I have a heat pump in the attic That drains to the ground outside two floors below. I naively added a hose fitting so I could redirect the water where I wanted it, slightly up hill.
This created a trap in the line and my overflow pan filled. My HVAC soon shut off (2 days later) and I had to drain the overflow pan by hand. Removing the hose from the end of the drain and emptying the overflow pan allowed the System to start up again.
My question is: If I put a Y in the down pipe above my new intended outflow so that there is always a way for air to get out, will that cause any problems?
Diagram in text below:
HVAC Unit
|
|
Y Site of possible Y
|
|
C hose coupling ------- End of Hose above coupling
L-------------------/
Best Answer
Adding a wye will provide a new location for water to drain. I would make sure your drain has no “traps” as a simple air bubble can cause backup. If you really want to drain someplace else there are condensate pumps. I do not recommend these when natural drainage is available because the pump will fail and then you are back with an overflowing pan. When I use pumps I add water sensor tape to set an alarm so I know about the problem before it ruins the Sheetrock/plaster.