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Should I replumb my condensate drain line? (lemm.ee)
submitted 2 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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My condensate drain line is clogged, and there's nowhere for me to access it to clear it out without seemingly removing the evaporator coil (which I'm not doing). The drain does go into a pump.

My main concern is the u-bend is at the top of the drain line, but my understanding from plumbing is that it should be at the bottom to let gravity help with moving water through the trap.

My thought was to use clear corrugated tubing from the drain pan to about a foot above the pump, then adding the bend, then a tee right after with a threaded plug that I can remove to snake the line if needed. I just wanted a sanity check before I started cutting. I can definitely ditch the clear tubing, I just thought it would help identify a clog location in the future.

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[-] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Pictures since I couldn't upload. I know the wires being out and about aren't up to code, but I'll stick them in a waterproof junction box when I fix the plumbing.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I can't see the pics, but in my house the condensate drain comes out of the pan into a T. The T is vertical. The top branch is the clean-out and is capped off (but not glued). The bottom branch goes to a trap, and then the rest of the drain. So the trap is at the top.

Is this PVC? It really can't be snaked? Compressed air? Personally before I replumbed the whole thing I would cut a straight section, clean it out, then put a coupler back to fix the cut.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

The issue ended up being a clogged pump. The condensate couldn't drain into the pump because the pump was full, so it overflowed. I managed to get it running again, but at one point there was smoke in the tank, so I'll have to replace it.

But, the PVC drain line goes straight into the pump, and there's not enough flex in the line to pull it out of the pump. When I replace the pump I'll have to cut the pipe, so I'll install a tee like you suggested. It'll be after the trap, but I should be able to snake it in the future.

this post was submitted on 31 May 2025
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