Air conditioning, like any refrigeration unit, works on the basis of the physical property of the refrigerant - to cool with a sharp expansion in volume. This process takes place in a special device called an evaporator. It got its name only because droplets of liquid (vapour) appear on the body of the device, it is also condensate from the air conditioner, which is collected in a special bath and removed from the household appliance.
Functions of the drainage system of the air conditioner
It is, in fact, ordinary water. And the air conditioner is a complex electromechanical device. That is, condensation can cause the failure of the air conditioner. Moreover, up to 20 liters of moisture can be released from a working device in one day. And she must be taken away.
Condensate drainage options
There are several ways to drain air conditioners. The easiest way is to make a hole in the wall or window and pass a hose through it to the street, which at one end is connected to the nozzle of the bath located under the evaporator of the indoor unit of the unit. It is the simplicity of the operations performed that is considered a big plus of this method.
But it also has negative sides:
- a hose hanging from the side of the wall does not increase presentability in any way appearance buildings, especially for a private house;
- from the free end of the hose, during the operation of the air conditioner, water will drip all the time, which, if it gets on the neighboring ebb of the window (lower), will lead to a scandal with the neighbors.
The second option for draining condensate is to connect the drain pipe to the sewer. The method is ideal for many rooms, but he has one a big problem– lack of a sewer section in the room where it is installed indoor unit conditioner. Way out:
- Carry out installation sewer pipes in this room with a slope of up to 3%.
- Carry out the installation of drainage pipes to the nearest sewer section with the same minimum slope.
Which option to drain condensate from the air conditioner to the sewer to choose, everyone decides for himself. But it must be noted that lowest cost both in terms of finances and in terms of the complexity of the work carried out, they belong to the second method. Firstly, drainage pipes can also be laid inside the wall along the strobes made, followed by sealing with repair mortars, and floor base followed by finishing.
Secondly, any hollow products of a sealed type can be used as drainage tubes. More often for this they buy corrugated pipe small diameter.
Attention! To prevent unpleasant odors from entering the premises from the sewerage system, at the junction of the connection of drainage pipes and pipes sewer system a water seal is installed in the form of a conventional sewer siphon. If there is no possibility of mounting a siphon, then the corrugated tube is bent in the form of the letter "S". It's also an effective option.
And one moment. If the air conditioner for a long time is not operated, the water seal dries out, which leads to penetration unpleasant odors from the sewer. Therefore, periodically a little water must be poured into the drain system. And this is probably the only disadvantage of this method.
The third option for condensate drainage is the installation of a special pump. This method of drainage is used only in two cases: a large length of the drainage system, there are drops in it. In household air conditioners, pumps are not included in the package, although they are sold as separate element, and purchase it, plus mount it will not be difficult. In almost all industrial units, drainage pumps are installed at the factory.
Pumps are necessarily included in the standard package of cassette and duct air conditioners. There are pumps that are installed in outdoor units, but more often they are installed in internal ones. Usually they are equipped with an additional container in which condensate is collected. And already from it the pump pumps out liquid.
Drain pipes for air conditioners
The system for removing condensate from air conditioners includes drainage pipes that are on modern market represented by two raw material positions. These are pipes made of PVC and polyethylene. And two positions in the form of manufacture: smooth and corrugated.
The former are most often used if the drain itself has a short length, in other cases corrugations are used. At the same time, the second variety has one big advantage - the high flexibility of the hose. Therefore, during the installation process, there is no need to use additional mounting fittings, as is the case with smooth tubes.
Installation of a condensate drainage system
This process is very simple.
- It is necessary to remove the lower fasteners from the air conditioner housing so that it can rise.
- In the lower part, under the fan that blows the evaporator, there is a tray for collecting condensate.
- On its side there is a branch pipe, it is to it that it is necessary to attach the drain pipe for draining condensate from the air conditioner using a clamp.
- The body of the indoor unit is lowered, installed in place. At the same time, it is very important that the corrugation passes through it through a special hole made in the side wall.
