidity, there might be some condensate overflow from the unit on the outside of the house.

My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and install an overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it, maybe I should save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it will.

Any thoughts about or experience with such things?

Paul

Don't drill any holes. The condensate will be evaporated by the
outside fan that cools the condenser coil. Much less messy then
letting it drip on the ground.

On 6/26/2014 9:16 PM, Pavel314 wrote:
I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this morning, something that's been on my urgent project list for several years now. It works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights don't dim like they did with the old one.

My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a drain hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the user's manual and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan at the bottom of the unit, which it has already after one day's use. They said this is normal, don't worry about it. They also state that sometimes, in periods of very high humidity, there might be some condensate overflow from the unit on the outside of the house.

My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and install an overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it, maybe I should save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it will.

Any thoughts about or experience with such things?

Paul


DO NOT drill any holes. It the AC is sitting properly, you won't get
any water in the house. The water collecting in the pan is picked up by
the fan ring and is slung onto the coil to help cooling.

Many brand new units were destroyed by errant hole drillers.

On 6/26/2014 9:16 PM, Pavel314 wrote:
I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this morning, something that's been on my urgent project list for several years now. It works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights don't dim like they did with the old one.

My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a drain hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the user's manual and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan at the bottom of the unit, which it has already after one day's use. They said this is normal, don't worry about it. They also state that sometimes, in periods of very high humidity, there might be some condensate overflow from the unit on the outside of the house.

My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and install an overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it, maybe I should save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it will.

Any thoughts about or experience with such things?

Paul

In a perfect world, the condensate from the cold
indoor coil is used to cool the hot outdoor coil.
In the real world, there is often some drip as
there is too much condensate. As others have
cautioned, it's not wise to drill holes into AC
units. Too easy to damage wires, tubing, etc.

Best answer is to tilt the unit a bit down and
out, and let it drip if it wants to drip from the
outdoor corner of the pan.

At the end of AC season, it's a good idea to pull
the unit out, take the cover off, and rinse out
any mold, slime, dust, etc. Of course, if this is
within your skills.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
Learn about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

On 06/26/2014 06:51 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 6/26/2014 9:16 PM, Pavel314 wrote:
I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this
morning, something that's been on my urgent project list for several
years now. It works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights
don't dim like they did with the old one.

My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a
drain hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the
user's manual and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan
at the bottom of the unit, which it has already after one day's use.
They said this is normal, don't worry about it. They also state that
sometimes, in periods of very high humidity, there might be some
condensate overflow from the unit on the outside of the house.

My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and
install an overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it,
maybe I should save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it
will.

Any thoughts about or experience with such things?

Paul


DO NOT drill any holes. It the AC is sitting properly, you won't get
any water in the house. The water collecting in the pan is picked up by
the fan ring and is slung onto the coil to help cooling.

Many brand new units were destroyed by errant hole drillers.

What he said. When I installed mine, the instructions stated that it
needed to be tilted by a certain degree to ensure that the condensate
collected towards the outside end of the unit. Condensate over a
certain amount is taken up by the flinger, where it provides evaporative
cooling to the condenser coil.

Jon

On Thursday, June 26, 2014 9:16:59 PM UTC-4, Pavel314 wrote:
I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this morning, something that's been on my urgent project list for several years now. It works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights don't dim like they did with the old one.



My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a drain hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the user's manual and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan at the bottom of the unit, which it has already after one day's use. They said this is normal, don't worry about it. They also state that sometimes, in periods of very high humidity, there might be some condensate overflow from the unit on the outside of the house.



My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and install an overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it, maybe I should save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it will.



Any thoughts about or experience with such things?



Paul

Thanks for all the warnings and comments. I had a feeling that drilling holes was a bad idea. The unit installs in the sleeve with shims putting it at the proper angle for the condensate to gather where it belongs. Good idea to give the catch pan an annual cleaning.

Paul

"Pavel314" wrote in message
...
I finally replaced the old through-the-wall air conditioner this morning,
something that's been on my urgent project list for several years now. It
works well and when the compressor goes on, the lights don't dim like they
did with the old one.

My question deals with condensate. The old one, 40+ years old, had a drain
hole for condensate while the new one doesn't. I checked the user's manual
and it said that some condensate would gather in the pan at the bottom of
the unit, which it has already after one day's use. They said this is
normal, don't worry about it. They also state that sometimes, in periods of
very high humidity, there might be some condensate overflow from the unit on
the outside of the house.

My first thought was to drill a hole in the side of the pan and install an
overflow tube. However, if they say not to worry about it, maybe I should
save the time and trouble and just let it perform as it will.

Any thoughts about or experience with such things?

Paul

Not much difference than the condensate pan in your refrigerator--Leave"as
is" unless you actually see a problem that needs fixing.
MLD