Any situation like this we always run a piece of copper line outside with a piece of heat tape on that copper line. This will keep the pipe warm enough and will not freeze.
My plumber came out before the freeze last year to replace a plastic pipe patch over a galvanized pipe because it broke. Today I had to call him again for the same problem. I'm sure he's going to charge the owner for jury rigging it again. You gave that lady a permanent solution for a bad situation. And for FREE. You rock in my book.
I had this happen every winter on my dual fuel heat pump, ran on propane when the temp dropped to 34 deg. My fix was to take a 1” pvc pipe through the wall to the outside with the small flex hose inserted into the pvc on the warm side of the wall. Never had it freeze in the pvc. The water did not stay in the pvc long enough to freeze. I live in western NC.
In Shelby County we could run primary condensate drain lines 2 feet-with air gap and trap. Beyond that it was house drain. Either the home-owner or I would call in a plumber. Love your videos and, maybe most of all your commonsense approach of customer service on repairs. Here in 30 years I only had 5 or 6 crawl space jobs. I turned down a few.
Cut the 3/8 tubing, install a inline condensate neutralizer with check valve, get some plastic or brass 3/8" barb x 1/4 " male ip fittings. Drill and tap nearest drain line inside the home.This is how we discharge condensate waste up here in the great white north.
Ya, our stste is the same way. We are not allowed to run the furnace, heat pump, dehumidifier drain lines into the sewer system. Well, when I remodled my basement I had the plumber inatall a floor drain next to my heater. Guess where my drain lines go for the heatpump hot water heater, heat pump AC/Heater and basement dehumidifer go. Use to be that our down spouts when into the county sewer system and I did move them. I met the stste more than halfway.
Couldn’t you put a 1” or 1-1/2” pvc outlet for the drain line through the wall and attach the small flexible drain line to it inside the basement, away from the freezing weather? The larger outlet would not freeze up very easily. Just thinking about a more permanent solution. My sister has the same problem with her system. Woke up to 50° inside the house a few days ago.
No criticism here Theodore. This must be a rare occurrence in your part of the country. Code likely doesn’t want it in the plumbing due to the acidic nature of combustion condensate. Neutralizer would reduce that if that is the concern. Good fix in the short term, she will always remember this solution if the cold weather becomes a reoccurring issue.👍👍🇨🇦
What if you put the plastic line into a piece of 3/4 PVC (loose connection) and ran the pvc outside on a sharp pitch so it would drain. The plastic tubing holds water because it is in a vacuum hooked to the pump. With the pvc you would have an air gap which would allow the water to drain when the pump shuts off
where it can freeze, I adapt up to 3/4" pvc or larger in a vertical section, then elbow out wall making sure it's pitched downhill. either leave it straight cut outside, 45 cut or or elbow at most. as soon as it shuts off it should self drain that section with some gurgling chugging, as air goes back in and water out.
Isn't there a cutoff switch in the pump too? Not connected or malfunctioning? I can't have a 90% furnace (needs condensate drain} here because my pump goes out to the roof, might freeze up here in Tucson sometimes.
Not sure how much cold weather you get in your region. If code forces you to drain outside, would a heat trace next to the drain line avoid the freezing up of the drain line?
Just a suggestion... If running the furnace condensate drain to the outside is the only option, one approach could be to penetrate the outside wall at a 45 deg slope and install 3/4" PVC from the inside, extending 1.5" to 2" from the outside wall, with a 12" vertical 3/4" PVC attached along the inside wall where the 3/8" vinyl tubing would be inserted. This setup would allow adequate slope for condensate water to drain with the added benefit afforded by larger diameter pipe, also confining the vinyl tubing to the indoors. -- Hope this helps.
Put a 3/4" pvc pipe thru the hole in the wall and elbow a pipe up with the drain hose going in it !! That will give you a bigger hole outside to drain and not freeze up. Just my opinion.
Under the circumstances, that was the only solution to her problem. One question tho. You said you cut the guard off of the end of the furnace vent pipe? Whats the reason for that? They put one of those on mine, by the way. Should I take it off? Thanks!