- Fasteners are screwed into place.
Now it remains only to bring the attached corrugated hose either into the sewer or into the street. If the withdrawal process will be associated with the installation of a drainage route, then it is necessary first of all to decide how easier and more convenient it is to carry out the entire process. As already mentioned above, best option- make strobes in which to lay the hose. The most important thing is to maintain a tilt angle of at least 3%.
Major drainage problems
The most common malfunction of the condensate drainage system from the air conditioner is the clogging of the opening of the bath. Dust and dirt with condensate settles to the bottom of the pan, where sludge is formed. It grows and closes the branch pipe. The result is a flow of water over the edges of the bath. The liquid begins to drip onto the floor and leak along the walls.
And other faults:
- If the air conditioner works for heating in winter, then often the drainage pipe on the street simply freezes.
- The slope of the drainage route was set incorrectly.
- If the pump fails.
- If the amount of refrigerant in the system has decreased, which leads to icing of the evaporator and supply pipes, so the ice begins to melt along the entire length of the route, pouring water onto the floor.
- The evaporator may freeze over if the pressure regulator stops working. If the temperature outside the window began to decrease, this can lead to a decrease in the temperature of the freon due to a drop in its pressure.
Cleaning the drainage system
With your own hands, you can clean the condensate drainage system from the air conditioner only if the tub pipe is clogged. For this you need:
- Remove the filters located on the body of the device in front of the evaporator. They must be washed well.
- The air conditioner housing is raised.
- Disconnect the drain tube from the sump.
- The latter is removed and washed. Pay special attention to the hole.
- If the tube is clogged in the same way as the drain hole, then it must be purged. If it does not work, then you will have to replace it with a new one.
- All other steps for assembling the condensate drain system are performed in the reverse order.
For other malfunctions associated with the failure of one or another device or part, it is better to call the wizard. Independent actions may lead to irreparable consequences.
An indefinite statement of the question forces us to give the same indefinite answer. If we are asked what an air conditioner drain is, then we should clarify what actually is meant.
At the air conditioner, either condensate or refrigerant can be drained, but these procedures differ from each other, like heaven from earth. Therefore, we will give two independent answers to an ambiguous question.
We drain the condensate
Ordinary water, which is condensate, can cause a lot of trouble and inconvenience. It is a by-product of the room cooling process. The amount of condensate directly depends on the temperature and humidity of the cooled air.
Part of the condensate naturally evaporates, "advanced" models of air conditioners use some proportion of water to maintain natural humidity air, but a significant part of it has to be taken out of the room.
In this case, the drain of the air conditioner, or rather the condensate, occurs through the drainage system, which originates in the indoor units of the split systems, continues with a connection to the drainage tube (with the possible participation drainage pump), and ends with a conclusion to the sewer or outside the premises (through a window or wall).
Condensation from the air conditioner should not be taken lightly. Depending on its power, climatic conditions and other factors, the air conditioner can produce more than 20 liters of water every hour. There are cases of flooding of the lower floors with water. multi-storey buildings condensate from air conditioners. This, of course, is not a heating breakthrough, but it can also cause significant damage.
In order to exclude the slightest possibility of such an event, much is not required. Timely prevention of the drainage system is perhaps the cheapest procedure after-sales service. One call and everything is cleaned, washed and disinfected. When the "drain" of the air conditioner is clogged, the main trouble is not that it can once flood a neighbor from below, but that such a state of the split system poses a serious threat to the health of residents.
If water stagnates in the drainage system of an air conditioner, this means that dirt will accumulate in it, mold will grow and microorganisms, including pathogenic bacteria, will multiply. The most obvious symptom of a malfunction in the drainage system is the appearance of an unpleasant "swamp" smell. This is the last call, reminding that the air conditioner drainage was last put in order more than a year ago, at the rate of once every three months.
There is probably no person who has not heard of Legionnaires' disease. This is an extremely serious disease, which relatively recently learned to diagnose and treat. If dysentery is a disease dirty hands, then the "legionnaires" got sick from dirty air conditioners.
