AC drain leaks and float switches

And so here we're going to start by making sure this is clear before cuz right out here we're just over the ceiling. So we definitely don't want any water damage on the ceiling. So we're going to clear this drain first. Make sure that this looks like an old discontinued secondary drain right there. So at one point when the system was changed out, uh they did away with the secondary drain and just plug the pan with the switch, which is which is code just fine. I do like to have a secondary drain if we can have it though with a lot of times you can put a ball valve on it right there and have a switch as well. If this clogs up and spills over into the pan, uh the water will rise killing the float in the pan, but then you can come open your ball valve and clear your main drain. [Music]

This is never a good situation. During a routine maintenance visit in Norman, we found ceiling damage caused by a clogged floor drain and a missing float switch. Our team cleared both drains, installed a new float switch, and insulated the lines to prevent future leaks. But as you can imagine, this is not fun to come home to. [Music]

Look for water where it should not be. Okay, so what I mean by that is during summer your AC removes moisture from the air and that water has to drain properly. So if you guys see water near an indoor unit, you know, a ceiling stain or you know, anything indicating that you've got water, especially on a ceiling, that means a float switch or something like that is shut down and that is definitely not something to ignore. Water damage, especially if your furnace and your coil is above your ceiling, that's something you really want to check out, make sure there's no water in that pan. Something you can preemptively do is just, you know, just go take a peruse up there in your attic. I know it's not super fun, it's really hot during the summer, you know, and see if there's any water in your drain pan. And if there is, that's something to definitely get checked out. But making sure your system has a float switch is going to be a sure fire way to make sure that you don't have to replace any sheet rock on a ceiling. So it's never fun to do that. So make sure water is where it should be.

There's water around the indoor unit. Now, this is usually a drain issue, especially in humid weather like we have here in Oklahoma, when the AC is pulling a lot of moisture out of the air. A clogged drain line, backed up pan, or float switch can shut the system down or cause water damage if ignored. Now, if you see something like this, don't ignore the water. Water near the furnace, the air handler, on the ceiling, or in a closet, that's not normal, even if the system's still cooling. Water can turn into drywall damage, ceiling stains, mold concerns, or a system shut down.

Okay, so your AC shut itself off and you find a brown water ring on the ceiling. Not super fun. So here's what's happening. That system pulls water out of your air all summer, and the water leaves through one small pipe. When that pipe slimes up, the pan under the unit fills with water and a little switch in the pan shuts the system off on purpose before the water hits your drywall, ideally. Okay? So a few different things can be going on. Sometimes it's that safety float switch, sometimes the line just needs clearing, and sometimes the water has to be pumped uphill and the pump is honestly the real fix. Okay, so those float switch, drain line, or condensate pump fixes on our sheet land somewhere in the ballpark of $300 to $500, depending on what we find, to be honest with you. We're here to find the right solution, not sell you all three, okay? So I'm Will at Yarbrough & Sons, and is there a brown water ring on your ceiling?

A drain line float switch installed typically costs between 2 to $500 depending on the float switch that you get, and this is the cheapest insurance policy from taking what should have been a 2 to $500 repair piece or, you know, upgrade piece, and turning it into a $5,000 ceiling repair because we continued to run our air conditioner. Even if you do have algae buildup, a emergency float switch will make sure that we don't have a $5,000 mistake. You should have an emergency float switch on your system, especially, especially if it's up in an attic, which most of ours are in Oklahoma

Uh, P traps are great when they're necessary, but when they're not necessary, they're just going to lead to unnecessary clogs. So, we're going to go ahead and take care of that. We're just going to reroute it from the from the start of the furnace to here uh with some new PVC and fittings and uh make sure this drain's good and clear for them. [Music]