Terminate that 3/8 poly on the inside and make your final penetration through the exterior with 3/4 pvc. Just make sure the transition between 3/8” and 3/4” is inside the conditioned space. I work in Massachusetts. Hope that helps
Michigan Man here, just asking about the local codes there, no floor drain? no sump pump to go to? Common here but I've never been to Clemson territory.
Annoying to have to do it for somewhere that doesn’t freeze much but if it must drain outside, I’d install an Easy Heat cable to run the length of that outside drain pipe and wrap it real good in very short increments with cold rated electrical tape. It’ll kick on 5w per linear foot when the thermostat senses sub-freezing temp on the pipe. Don’t know how well it would work with non-metal piping but would think the conductivity would be enough. She could also wrap it with rubber tape after the electrical though that might be overkill. If I were her and had a laundry or floor drain, I’d just direct it there. My condensate drains to a laundry tub which drains to a floor drain and outside underground out to a slope. Over 10 yrs with the Easy Heat installed on all my garage supplies, and some of the sewer too. Not one freeze since then. Don’t even have to let the faucets drip/trickle like I do upstairs because I can’t attach a cable to those pipes easily.
Maybe a 3/4" piece of pvc through the wall. Put the hose into that inside where it doesn't freeze. That way if outside freezes, water could still get out. That's what I would do if it was my place.
They could have stabbed it into the evaporator drain inside the wall instead of making a second penetration through the wall? That's a bigger pipe to freeze so if the freeze didn't last long it would be OK as it would take longer to freeze solid. A crazy idea: since there's a pump then run the tube into the exhaust vent pipe just inside the wall and out so the heat could warm it? It'll blow water over the outdoor unit though so maybe not for this house geometry. Considering it doesn't freeze this hard very often its a bit much.
i would cut that line out and put pvc to keep from freezing up! run the plastic hose into pvc and if it did freeze up pull it out and unthaw! just an idea!
That's why I will stay in WI where we are ready for winter. What is the justification for not running the condensate into the sewer other than building codes. They should have a reason. Otherwise I would tell the homeowner you know you could put it down the sewer when below freezing. Hint, hint.
Ted, I'm pretty fortunate. We get down to below zero and that drain never freezes. I'm running it through some abandoned 1/2" copper in the basement. Maybe that helps?
Drill a new hole about 18” off the ground run a piece of 3/4 pvc out a few inches past house at an angle tilted down towards the outside dry fit an elbow on it then turn an elbow up on the inside with a barb fitting and put vinyl tubing on barb fitting water will never be laying in pipe to freeze
Your unedited videos are better than most of the other guys edited.
That’s some good silicone . You are excellent with customers , that’s why you’ve been in business so long .
Nothing to add ... That was a nice fix ... Ted Cook Raw and Uncensored ... I like it Thx
I’m a plumber here in Canada, we run an extra floor drain for all furnaces/heat pumps. Code requires an acid neutralizer and that’s it
Any situation like this we always run a piece of copper line outside with a piece of heat tape on that copper line. This will keep the pipe warm enough and will not freeze.
My daughter’s condensate drain froze last winter where it went outside. I cut the hose and redirected it to the washer drain.
My plumber came out before the freeze last year to replace a plastic pipe patch over a galvanized pipe because it broke. Today I had to call him again for the same problem. I'm sure he's going to charge the owner for jury rigging it again. You gave that lady a permanent solution for a bad situation. And for FREE. You rock in my book.
We always had a floor drain the pumps pumped into. Interesting to see setups in other areas.
There is no way to heat the line?
I had this happen every winter on my dual fuel heat pump, ran on propane when the temp dropped to 34 deg. My fix was to take a 1” pvc pipe through the wall to the outside with the small flex hose inserted into the pvc on the warm side of the wall. Never had it freeze in the pvc. The water did not stay in the pvc long enough to freeze. I live in western NC.