Since then, the disinfection of air conditioners has been one of the most important procedures that must be carried out with each split system on a quarterly basis. Several hundreds, maybe thousands, of people paid for this recommendation with their lives, but users continue to treat it lightly. In Russia, more than a dozen of our fellow citizens die every year from "legionnaires' disease".
Whatever meaning you put into the question of draining the air conditioner, ask it to a specialist service center. This is the case when timely treatment can save the air conditioner from serious damage, or protect your health from major troubles.
Better yet, make an agreement maintenance air conditioner and quietly enjoy the excellent microclimate of your home. Refusing this method, tidy up the drainage system of the air conditioner yourself, just don't sit back - this is the worst thing you can do.
Draining condensate into the sewer
To connect the drainage tube in the bathroom, you should use siphons, for example, HL21, HL136N, HepVo or others. Any professional installer must know how to connect the drainage to the sewer, however, like any plumber, he must also be able to do this.
Discharge of condensate with a pump
Often there are situations when it is not possible to drain the condensate in a natural way, i.e. so that the water flows independently through the tube at a slope. It happens that before outer wall the house is far away or the bathroom is across the room.
In this case, it remains an option to put a certain container near the indoor unit, where water will drain or install a special pump. Few people want to pour water out of a jar every day, so the pump option will still be preferable.
Nothing wrong with that. You can read more about condensate pumps in our other articles on the site.
We merge freon
Just because the freon from the air conditioner is not drained. This procedure is performed in exceptional cases. Refrigerants used in household appliances, are extremely stable compounds. They are inert to almost all substances (metals, polymers, etc.).
In Russia, freon R-22 is used more often than others, which is able to react with ozone, but soon it will go down in history. Its counterpart in terms of physical and chemical properties, R-407A, which does not affect the ozone layer of the atmosphere, has actually been replaced by the R-410A refrigerant, which is used by all leading manufacturers of climate control equipment. Therefore, the only reason left to drain the air conditioner associated with freon is the repair of the split system.
If the air conditioner is repaired due to serious mechanical failures, when contaminants in the form of metal particles, foreign liquids, etc. enter the cooling circuit, then complete draining and cleaning of the refrigerant become an obligatory stage of repair work.
It is best to use automatic filling stations for this, which perform the entire technological cycle, including draining freon from the air conditioner, cleaning it and recharging the unit. Such equipment is expensive, but it allows you to do all the work at the installation site of the air conditioner.
Other methods of replacing freon will not allow the use of the refrigerant residue, which means that they will cost the consumer a little more. The procedure for refueling a split system does not require draining freon, except when the unit is charged with R-407A refrigerant. When draining freon, certain precautions should be observed, since, for all their inertness, refrigerants of this type can decompose when high temperatures(270 degrees and above).
As a result, highly toxic and deadly compounds are formed, such as hydrogen fluoride or "phosgene" - a military agent. That's why open fire or hot objects while draining freon are completely prohibited.
All evaporative type appliances, including air conditioning, operate based on physical properties gas - with a sharp expansion, cool its volume. This process takes place in the evaporation chamber, the purpose of which is to cool the air.
But when cooling down, another law of physics comes into force called “reaching the point of growth”. In simple words, it looks like the appearance of small dew drops on a cooled surface, these droplets are called condensate.
In fact, they can be called a by-product of the functioning of technology, and for the normal operation of the device, it needs timely removal of condensate from refrigeration systems.
Where does the condensate come from and where does it go?
Condensation is water droplets. Since the device of the air conditioner is difficult electrical connections and circuits, in some cases, excessive moisture causes malfunction or breakdown, and if the device is connected to the network, there is a possibility of a short circuit.
One day average domestic air conditioners can collect up to 10-15 liters of liquid that is in the atmosphere. And if there are many air conditioners installed, for example, in office buildings, hundreds of liters of condensate can accumulate per day. This volume is dangerous due to the risk of flooding.
