Managing heat pump condensate

[mike93lx]

4 systems on site, two 2.5 ton a/c's, a 1.5 ton a/c and a 10 ton pool heater. One one side of the house, I have the pool heater and existing condensate drains for the two 2.5 ton coils. On the other side are all three a/c condensers and the condensate drain for the 1.5 ton coil. Soil is poorly draining clay and the lot is very flat.

I have the pool heater and 2.5 ton coil condensate drains dripping into a channel drain that gets the water well away from the house and yard.

The 1.5 ton coil condensate currently drops into the yard, about 3 ft from the house and it's always wet in that area. I'm replacing the two 2.5 ton systems with heat pumps, so I'll have even more condensate over there and no great way to get rid of it.

I may have to put in a dry well or two, but I am worried about the amount of condensate I'll have and how slowly the soil drains. In order to get it into a downspout drain that is about 30 feet away, I would have to pump it, but to protect the pump from freezing, it would have to get buried. I don't mind doing that if I can get a reliable setup.

Any experiences and recommendations?

TL;DR flat lots ****. I want some slope

 

[Jackfre]

Hec, Mike, put it into the city sewer.

 

[mike93lx]

Hec, Mike, put it into the city sewer.

No such thing, unfortunately. We are on septic.

 

[jlv03]

Why would changing from air conditioning only to a heat pump increase the condensate?

 

[kaymccampbell]

Why would changing from air conditioning only to a heat pump increase the condensate?

Because when the system reverses from AC to heating you're cooling the outside air, which has an endless supply of moisture vs the controlled environment of your house.

 

[mike93lx]

Why would changing from air conditioning only to a heat pump increase the condensate?

Condensate is produced where ever the cooling happens. Inside while a/c, outside while heating

It really surprised me when we did the pool heater. It was enough water that I thought I had a leak

 

[jblnut]

I dug a hole as deep as my mini excavator could dig and buried a piece of 18" dual wall plastic culvert standing up and directed the condensate from the AC, forced air furnace, in floor boiler, washing machine water, wash room sink and back flush water from the iron filter and softener into it. There is a crossover from that pipe in to the septic so if it ever freezes it'll go into the septic.

The dual wall pipe I buried has a drain to daylight in case it can't keep up for whatever reason. I don't have a flat yard though so it works great ....

You could bury a septic tank and have it all drain into that. Put a pump in there and hook it to a sprinkler to water your lawn in the summer or create a backyard ice rink in the winter

 

[BillK]

Mike,
I had a problem with one downspout from my gutters years ago. I got out the post hole digger and dug a hole about 3ft deep and probably 2' x 3' Filled it with gravel and let the downspout drain right on top of it. It has never been a problem in even the heaviest rains so I am sure if all that was going into it was condensate there would be no issue at all. Your soil probably isnt much different than mine.

I only have a single 3 ton AC and gas condensing furnace but I ran the condensate line outside and then down and under my "gravel" driveway to a wooded area. Its probably a good 25 ft run under the driveway and it has very little slope. Drains just fine without any type of pump.

 

[mike93lx]

Mike,
I had a problem with one downspout from my gutters years ago. I got out the post hole digger and dug a hole about 3ft deep and probably 2' x 3' Filled it with gravel and let the downspout drain right on top of it. It has never been a problem in even the heaviest rains so I am sure if all that was going into it was condensate there would be no issue at all. Your soil probably isnt much different than mine.

I only have a single 3 ton AC and gas condensing furnace but I ran the condensate line outside and then down and under my "gravel" driveway to a wooded area. Its probably a good 25 ft run under the driveway and it has very little slope. Drains just fine without any type of pump.

As part of dealing my my recent pool construction, I found that this soil seems to hold water until it evaporates. I had to pump out holes and trenches many times to facilitate work. I'm sure with enough time, it will dissipate, but I'd really rather not worry about it.

The soil is so poor, my septic drain field is a couple inches below grade and the county engineer told me not to add any soil on top as the system relies on evaporation as much as dispersion through the soil.

In redoing drains for some of the downspouts, I measured the slope side to side at 1% (1/8" per foot) and front to back at 2% (1/4" per foot). To get this to daylight, I'd have to go a hundred feet, while crossing my fiber optic, power and a mess of irrigation.

If I brought the condensate into the crawl space, which is slightly lower, I could then pump it to the other side of the house and use the existing drain

 

[jlv03]

Condensate is produced where ever the cooling happens. Inside while a/c, outside while heating

It really surprised me when we did the pool heater. It was enough water that I thought I had a leak

Do you think you'll get much water when the heat pump runs its defrost cycle? I get it that in summer when it is high temps and high humidity that water pretty much runs out of the system, but in winter I haven't noticed an excessive amount from the defrost cycles.

 

[steves_001]

Can you do something like this?
Condensate Neutralizer

 

[mike93lx]

Do you think you'll get much water when the heat pump runs its defrost cycle? I get it that in summer when it is high temps and high humidity that water pretty much runs out of the system, but in winter I haven't noticed an excessive amount from the defrost cycles.

I have no idea. Never owned a heat pump before putting the one in for my pool

A condensate neutralizer is for a condensing boiler, and doesnt do anything to reduce or redirect the condensate. Just takes it from being acidic to getting it closer to a pH of 7. The condensate off a heat pump is already neutral

 

[4x4Pete]

Can you direct the condensate to the pool? At least the cooling system condensate? They do this with indoor pools. It'll help with the evaporation in the pool. Collect it in a rain barrel and use it for plants or washing the lawn equipment? Maybe something pretty bizarre- pipe it to a toilet tank? Excess would go to septic. I guess you have air to air equipment, winter operation just defrosts on the ground, so it is only the summer humidity. The pool heat pump collects its condensate? Maybe that can go to the pool.

 

[mike93lx]

Can you direct the condensate to the pool? At least the cooling system condensate? They do this with indoor pools. It'll help with the evaporation in the pool. Collect it in a rain barrel and use it for plants or washing the lawn equipment? Maybe something pretty bizarre- pipe it to a toilet tank? Excess would go to septic. I guess you have air to air equipment, winter operation just defrosts on the ground, so it is only the summer humidity. The pool heat pump collects its condensate? Maybe that can go to the pool.

No, not plumbing it to the pool and i have no interest in collecting it, but even if I could do that, I wouldn't be asking about how to get rid of it as I could just drain it with the downspouts.

The pool heat pump has two holes that the condensate drains from. I tapped them for 1/2" pvc fittings and direct it to a channel drain that I trenched off to the woods. The pipe is basically flat, so it drains very slowly, but It does get it away from the house.

If the condensate volume is very small, I'm not worried. Just was assuming it would be more significant