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Do high efficiency furnaces need a drain?
A high-efficiency furnace (also called a condensing furnace) will always have condensation as a byproduct of heating your home. A floor drain is necessary for your high-efficiency furnace because the water has to go somewhere and a floor drain is the easiest and most effective outlet.
Where do I drain my high efficiency furnace condensate?
If your home has a floor drain and the furnace is in the basement, the drain line can empty into the floor drain. If there’s no floor drain, then the condensate flows into a reservoir that is emptied by a condensate drain pump.
Why do high efficiency furnaces drain water?
When a high efficiency furnace releases the exhaust gases, condensation is created. This condensation is a significant amount of moisture on the PVC pipe, and it needs to be drained either into a floor drain or a condensation pump. A water leakage occurs when the condensation is unable to drain properly.
Where does my furnace drain go?
Most furnaces will have at least 2 internal drains, typically one for the heat exchanger and one for the vent, usually at the inducer outlet or on the inducer housing.
Does a furnace need a floor drain?
Without proper drainage, that condensation from your furnace would accumulate in the heat exchanger and in the vent, making it difficult to heat the air properly. In fact, many high-efficiency furnaces have two drains: one in the secondary heat exchanger and one in the vent.
Do high efficiency furnaces produce condensate?
Unlike standard furnaces, high efficiency models produce condensate. These furnaces have two heat exchangers (standard furnaces just have one), and the combustion gases become significantly cooler inside the second one – cool enough to form condensation. That’s why drainage is required.
Can furnace condensate drain outside?
A furnace produces condensate as it works (it’s part of the combustion process), and this condensate must be drained and removed to the outside. If the pipe that runs the condensate to the outside of the house freezes over, your furnace won’t be able to work!
Does a furnace need a drain pan?
The condensate drain pan is an important part of the entire central air system. This little tray protects your home from damage and protects the furnace from microbiological growth and failure. Perhaps most importantly, it protects your home from any type of water-related safety issues.
Does a furnace drain need a vent?
It’s not required to vent this trap like you would plumbing fixture waste line traps … since there shouldn’t be the risk of sewer gas backing up through the lines, and there generally isn’t enough flow/pressure to suck the condensate trap dry.
Do high efficiency furnaces leak water?
This condensation means that high-efficiency furnaces need a way to drain the water away from the system. This is accomplished through the use of a drain line, drain pan and floor drain. Any clogs, leaks or damage in these components can lead to water leaking out of the furnace instead of draining away as it should.
Is it normal for furnace to drain water?
Again, the most common reason for a leaking furnace is a condensation leak. High-efficiency furnaces extract heat from the combustion gases for a longer period of time than a standard-efficiency furnace does, causing the gases to cool, then condense. Condensation is routed to a drain.
Do I need secondary drain pan?
In addition to the requirements of Section M1411. 3, a secondary drain or auxiliary drain pan shall be required for each cooling or evaporator coil where damage to any building components will occur as a result of overflow from the equipment drain pan or stoppage in the condensate drain piping.
How much water does a furnace drain?
A 90% or higher efficiency furnace produces around 0.8 gallons of condensate per hour of running. This equates to about five or six gallons per day of acidic water from condensation each day. Most of the time, the drain and drain line runs to outside the home and the condensate just seeps into the ground, harmlessly.
Can furnace condensate drain into sewer?
Most condensate drains tie into the home’s sewer line and are equipped with a U-shaped trap to keep sewer gas odors from entering the HVAC system. If you notice a noxious odor coming from the supply vents when the blower is running, a dry drain trap may be the culprit.