It also adversely affects health. Wastewater serve as a good breeding ground for bacteria and mold dangerous to humans.
These points are enough to make a decision to install a special drain for the air conditioner. The main task of which is the conclusion from excess condensate from technology.
Health impact
The main danger of condensate is far from the risk of flooding something or equipment breakdown, it is a threat to health. If the device has several components for comfortable reproduction of bacteria, namely water, dirt and heat, all this creates the conditions for a whole incubator of dangerous diseases and other infections:
- A nasty smell is the least of the evils. Such a “flavor” serves as a warning that it is time to overhaul the drainage.
- Pathogenic bacteria - there is one type of bacteria that causes pneumonia. It is also called "legionnaire's disease", the mortality from which is very high.
- Mold fungi - some types of fungi provoke diseases up to cancer.
blockage drainage pipe
How to remove condensate from the air conditioner
After the information obtained above, the question arises of how to properly remove condensate from the air conditioner. A frequently used and financially advantageous method is to bring the drain pipe outside by drilling small hole in the wall. The main advantage is simplicity - I made a hole, stretched the hose and everything works. But there is also a negative side, it lies in the effect of "raindrops" that will fall on the window sills and cause a lot of inconvenience to the neighbors. The aesthetic side is also a disadvantage. No matter how practical this method, not everyone likes pipes hanging from the apartment; on a bare wall.
It would be much better to use the condensate drain to the sewer.
Drainage to the sewer
This option does not have any downsides. The waste from the air conditioner is drained into a system designed for this. It can be, as well as a common sewer channel, and a specially laid network of pipelines. The removal of all wastewater will occur without your help due to the slope of the pipes.
But there are also some subtleties in the implementation of such a system for draining condensate from an air conditioner:
- To prevent the nasty smell from the drains from entering the room, it is necessary to install a water seal - this is a curved part of the drainage pipe in the form of the letter S. The operation of such a shutter is similar to the work of a siphon - it creates a barrier to odors that come from below.
- If the air conditioner is idle for a long time, the air trap may dry out and the air coming out of it will begin to give off sewage. To avoid this, it is enough to pour several liters of water into the drain every 5-7 days.
- When using the gravity flow option, it is necessary to accurately calculate the minimum diameter and slope of the system so that all air conditioner waste can flow freely through it.
Typically, manufacturers include a detailed diagram that facilitates the installation process.
Condensate drainage scheme
Drain pipes for air conditioners
Drainage tubes from air conditioners belong to the drainage system and are represented on the market by two positions:
- PVC and polyethylene pipes.
- Pipes are smooth and corrugated.
The first option is most often used if the length of the drain is small, while in other cases corrugated systems are used. At the same time, the second variety has one more huge advantage- great flexibility drain hose, so that during installation there is no need to use additional fasteners, as is necessary when working with smooth pipes.
Drain pipes for air conditioners
The installation process of the condensate drainage system
Despite the difficult descriptions of the actions, in practice the withdrawal process is extremely simple and requires only care from you:
- The first thing to do is remove the fasteners from the air conditioner, which are located below.
- A small container will be installed at the bottom under the fan to collect excess condensate. On its side, a branch pipe is visible, to it with the help of a clamp we attach the drainage pipe of the outlet.
- Next, assemble back and install the air conditioner in place. But it is important that the tube goes through the hole in the side of the air conditioner.
Now you need to bring the previously connected hose into the sewer or into the street. If the hose is retracted correctly, you will see the first drops that come out of the pipe.
Drainage scheme to the street
Cleaning the drainage system
AT living conditions without the help of a specialist, it is possible to clean the drainage system only if only the tub nozzle is dirty. For this you need:
- Unfasten the filter, which is located on the air conditioner housing and rinse it thoroughly.
- After removing the lower fasteners, disconnect the drainage tube and remove the bath.
- Rinse these parts Special attention holes.
For other failures associated with clogged drainage, you need to Technical equipment, it is better to call the master. Self repair can damage expensive equipment.