In Shelby County we could run primary condensate drain lines 2 feet-with air gap and trap. Beyond that it was house drain. Either the home-owner or I would call in a plumber. Love your videos and, maybe most of all your commonsense approach of customer service on repairs. Here in 30 years I only had 5 or 6 crawl space jobs. I turned down a few.
There you go with that big heart of yours. Well done.
Cut the 3/8 tubing, install a inline condensate neutralizer with check valve, get some plastic or brass 3/8" barb x 1/4 " male ip fittings. Drill and tap nearest drain line inside the home.This is how we discharge condensate waste up here in the great white north.
You treat your customers like you would want to be treated! Hope they repay the kindness
Love the unedited ones feel I learn more
Any are appreciated Sir!!
What do they expect you to do to stop that from freezing? Use 6" of heat tape on the tubing where it runs outside?
Central East Coast of Florida is really cold and rainy; about middle sixties. Yikes, it's cold. Thanks for posting Ted. 😎
Edited or Unedited , love all your content & vids. God bless
Ya, our stste is the same way. We are not allowed to run the furnace, heat pump, dehumidifier drain lines into the sewer system. Well, when I remodled my basement I had the plumber inatall a floor drain next to my heater. Guess where my drain lines go for the heatpump hot water heater, heat pump AC/Heater and basement dehumidifer go.
Use to be that our down spouts when into the county sewer system and I did move them. I met the stste more than halfway.
Couldn’t you put a 1” or 1-1/2” pvc outlet for the drain line through the wall and attach the small flexible drain line to it inside the basement, away from the freezing weather? The larger outlet would not freeze up very easily.
Just thinking about a more permanent solution. My sister has the same problem with her system. Woke up to 50° inside the house a few days ago.
Had one freeze up yesterday in a crawl space. I eliminated that vynil tubing going out and replaced with 3/4 pvc to the outside and insulated it.
Here in MD we had to put a salt filter on our drain line because it goes into an indoor basement sink.
No criticism here Theodore. This must be a rare occurrence in your part of the country. Code likely doesn’t want it in the plumbing due to the acidic nature of combustion condensate. Neutralizer would reduce that if that is the concern. Good fix in the short term, she will always remember this solution if the cold weather becomes a reoccurring issue.👍👍🇨🇦
What if you put the plastic line into a piece of 3/4 PVC (loose connection) and ran the pvc outside on a sharp pitch so it would drain. The plastic tubing holds water because it is in a vacuum hooked to the pump. With the pvc you would have an air gap which would allow the water to drain when the pump shuts off
where it can freeze, I adapt up to 3/4" pvc or larger in a vertical section, then elbow out wall making sure it's pitched downhill. either leave it straight cut outside, 45 cut or or elbow at most.
as soon as it shuts off it should self drain that section with some gurgling chugging, as air goes back in and water out.
Isn't there a cutoff switch in the pump too? Not connected or malfunctioning?
I can't have a 90% furnace (needs condensate drain} here because my pump goes out to the roof, might freeze up here in Tucson sometimes.
Just curious what do you think would happen if you put some of the lagging insulation for a line set on that drain line? Do you think it would help?
Not sure how much cold weather you get in your region. If code forces you to drain outside, would a heat trace next to the drain line avoid the freezing up of the drain line?
My furnace doesn't produce that much water. I wonder if you could add antifreeze periodically?
Float in condensate pump would have helped. Great video.
Just a suggestion... If running the furnace condensate drain to the outside is the only option, one approach could be to penetrate the outside wall at a 45 deg slope and install 3/4" PVC from the inside, extending 1.5" to 2" from the outside wall, with a 12" vertical 3/4" PVC attached along the inside wall where the 3/8" vinyl tubing would be inserted. This setup would allow adequate slope for condensate water to drain with the added benefit afforded by larger diameter pipe, also confining the vinyl tubing to the indoors. -- Hope this helps.
Put a 3/4" pvc pipe thru the hole in the wall and elbow a pipe up with the drain hose going in it !! That will give you a bigger hole outside to drain and not freeze up. Just my opinion.
