Furnace/AC drain tube question

[Dave T]

The vinyl drain tube from the water pump that collects condensation from my furnace, humidifier and air conditioning runs across the ceiling of my unfinished basement and down into a lavatory. I replaced the old concrete double basin lavatory with a new single basin lavatory. The old lavatory sat nearly against the wall. The new lavatory sits about six inches from the wall. The drain tube had been strapped to the water lines against the back wall and drained into one of the basins of the old double basin lavatory. Currently, the drain tube has to be pulled away from the wall at a certain point and hang loosely into the new single basin lavatory. When I want to soak anything in the basin very long, such as overnight, I have to move the drain tube out of the lavatory to drain into a bucket so that the drain-off won’t overfill the lavatory. I’d like to patch the drain tube into either a 1 ½ inch copper drain line that comes down from the upper floors, or into the 1 ½ PVC drain from the new lavatory. How might I do this? The drain tube is ½” OD and 3/8” ID. One suggestion is to use a tailpipe with a dishwasher drain connector. My concern is that inside the tailpipe there’s a cover over the hole for the dishwasher drain that blocks off half the tailpipe inside. Since my washing machine also drains into the lavatory, I’m concerned that the wash water or soap foam from a full wash load might overflow the lavatory because the drain flow would be essentially cut in half by the flap inside the tailpipe over the dishwasher drain piece.

Thanks,
Dave

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Is there any way to redirect into a laundry tub or floor drain? This would be the more likely resolution and direct connecting into your DWV system isn't a good idea. Sewer gases can enter your furnace and you could have a whole other set of problems at this point. Rare but with plumbing anything can happen.

[Bob NH]

If you can fit a waste tee or wye into your tailpipe space ABOVE the weir in the P-trap and run the line off to the side of the sink and above the sink, you should be able to dump the condensate into the vertical pipe.

You will get the same effect if you can install a double sink drain and extend the vertical to above the level of the real sink.
http://www.mobilehomeadvantage.com/s..._id/113/ID/22/

[Dave T]

Good idea, Bob. That second, open drain line coming from under the basin also should let the washing machine water drain quicker from the basin, shouldn't it?

Rugged,

I probably should have mentioned that there's a small pump on the floor into which the condensate from the furnace and humidifier drains, then is pumped through the tube up to the ceiling, across the joists, then down to the basin. So, as you say, anything can happen with plumbing, but the pump and its well provide an extra barrier between the trap and the furnace. By the way, your avatar is exactly like one used on another totally unrelated forum, ShaveMyFace.com. Do you frequent it?

Dave

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Ahhhhh.......I C I C .......connection to the piping underneath will work.

It is amazing that such a site exists about shaving cream. I didn't know of the site until you stated it. Do you go to it? I'm trying to figure out why there would be so much to talk about shaving.









(rubs whiskers)

[Dave T]

Rugged,

When I went home yesterday and looked, I realized that I also forgot to mention that there's a tubular trap in the line between the furnace and the water pump on the floor. One thing I'm wondering about if I go the route of the diswasher tailpipe: Since the washing machine empties into the basin, will the extended flow of a washer load of water through the tailpipe cause a vacuum that sucks water out of the drain tube, and if there's enough of a suction to cause any problems?

If you have a beard and don't shave, Rugged, obviously you wouldn't be interested in the shaving site. Yeah, all of the talk on the forum gets tiresome sometimes because the same things very often get said again and again. The forum shows, however, that there are better ways of shaving, and shaving doesn't need to be a chore or a torment. It can be a pleasure to look forward to.

Dave

[Dunbar Plumbing]

Very well could, meaning that it could pull the contents out of the condensate pump. An air break or air gap is normally the normal accepted practice for these units. I had a icemaker machine at a factory that had contaminated ice cubes (majority of the ice cubes were used for cooling molds down but some of the people were using it for drinks) due to a direct connection to the drain system. Different from yours entirely but no one expected that to happen. It was tied to a kitchen sink and airborne bacteria was entering the icemaker through a 3/8" drain. Installing an Air Gap fixed that problem instantly.

Isn't there a floor drain or laundry tub somewhere on that level to redirect to? I understand no floor drain at the furnace, just figure you have almost unlimited distance you can go with that condensate line in most cases. Just have to make sure the tubing stays clean.

I shave everyday, have to. But I just don't see the necessity of talking about it. It's part of everyday life and considered almost a bodily function since it is a normal thing to do to look clean shaven. I was just shocked of why the forum even exists. But hey, I frequent/moderate plumbing forums and I'm sure some of those on that shaving site would say, "Who would want to talk about plumbing?" See what I mean? All is good though, if it supports good knowledge and creates a good community of members I'm all for it.

[Dave T]

Thanks again, Rugged. The only drain in the basement is a single basin utility lavatory. No floor drains anywhere. The tubing currently drains into the lavatory, and I want to move it out to drain somewhere else in the drain line. I'm not experienced enough to do anything complicated such as installing a standing drain pipe for both the washer and condensate line to drain into, and it's not important enough to hire a plumber. If all that might happen is the condensate pump unit getting sucked dry, that should be OK, shouldn't it?

Hold on to your chair: There are four wetshaving sites and/or forums:
http://groups.msn.com/thewetshaversgroup/general.msnw
http://www.shavemyface.com/
http://www.badgerandblade.com/
http://www.methodshaving.com/

There are other sites dedicated to shaving with straight razors and at least one for shaving with electric shavers. Also, here's a very popular shaving blog: http://www.shaveblog.com/

As my mom used to say, it'd be a boring world if everyone were the same, to which I'd reply, not if everyone were like me.

Dave

[SteveW]

I think the whole thing about paying attention to details of shaving is kind of a "mindfulness" thing -- which is a Zen principle, I believe. If you have to do something anyway, why not do it as well as you possibly can, and pay attention to it? Or so goes the logic. Most of us are thinking about what we're going to be doing the rest of the day while shaving and brushing teeth.

I owned a straight razor for a while but never really got comfortable with it. There is a whole mystique to using them. On one web site, they actually said the blade kind of "heals" itself between shaves (i.e., re-aligns itself).

I read a little book about how to apply these principles in daily life. The author told of a Zen monastary where different classes of monks-in-training are assigned different tasks. Cleaning toilets was reserved for the seniors, as sort of a humility thing. They were taught to say a little prayer of thankfulness to the toilet when cleaning it.

In the book, they admitted this sounds strange, but then asked the reader to imagine a world without toilets -- makes you thankful for the "little" things.