Drain lines from AC unit inside full of water or empty?

[superspec]

I woke up this AM to my hallway carpet being wet. Sure enough the drain lines in the closet are full of slime. I turn the AC off all day (I forgot about it). This evening I remembered when I walked inside and the house was 75*. I pour straight bleach down both drain tubes to help move the the slime. It stayed stopped up so I grabbed a piece of fuel line and ran it down through the pipe like a snake and blew through it. finally I hooked the shop vac up and sucked all remaining water and slime out several times.

They look to be pretty clear now but they are both still holding water. I can't remember if that is normal or if they are supposed to be flowing all water out and only have a small amount of water in them.

In short, WHAT IS NORMAL?

 

[Ron Lombardo]

draining ... and flowing ...to empty is normal ... the trap should have water in it.

 

[william.m.hamilton2]

I have a super handy CO2 tool- little trigger with a 6" hose and rubber plug on the end. You screw a cylinder on it, shove the rubber plug into the open end of the pipe and off it goes. I have had to use 3 cylinders once, but that was on a 80' run of drain. Bleach will help prevent the build up if you do it weekly. If that is too much, they make tabs you can toss in the pan like monthly. All this is available from Johnstone supply or your local ac&r supplier.

 

[Jackfre]

It is called a Gallo Gun

 

[william.m.hamilton2]

Thanks. Dont have it here at home! Super handy little ****** for drains if you need it.

 

[superspec]

It looks to be doing fine now. After I sucked everything out with the shop vac a few times I reversed the flow and used the vac to blow through the lines. I almost did that first but was afraid of just pushing the problem farther down the line.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[fifth]

Added a garden hose fitting to my AC drip line... Screw the hose on and flush it out once a year..

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I must go through 10 Gallo Gun cartridges each fall...

Tommy

 

[superspec]

Added a garden hose fitting to my AC drip line... Screw the hose on and flush it out once a year..

good idea!

 

[dclassical]

After trying compressed air and shop vac and not fixing the problem I decided to buy the Mighty Pump (can't remember where I bought it, but here is a link to the product: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003GC8NEE/?tag=atomicindus08-20).

It worked great and really unclogged the line. My problem with the compressor is that I could not get a good seal with the PVC pipe and the location made it awkward. I used the Mighty Pump outside (as suction).

 

[LS6 Tommy]

After trying compressed air and shop vac and not fixing the problem I decided to buy the Mighty Pump (can't remember where I bought it, but here is a link to the product: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003GC8NEE/?tag=atomicindus08-20).

It worked great and really unclogged the line. My problem with the compressor is that I could not get a good seal with the PVC pipe and the location made it awkward. I used the Mighty Pump outside (as suction).

I'm glad you got it, but you could have bought a Gallo Gun for about $35.00...

Tommy

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

I just use an old hose from a set of gauges with one end chopped off hooked to my nitrogen bottle/regulator,clears condensate drains really quick/easy.