We have a 4 ton split unit. The air handler sits on top of a wood box that's about 30" high. We noticed water gathering around the top of the box, around the base of the box, and inside the box below the AC on the floor.
So I did the cleaning out of the tray, made sure the condensate pump was working OK and there were no plug ups anywhere. Well, it all was clear, and we couldn't figure out where the water was coming from.
Had to watch everything for a while and found that the coils were plugged and water was dripping off in different areas and not making it to the tray. We called an AC repairman that I knew, and he said, guess what? Yeah our coils are plugged up. His estimate for the fix included cutting the lines, sliding the coil unit out, and taking the shebang outside for a cleaning, and re-installing - $300 - $400.
We knew each other from jobsites, and he looked around the garage and said "You know tools, you can do this yourself". Well he explained how to get it slid out to work on it and what to do.
I slid out the unit past the AC (about as far as I could get it), and for the next 3 hours used high pressure water, an air hose, and brushes. I had to create a water dam for the floor, as I was using water pressure. So about every 4-5 minutes would have to run the wet vac. This was a messy dirty job. It was time consuming to get it as clean as possible. Both my wife and I looked like we came out of a sewer system. There was gunky schmootz (a word the AC guy used) everywhere.
After finally putting everything back together and cleaning up, NO MORE LEAKING. Thinking about the experience is very rewarding to tackle a project without really knowing what to do. I liked saving the money, and it wasn't that difficult. I'm just dreading when it will need it again.
So I did the cleaning out of the tray, made sure the condensate pump was working OK and there were no plug ups anywhere. Well, it all was clear, and we couldn't figure out where the water was coming from.
Had to watch everything for a while and found that the coils were plugged and water was dripping off in different areas and not making it to the tray. We called an AC repairman that I knew, and he said, guess what? Yeah our coils are plugged up. His estimate for the fix included cutting the lines, sliding the coil unit out, and taking the shebang outside for a cleaning, and re-installing - $300 - $400.
We knew each other from jobsites, and he looked around the garage and said "You know tools, you can do this yourself". Well he explained how to get it slid out to work on it and what to do.
I slid out the unit past the AC (about as far as I could get it), and for the next 3 hours used high pressure water, an air hose, and brushes. I had to create a water dam for the floor, as I was using water pressure. So about every 4-5 minutes would have to run the wet vac. This was a messy dirty job. It was time consuming to get it as clean as possible. Both my wife and I looked like we came out of a sewer system. There was gunky schmootz (a word the AC guy used) everywhere.
After finally putting everything back together and cleaning up, NO MORE LEAKING. Thinking about the experience is very rewarding to tackle a project without really knowing what to do. I liked saving the money, and it wasn't that difficult. I'm just dreading when it will need it again.
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