Odd question about water surface tension-

[MatBirch]

I have a peculiar situation. I have an aluminum window frame which has weep holes across the bottom to drain any water that collects in the track. I happened to be standing under it, and noticed that it was full, yet wasn’t draining. The surface tension of the water was creating it’s own seal. If I touched it, it would drip a little and then reseal. The inside of the track is nice and clean, it's not debris that’s causing this.
Is there anything I can do to help this? I know of ways to break the surface tension of standing water, but is there anything I can use to pre-treat?
I’d like to not open the hole up any more.

Thanks

 

[cmandp]

Without changing the geometry of the hole or slope leading up to it the only thing I can think of to do is maybe stick a wire in there, hanging down to see if the water's surface tension will work to pull itself along the wire and drain.

I'm guessing these weep holes are pretty narrow? Are they small holes or a slot?

 

[kd3pc]

a drip of liquid soap will do

 

[rburke65]

Little piece of string In the weep hole that will act like a wick.

 

[Kevin54]

Anything will break the tension. Even a piece of very small wire bent to hang out of the hole, or take something like a small pick and push up on one side of the weep hole just to bend it up so slightly.. As long as you have an irregular surface, you won't have the water tension.

 

[Coolabah]

I have a peculiar situation. I have an aluminum window frame which has weep holes across the bottom to drain any water that collects in the track. I happened to be standing under it, and noticed that it was full, yet wasn’t draining. The surface tension of the water was creating it’s own seal. If I touched it, it would drip a little and then reseal. The inside of the track is nice and clean, it's not debris that’s causing this.
Is there anything I can do to help this? I know of ways to break the surface tension of standing water, but is there anything I can use to pre-treat?
I’d like to not open the hole up any more.

Thanks

It sounds like bad design to me. If it were me I would just bite the bullet and drill out the hole to what the manufacturer SHOULD have done in the first place, rather than spend the rest of my life messing with it !
Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but my honest 2cents worth ....

 

[driftpin]

A piece of monofilament line...

 

[rebelranger]

Burn it down and don't worry about a garage.

 

[Shiftless]

It sounds like bad design to me. If it were me I would just bite the bullet and drill out the hole to what the manufacturer SHOULD have done in the first place, rather than spend the rest of my life messing with it !
Not what you wanted to hear, I know, but my honest 2cents worth ....

to that

Take a nice sharp 3/16 drill bit and enlarge those wimpy slots and see if you still have that problem. I bet you won’t.