AC Condensate

[VAWellDriller]

I have a 2 story house on a basement. The whole house has a gravity drain sewage line about 6ft off the basement floor to my septic tank and drain field. I have a basement bathroom and washer that drain into a sump pit, with grinder pump that tees into the main sewage line.

The 2nd floor air handler is located in the attic. The installers ran the condensate drain from attic down to my mechanical room sump pit; so several times a day the pump kicks on just because of the condensate. There is a vent stack in the attic very near the condensate line; is there any code or otherwise reason that I shouldn't tee that into the vent and let it drain by gravity......just to eliminate the extra pumping in the basement?

 

[WorthFlorida]

No, it can leak sewer gas into the attic space and a vent line cannot be used as a drain, though condensate is an extremely small amount of water. If it was legal then th einstallers would have connected it that way. The cost to run the pump a few times a day during the summer may cost less than $1 total. Are you sure it is only condensate and not some ground water seeping into the pit from a french drain?

Usually there is an overflow drain going straight out of the attic to soffit area. If there is a large drip pan under the air handler there should be one and a Safe-T-Switch. You can relocate the main condensate drain to the side of the home and let it drip out.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[VAWellDriller]

Positive it is not ground water....I have a 2nd sump pit connected to inside and outside foundation drain that's been dry and dusty since the house was built 6 years ago. I'm not at all concerned about the cost to run the pump....was thinking more about the day that the pump quits working; as a well driller/pump installer I'm familiar with pumps failing an inopportune times. There is an emergency drip pan (which the drain hole is plugged and there is safety switch). I haven't run it out of the side of the house for aesthetic reasons

The main drain coming off the HVAC unit has a trap, and the sump pit it's connected to has a full bath also connected, so the chance for sewer gas entering attic seems like it would be the same either way to me. I know vents aren't supposed to be used as drains, was asking more or less for reasons it may be a bad idea or wouldn't work.....I appreciate any and all input. I do plumbing work as part of my job, but not really any waste line work.

 

[WorthFlorida]

Email alerts no longer work from the forum so sorry for a late reply. For the HVAC you should have a Safe-T-Switch. It's a float switch that will open the 24v AC power to the HVAC and it will shut off the system should the condensate line (or drip pan) not drain.

 

[Reach4]

There is a vent stack in the attic very near the condensate line; is there any code or otherwise reason that I shouldn't tee that into the vent and let it drain by gravity......just to eliminate the extra pumping in the basement?

It gets done at times, and works well, but it's not code. You should have a trap, and a trap may freeze in the winter. Freezing may not bother a trap since the freezing is not contained. A running trap may be sufficient in practice. Many codes prevent a pipe that has been used as a drain to then be used as a vent on a lower floor. If the stack size is big enough, it may be permitted by IPC under section 917 "Single Stack Vent System". https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IPC2018/chapter-9-vents

Think you could run a flexible tube to your washing machine standpipe? There are air gap devices made to share a standpipe with a washing machine and something else, such as a softener. I am thinking that an air gap would not be needed, but the available gadgets to share a standpipe are part of an air gap system.

Similarly, can you run the line to under one of your sinks, and use a branch tailpiece?

A long flexible drill bit used by cable installers for concealed cables may be a good tool for you for pulling a flex tube. Those bits have a small hole near the tip that you run a wire through to help pull the cable after the drill has penetrated. There are videos that describe using these. Many are 6 ft long, and there are extensions available.