basic home AC Tuneup.

[JustinH]

So,

It is my first year owning a house in Texas.

Never had central air in New York.

House is about 10 years old, carrier unit, central air.

Everything passed inspection when we bought the house, just had a couple questions about AC Tuneups and the like.

So, the home inspector recommended that we add a float switch on the drain line of the AC, so it shuts off instead of dripping water all over the attic, and walls under it if the line gets clogged.

AC Contractor says he can do that for $129 installed. Do you guys think it is worth while to do this?

Or are only abused non serviced units getting clogged?

I was going to get everything cleaned out once a year.

I was even looking at a device from the internet that attaches to a shop vac, and sucks all the garbage out of the line.

So, the AC contractor is highly rated on angies list, they charge 69 dollars to clean the whole system, and say will add refrigerant if necessary included in that price.

The float switch is 129 additional.

Also for filters, I am using the blue fiberglass type filters and replacing every 30 days. I bought a case on amazon. The pleated filters in the system seemed too restrictive.

What do you guys think?

 

[GutsyGecko]

You are better than me. I have mine cleaned every 3 years and never do any kind of filter swaps.

 

[stranger706]

I just pour bleach down the drain line 2x a year and check up on it every few months or so to make sure its not clogged.

You really don't need a yearly checkup. If it seems to be operating normally (and being in TX you will know pretty fast if its not), just rinse off the outside unit with water once a year.

 

[mrsilv04]

The question is... how badly do you want to clean up soggy drywall and water soaked insulation, all over the floor, ruining the carpet or wood floor... when that line clogs up, and the pan finally starts overflowing 5 minutes after you leave for work?

I've seen this type of damage, first hand. $129 is cheap insurance, to avoid 10 times that in damage.

 

[barkingspider]

It is not required if u clear the drain lines often. I'm a homeowners claims adjuster and I have seen many claims for this. I would blow out the lines before and after the AC season.

 

[DBMaster]

I use the low end pleated filters ($4 at Wal Mart, Home Depot, Ace, etc.). They are not too restrictive and will keep your air and evaporator coil a lot cleaner than a fiberglass cheapie. I actually just leave the blower on all the time. I work for an HVAC manufacturer and learned that this will actually EXTEND the life of the blower motor, cut down on dust, and does not significantly impact your electric bill.

There are TWO drain lines connected to the unit in the attic. One runs form the internal drain pan under the evaporator coil to a drain line somewhere in your house. Mine connects under the guest bath sink. If that one clogs that is when you will get condensate in the external drain pan. There is a secondary drain line connected to the pan that should create a visible drip somewhere. For my house the end of the line sticks out of a soffit so I can see it dripping.

When the house was new my drain line clogged repeatedly because of improper plumbing under the guest bath sink. Once I fixed that I had no further issues. I dump a half-cup of bleach down the line once a year and all is well. The float switch you are talking about would mount on the external drain pan and trip if water actually accumulated in the pan. For most residential setups that is pretty unlikely. You should not have water in the external pan regularly. My pan is galvanized steel and I put a couple of coats of Rustoleum on the inside of it when it was new because I have indeed seen them rust out occasionally.

I would just check the unit in the attic and the drain pan a few times a year and locate the overflow drain outlet so you'll know if it ever drips. Other than that I see a float switch as overkill, but it's not that expensive for additional piece of mind.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Both prices quoted seem pretty good. Given the location of your unit, in the ceiling, the float switch is an extremely good idea. The price for the check up is very fair. I know of at least one Texas family who had a leaking disaster with their unit.

You could also watch what he does for the service, and then determine if you can do the service yourself or continue to retain him.

 

[EA82]

When we install a horizontal ( usually in the attic ) unit by code we have to install 2 float switches, one on the emergency drain pan and the other on the secondary drain port, which is usually next to the main drain outlet.
I do recommend installing a float switch, one of the most common AC no cool calls we get is clogged drain and tripped float switch. Ive seen a lot of damaged fallen ceilings and whatever was under it. of course keeping up with the drain is a plus.
As for the filters, the blue ones are the cheapest you can get. Blue filters are usually recommended when there isn't enough return air, otherwise get better filters for better results.
Also we were told years ago to not recommend bleach for cleaning drains but vinegar instead, bleach will eat the PVC glue over time and cause the fittings to come lose.

 

[DBMaster]

^Interesting. I will start using vinegar. My unit (4 ton, 10 SEER) was installed in 1996 with a single 15" duct and 20x20 return filter grill. Definitely not enough return air. I had a commercial HVAC contractor I was using at the time (I was a facilities manager.) calculate how much return air I needed. I built a supply plenum and added an additional 10" duct to the other side of my house ending in a 12x24 filter grill - the only size Home Depot had on hand at the time.

What a difference! That is why I can use pleated filters. I don't change them based upon time, but on appearance. Running the blower all the time means pretty consistent filter change intervals of about three months, or a bit less. I cut a hatch in my transition to access the evaporator coil for cleaning, but it stays pretty spotless.

I shall also say that I guess I do agree about the float switch. If you are handy you could install one yourself for peanuts, but even $130 is not a bad price for the peace (sorry about using "piece" earlier) of mind that it will bring.

 

[JustinH]

Thanks guys.

I will let him clean it, I won't try to watch him too much but see what he did afterwards.

I will let him put in the float switch.

I was up in the attic yesterday and I'm not totally sure of doing it myself unless I had to, so that is worth 129 dollars.

Float switch is a 20 dollar part on amazon, so he gets 100 to put it in. Should be a one time deal.

I was going to do the cleaning myself, but just bought the house and have no shop vac yet, no fin tools for cleaning condensor, no coil cleaner, etc.

69 seems reasonable for that service.