Such a useful device as an air conditioner, which gives the desired coolness in summer, can in some cases cause problems. It happens that in the process of cooling the air, water drips or flows from it. This is not very pleasant, especially if the device suddenly leaked and there was no one to turn to for help. Moreover, if this happened indoors - in an apartment or in a room, and water runs straight from the indoor unit of the cooling device, and it’s good, if only on the floor. What are the reasons why the air conditioner flows into the room, and not through the pipe to the street, as it should be?
Causes of leakage
- In the event that the cooling system has been operating at full capacity for a long time - and this, as a rule, happens in hot summers - the condensate collection tank simply overflows, and that's it, the device flows into the house, and not into the street.
- In winter, the heat exchange part of the air conditioner can become covered with ice, and this in turn leads to the formation of condensate from the working fluid. He starts to flow. Freezing occurs if outdoor temperature significantly different during the day and at night.
- The drainage system of the air conditioner may fail, due to which the condensate does not enter a special container, but drips or flows.
- The drain hose may be in the wrong position, resulting in the liquid simply not rising into the the right direction, and the split system starts to flow.
- The circuit has depressurized, due to the fact that the pipes leading the liquid into the system have loosened, and it flows drop by drop.
- There may be an excessive amount of liquid inside the circuit, which leads to increased pressure. This problem is quite serious, because in the end it may turn out that your air conditioner is not just leaking, but broken.
The flow of the split system looks like this:
What to do?
Consider how to troubleshoot with your own hands:
- In the first case, there is nothing difficult - you need to pour the condensate accumulated there from the tank, and then install it in place, and the split system will work normally. Of course, this must be done after turning it off and, preferably, after washing. Keep an eye on the accumulation of condensate to avoid leaks.
- If the air conditioner is leaking due to ice covering the heat exchange part, make thermal insulation, for example, using glass wool, so that there is no such reaction to temperature changes.
- In the event that the drainage pump breaks down and leaks, it must, of course, be repaired or replaced, but for this you should contact air conditioning specialists who will perform repairs and diagnostics at the proper level.
- If water drips because the hose is placed incorrectly, then place it at the required slope.
- Weak fastening of pipes can be improved by strengthening the fastenings with nuts, and for strength it can be treated with sealant. But do not tighten until the thread breaks.
- Constantly check the amount of liquid so that there is no excessive accumulation of it, and the split system does not leak.
Another cause of failure is a clogged drain pipe. How to fix this malfunction with your own hands is described in the video:
Drain cleaning
Thus, some of the reasons for the air conditioner leak may well be eliminated on their own. But in more difficult cases It is better, of course, to contact specialists. For example, such a moment when the indoor unit itself flowed. Here the reason, most likely, will be present inside the defects - chips, cracks. Of course, you can try to fill them with an adhesive, but it is better to entrust the analysis of the device to a specialist.
Here are a few more notes and tips from professionals who install, adjust, and repair cooling appliances. In general, the most common reason that the air conditioner flows, they call clogging drainage tank. If you neglect its service cleaning, then in the end it will become clogged. Dirt, wasps, spiders and other insects get into the tube. The question often arises - what do insects do inside the tube? They, like all living things in the summer, are attracted to water. Some even live there. Resourceful owners of air conditioners sometimes put on the end of the tube mosquito net, but it also clogs over time.
Since the diameter of the drainage tube hole is about 1 cm, and it becomes clogged, when the split system is operating, water drips through the indoor unit into the apartment, not through the tube into the street. It is better to entrust the solution of the cleaning problem to specialists. After turning off the air conditioner and after washing it, the problem will be completely eliminated, the drainage system will be cleaned.
Often, an independent human factor is to blame for the fact that water drips from the case. So, during repairs, it happens that you need to rearrange it a little higher, lower, or to the side (especially when the repair concerns the ceilings in the room). In this case, if this is done without the participation of specialists, the angle of inclination of the drainage may change, and the water does not flow to the street, as it should, but drips into the room. It can not do without the participation of workers service department, since it is necessary to drill a new hole and re-shift the communication. In addition, during the currently popular high-altitude insulation work, industrial climbers, as experience shows, can cover up the drainage with putty (if the neighbors are dripping from above), and bend the end of the drainage tube up. Here, of course, in order to eliminate the leak, it is necessary to redo the intervention of negligent workers.
