Hi,
I have a York split air conditioning unit in my basement. The unit was fitted with a condensate drain made from 3/4" poly butyl (PB) piping (as used for the water supply in the rest of the house) with crimped copper fittings. The pipe runs on a slope from the condensate outlet around 10' (with two 90 degree turns) and then disappears (with another 90) down through the slab, presumably connecting to a main floor drain underneath. The pipe appears to be partially clogged somewhere in the line and backs up when the cooling unit is working hard - need I say more - leaked water all over the basement floor, and have now got a tub under the open outlet to catch the outflow while I find a solution.
I'm thinking to replace the length of (above floor) pipe and include a trap in the line so as to avoid this problem in the future. I'll probably use some CPVC pipe and fittings that I kept from another project. The immediate concern however is unclogging the line and before cutting any pipe I'd like to see if can clear the line by other means. I've tried poking some wire down to the first turn with no success. Attempting to flush out the line with a garden hose I can imagine would be a mess.
'oxy-bleach' (percabonate) cleaner, is supposed to be 'safer' than clorox and strong acid/alkali based 'openers'. Anyone know if it's OK to use with PB pipe or can recommend something suitable?
Other thing is, since I don't have any crimping materials, can PB pipe be glued to CPVC fittings, with CPVC glue that is? Or else if I remove the PB pipe at one of crimped copper fittings, what would be the best fitting (?compression) to connect 3/4" CPVC pipe to the copper fitting, bearing in mind that it is just for drainage and not under pressure. Might pay to have something that can be undone for maintenance in the future.
Cheers.
I have a York split air conditioning unit in my basement. The unit was fitted with a condensate drain made from 3/4" poly butyl (PB) piping (as used for the water supply in the rest of the house) with crimped copper fittings. The pipe runs on a slope from the condensate outlet around 10' (with two 90 degree turns) and then disappears (with another 90) down through the slab, presumably connecting to a main floor drain underneath. The pipe appears to be partially clogged somewhere in the line and backs up when the cooling unit is working hard - need I say more - leaked water all over the basement floor, and have now got a tub under the open outlet to catch the outflow while I find a solution.
I'm thinking to replace the length of (above floor) pipe and include a trap in the line so as to avoid this problem in the future. I'll probably use some CPVC pipe and fittings that I kept from another project. The immediate concern however is unclogging the line and before cutting any pipe I'd like to see if can clear the line by other means. I've tried poking some wire down to the first turn with no success. Attempting to flush out the line with a garden hose I can imagine would be a mess.
'oxy-bleach' (percabonate) cleaner, is supposed to be 'safer' than clorox and strong acid/alkali based 'openers'. Anyone know if it's OK to use with PB pipe or can recommend something suitable?
Other thing is, since I don't have any crimping materials, can PB pipe be glued to CPVC fittings, with CPVC glue that is? Or else if I remove the PB pipe at one of crimped copper fittings, what would be the best fitting (?compression) to connect 3/4" CPVC pipe to the copper fitting, bearing in mind that it is just for drainage and not under pressure. Might pay to have something that can be undone for maintenance in the future.
Cheers.
Last edited: