unlevel concrete pad ( outside ac unit)

[yellowbox]

looking for some input please.. this is concerning an outside ac unit for a house it is on a concrete pad and the pad is starting to sink into the groud on one side .
any concerns for unit not being level?
soil here is mostly clay , need ideas how to level this back out i would like to try this myself.
house and unit are 7 yrs old
the root of the problem that i see is the water drain ( for excess condensation) comes out thru the garage wall right next to the ac unit so in the summer time the ground is always wet causing soil to weaken and hence concrete to sink into ground .
any good ideas for directing water away from concrete slab? there is plastic drainpipe coming out of garage wall appx 18 1nches above ground .
thanks for any input

 

[rickairmedic]

Hi YB first you can get a 90* elbow at any home improvement store and a stick of 3/4" PVC pipe to rerout the condensate drain for the AC away from the slab once you have done that get a helper and take a shovel and slide the tip under the pad where it is sinking and lift it while the helper shoves some bricks under the pad this may take a few attempts and you might grab a bag of gravel while at the Home store and push gravel under first. I would use a 4' level ontop of the AC unit to make sure it is level side to side and front to back when you are done and yes you want it level being unlevel will put extra strain on the bearings in the fan motor .


Rick

 

[larry4406]

RickAirMedic is right on keeping the condenser unit level.

When you extend your external drain, you might want to consider using a larger diameter pipe and not connecting it to the house drain. For example, if your condensate line is 3/4, then bury a 1.5 inch line in the ground routed to wherever you wish. Turn the 1.5 inch line vertical and have it align with the 3/4 line but keep a 1" gap between the two pipes. This air gap will ensure that any pluggage problem with the main drain, does not back up into the other line. If you have a 90+ furnace, then you are also generating condensate during the heating season, and then this air gap would be helpful to eliminate freezeup issues.

In my area, the local Code required this air gap technique on sump pump line extensions for the reasons above.