Cheap installation costs more
Also, the reason that water runs in an apartment or in a room, and not on the street, may be elementary poor-quality, but also inexpensive installation. Here, the following factors are often highlighted:
- Hole drilled on quick hand straight, and not at a slight angle, as it should be (then the water, of course, flows outside, and not into the room).
- The drain tube may become kinked due to the use of poor quality materials or simple hasty work.
- Poor-quality rolling, due to which freon flowed, and, as mentioned above, the heat exchanger froze. As a result, melted water flows, ice falls out when the air conditioner is turned off.
- The freon pipeline is poorly insulated. Because of this, condensate collects and starts to flow.
So cheap installation is more expensive, because the customer will pay first for poor-quality installation, and then for the elimination of its consequences. And in many cases, the installation has to be started over again, and as a result, the client will pay twice or even three times as much! Conclusion - trust only specialists from reliable companies to avoid the above problems.
So we examined the main reasons for which the air conditioner flows in the room, as well as ways to fix the problem with our own hands. We hope now you know why the water starts to drip and what to do in this case!
Statistics show that the modern air conditioner user has no idea or simply does not pay attention to such a side feature of this technique as emission a large number condensate. Meanwhile, the correct organization of condensate drainage is very important. important condition quality installation climate technology, because illiterate installation can lead to very disastrous consequences. You can see some examples in the photos below. incorrect installation. These "roller coasters and dead loops" or the lack of insulation on the condensate drain pipe hardly require special explanation. And there are many such examples.
It is obvious that the tangled, thrown at random, drainage pipes of these cassette units will not allow condensate to be removed painlessly. Water will pour from the blocks directly into the room, causing damage to property and nerves. Suffice it to imagine that during peak load hours at maximum air temperature per 1 kW of performance, an air conditioner can emit up to 0.8 l/hour of condensate! Therefore, we repeat once again that when installing an air conditioner, it is very important to drain condensate in accordance with all recommendations, and not at random.
Proper drainage is when...
Drain pipe diameter smaller diameter refrigerant pipes . The drain pipe should be polyethylene or plastic. pvc pipe. Be sure to follow the recommendations in the manual for this air conditioner model, for example, the installation and operation instructions for TOSOT air conditioner models.
The drainage pipe is placed in thermal insulation. After all, condensate can also form on the surface of the pipe that serves to drain it. To prevent the insulation from moving apart, the joints of the insulation must be fastened with mounting tape.
The connection is fixed with a clamp . drainage pipe with drain pipe block is connected with a clamp to prevent leakage .
A slope is made towards the drain. This is done to prevent the accumulation and flow of water back into the air conditioner, as well as to avoid the formation of air bubbles.
Fastening clamps are used every 1-1.5 meters. If this rule is not observed, then during operation the pipe may be deformed.
The drain pipe is bent. This rule must be strictly observed when draining condensate directly into the sewer. Such a bend of the pipe provides the formation of a water seal and prevents the penetration of unpleasant odors from the drainage pipe.
For the drainage pipe in the cassette and some channel blocks, a rise is made close to 90 ° vertically and an indent of at least 30 mm. In these types of air conditioners, a built-in pump is used to lift the condensate, since the limited space behind false ceiling does not allow to provide the pipe with the proper slope for the natural drainage of condensate. Compliance with these parameters will not allow water to overflow back into the air conditioner when the equipment is turned off.
A hose is connected to the fitting in the outdoor unit . Recall that the heat exchanger of the outdoor unit also forms condensate. To drain it, use a special fitting that comes with the unit. The hose is connected to the fitting to avoid condensation on passers-by.
Remember: condensation is formed by the moisture contained in the air. Freon in the air conditioner is in a sealed state and does not evaporate!
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