Making my floor a/c drain without the drain pan

[frapjap]

Alright- the short story is that I'm tired of emptying my floor style air conditioner at 4am when the drain pan fills up. I want to build something where the drain has a line that goes down through an existing hole in my bedroom floor into the sump pump, which is damn near underneath the bedroom.

The problem:
The drain spout is a stupid oblong design.


As a result, I can't simply put a length of tubing on it and send it to drain.
I made this, with a drain spout that I was planning on putting into a robust water bottle. It has flat washers for the o rings to sit flush on either side and a small nut to compress the whole thing.

The water bottle leaks, but I think that is due to the quality of the plastic (soft) and my hole saw ripping it apart.

I want this damn thing to work. James suggested a gutter system, but that doesn't get the tubing to my sump pump very well. I'm considering a suspended funnel system, but the space inside the unit is limited.

As a result, I'm open to ideas. What y'all got?

[Dattebayo]

My opinion is that you need an open system because you don't know how the drain works. If you close it with a seal or O-ring of some kind, then it might not drain properly because air can't get back up into the system quickly enough to replace the water volume... So, gutters might just be the proper way. At least for the first couple of inches or so, anyhow.

Maybe some kind of funnel leading to a tube? Also, make sure to have the level going downhill the whole way, any vertical deviation or flat area will clog it all up soon. Better to leave the catch tank in place anyhow in case of a clog...

[float_6969]

All AC drains should be an open air design. As Dattebayo said, if the line blocks with water, it won't drain properly. That being said, using a large diameter hose/PVC pipe should be fine. Nearly all central air systems use 1" rigid PVC piping. This is because a 1" line is big enough to act as a gutter. You want something that will allow air to pass through the top of the line, and the water to drain through the bottom. Typically there is a Tee shortly after the drain pain. This Tee is oriented in such a way the the Tee is on it's side. The water comes in from the side, and then air is allowed out of the top, and the water drains down the bottom. This also prevents the water from backing up in the line as it's always open to the air and can't get locked in the line that way. Another option is to use a simple condensate pump. They look like this;


There are one or two holes in the top that the water drains into. It accumulates in the bottom until there is enough water to activate the internal float switch. The switch closes, the pump turns on, and empties the reservoir. The outlet is usually a 3/8" barbed fitting and 3/8" ID clear vinyl tubing available at any hardware store is used to route the water to the nearest drain. If the water only travels upwards and never back down, a check valve should be used to prevent frequent cycling of the unit. If you don't use one, when it turns back off, the water in the line will drain right back down into the reservoir, and if the run of line is long enough, it will just constantly cycle on and off.

[float_6969]

And I just realized that the particular unit I linked to has a built in check valve. Mine does not, or it's failed. Either way, I had to install an inline check valve to prevent short cycling.

If you're really rambunctious, they also usually have wiring for a safety cutoff. The cutoff is normally closed. If the unit overfills from some sort of failure, the cutoff opens. This can be wired in with the thermostat wiring, so that if the condensate pump fails, the AC gets shut off and you don't have a flood.

[frapjap]

Alright, I have an update. After a few text swaps, phone calls, walking around Harbor Freight looking for ^^ those things ^^ mentioned here, I got frustrated and gave up. That is, until this morning when the drain pan filled up again RIGHT before I had to get up for the day.

I ended up putting my freshly woken up brain to work immediately and found a solution in the two things we can trust most as an answer: MIATA, and alcohol (aka crap I just had lying around the house).

I grabbed an old control arm bushing from my old Miata to hold down the switch to trick the a/c into continually running. Its dense enough and fit just right into the small space afforded to the switch. (top left)



Next to deal with was that vertical, oval shaped drain. A hose clamp didn't make sense, so I rigged a funnel and clear tubing (that I had left over for cleaning the drains on the Miata). The tubing fit perfectly on the inside on the funnel. I RTV'd it around the outside for good measure.

I then had to find a way to hold the funnel in place. I propped it up in a 6 pack carrier, ran the tube underneath, and got it all snugged up so gravity would allow the draining to take place and keep the funnel from filling up. (It looks like s*** in this photo, but I tidy'd it up a bit to be closer to the drain hole).



I ran the clear line through the floor to the sump pump, pulled a vacuum with my mouth, and now its flowing and draining happily.



I've since repositioned the beginning of the PVD pipe for a downward flow.



Its flowing nicely and I'll be checking on it periodically to be sure this works before leaving for the day.

Thanks for all of the ideas, guys. They all helped in one way or another!

[numbnuts240]

it's so haggard. I LOVE IT!

[Dattebayo]

Bwahaha!

It's like you read everything we said, and then just said: "f*** it", and went on your merry. We should start calling you stone soup.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I had no idea the drain went that way. I thought the force of gravity went from top to bottom in this picture (not in/out):

Yeah, funnel would be the way to go for sure.

[float_6969]

That, that's not what I thought that looked like either. Funnel was a good bet, though I think the cardboard box is going to need removed and something more permanent put in it's place. That cardboard is going to relax and then the funnel will fall.

[frapjap]

^ Valid point. My original thought was to use one of those toilet paper holder things with the excess cut off.
The thing on the right.



In the meantime, I should really gorilla tape that cardboard to make it more rigid.

Last night was the first time I've been able to sleep through the entire night without having to get up to empty the water bin. It was GLORIOUS.

[Dattebayo]

I was thinking maybe you can use a square funnel that is just slightly wider than the space, then you can slide it in there without the need for adhesives.