In the north you either run a 80%furnace or dump the condensate in a drain. ( Septic tank or sewer)
Under the circumstances, that was the only solution to her problem. One question tho. You said you cut the guard off of the end of the furnace vent pipe? Whats the reason for that? They put one of those on mine, by the way. Should I take it off? Thanks!
Terminate that 3/8 poly on the inside and make your final penetration through the exterior with 3/4 pvc. Just make sure the transition between 3/8” and 3/4” is inside the conditioned space. I work in Massachusetts. Hope that helps
Story of my life right there… trying to get it in the hole 😂
I get the same problem every now and then and I just warm up that pipe carefully
Ted, you could of used a hair dryer to melt that ice blockage.
Michigan Man here, just asking about the local codes there, no floor drain? no sump pump to go to? Common here but I've never been to Clemson territory.
I like the unedited.
It's as good as it gets
Annoying to have to do it for somewhere that doesn’t freeze much but if it must drain outside, I’d install an Easy Heat cable to run the length of that outside drain pipe and wrap it real good in very short increments with cold rated electrical tape. It’ll kick on 5w per linear foot when the thermostat senses sub-freezing temp on the pipe. Don’t know how well it would work with non-metal piping but would think the conductivity would be enough. She could also wrap it with rubber tape after the electrical though that might be overkill. If I were her and had a laundry or floor drain, I’d just direct it there. My condensate drains to a laundry tub which drains to a floor drain and outside underground out to a slope. Over 10 yrs with the Easy Heat installed on all my garage supplies, and some of the sewer too. Not one freeze since then. Don’t even have to let the faucets drip/trickle like I do upstairs because I can’t attach a cable to those pipes easily.
Hair dryer followed by air compressor. Had to do that twice in 20 yrs.
I always tap a drain line inside the house
Maybe a 3/4" piece of pvc through the wall. Put the hose into that inside where it doesn't freeze. That way if outside freezes, water could still get out. That's what I would do if it was my place.
My buddy just had a job where everything froze, drain cup, drain and water in pump.
Like it ❄️👍
They could have stabbed it into the evaporator drain inside the wall instead of making a second penetration through the wall? That's a bigger pipe to freeze so if the freeze didn't last long it would be OK as it would take longer to freeze solid.
A crazy idea: since there's a pump then run the tube into the exhaust vent pipe just inside the wall and out so the heat could warm it? It'll blow water over the outdoor unit though so maybe not for this house geometry. Considering it doesn't freeze this hard very often its a bit much.
i would cut that line out and put pvc to keep from freezing up! run the plastic hose into pvc and if it did freeze up pull it out and unthaw! just an idea!
That's why I will stay in WI where we are ready for winter. What is the justification for not running the condensate into the sewer other than building codes. They should have a reason. Otherwise I would tell the homeowner you know you could put it down the sewer when below freezing. Hint, hint.
a hint from a northerner. If the sidewalk is icy walk on the grass.
educate the customer on what to do if its froze and hint for them to run the hose to the washer drain or basement sink,,, unedited is fine for me
You will probably make more money than you think by not charging this customer.
Build a nice mechanical room and put no floor drain in it😂😂
Nice, no criticism here.
These 90% furnaces are such a pain... I'd rather just have an 80% furnace and not have to deal with all these extra issues.
Zoom spout bottle with hot water 5 min fix
furnace
Heat tape and wrap it.
Ted, I'm pretty fortunate. We get down to below zero and that drain never freezes. I'm running it through some abandoned 1/2" copper in the basement. Maybe that helps?
❤️
They need a sanitary basin to drain into when it's below freezing, that's how it's done up north........Good will and God bless.......
Heat gun.
Drill a new hole about 18” off the ground run a piece of 3/4 pvc out a few inches past house at an angle tilted down towards the outside dry fit an elbow on it then turn an elbow up on the inside with a barb fitting and put vinyl tubing on barb fitting water will never be laying in pipe to freeze