Look at your thermostat. Thermostats can tell you a lot of information you need to know whether there's a problem or not. If it's one that's battery-powered, you're probably not going to see anything except for it calling. Now, if you're having it call for cooling and nothing's coming on, that would be an indication that we could have other issues. If your thermostat is off because it's not battery-backed up or it's just powered off the system, there could be a problem with the system because it sends a 24 volts to power that thermostat. And if it's not sending 24 volts, you're going to have a blank screen. Good indications to look on that is to look at any kind of float switches that are on your system cuz that could be an indication that you have a drainage problem. That's very common and can be fixed by most homeowners if they have the know-how to do that. I will say with that, it does have where you have to get into an attic, so it does take a little bit more of a person that can find ladders, do things like that. We'll make sure your safety's first anytime you're in an attic because sheetrock repair is expensive. Young Rose.

okay we're going to go over the eight most common AC problems that Oklahomans face one the AC is not cold enough AC is not cold enough we're going to check clog filters second we're going to check refrigerant pressures third we have to make sure your thermostat is actually reading the proper temperature second AC leak in water that means we either have a clogged or damaged condensate drain a frozen evaporator coil that's thawing or a damaged condensate pump three a noisy AC condenser which could be a loose fan blade bad bearings in a fan motor or compressor could be going out four Frozen AC we have dirty filters a restriction our refrigerant system or we're just low on refrigerant either leak or undercharging five AC is not blowing air well if we have that we have a restriction in our air flow meaning we're either Frozen or have bad filters AC turns on and off on its own well that could be a thermostat problem dirty condenser coil causing higher low head pressure and dirty filters low refrigerant levels unable to turn the AC on well we need to make sure everything's going good if the AC is tripping that's an electrical problem we need to make sure that our compressor hasn't shorted the ground or other major components haven't failed all of this to say in conclusion regular maintenance could help prevent a lot of headaches this summer

We had a customer in Chicochet report leaking water from her HVAC system. So, we dispatched Robert to go take a look. Robert found a clogged drain line and a heat pump that that wasn't level. So, he cleared the line, leveled the system, replaced the filter, and performed a full quality check while he was there. Now, the system is running perfectly, and we recommended starting a maintenance plan for ongoing care. Overall, great work by Robert [Music]

here is the existing system okay let's take a look at this the coil is the right size super important so you can see the pan here has got water inside so you see this pan is rusted out so it's going to be important to replace this this float switch looks new so that's going to be super important as well so that way it doesn't fill up and they have a water leak over here all on their wood and down in their sheetrock so that's going to be important as well so let's take a a look at the return we've been serving OKC since 1988 so share this with a friend who needs help with Home Services

Sometimes ice accumulates where it shouldn't, right? And you've seen it either on your outdoor unit or your indoor unit. You've seen like the big like ball of ice. Well, that is a homeowner's worst nightmare because it means that the ice inside of that unit has gotten so bad that it is now expanding like an amoeba and crawling through your system. Well, now you got to wait and let it thaw. So, we're going to do a visual inspection, make sure that there is no ice accumulation, make sure there's no water in the drain pan, or anything that could cause water damage in the long run for your home. So, we're going to make sure that the emergency drain pan is functioning properly, that there is an emergency shut off. If there's not, our technician is going to provide you with an estimate to add one to your system because it is imperative. If your system's in the attic and you don't get to have eyes on it all the time, well, we want to make sure that there's something smart up there that will shut the system off and keep it from flooding your house. So, that if the system does decide that it's time to you know, do its best water park impersonation, it can't get away with it. It will be stopped. It will be shut down.

Look at your condensation drain line. That's going to be located somewhere around your furnace. It's going to be go from your evaporator coil and go outside your house or go down into a drain, maybe like connected to a hot water heater somewhere in there. What you can do is pour distilled white vinegar down that drain. So, in Oklahoma, where we're at, we get algae and other just biological growth inside that thing. The reason that's a big deal is because if water gets backed up, and especially if your furnace or your evaporator coil is above your ceiling, and water gets backed up and spills over, it can ruin ceilings, walls, floor. Mom's not happy, the dog's wet, it's not a fun time. So, distilled white vinegar, pour it down that, just take care of that problem before it's ever a problem and presents itself. >> Your pros. >> [music]