Window A/C unit drain question

[HMCFab9]

I recently bought a used window A/C to put in my garage.

I turned it on for the first time last night.
Is the water supposed to drain quickly from the back part of it?
It is fairly level in the window opening, but still tilted down in the back a bit.
When it's running, the water sits in it to the point that the fan starts to slosh it around a little.
Is the water intended to sit in there to cool the fins, etc?
There are no drain holes in the bottom & the only place that I can see for the water to drain from is close to an inch up from the bottom of the unit.

If it needs to drain sooner, I can drill a hole, but I'd assume that if it was supposed to drain, there would have been a drain hole in it from the factory.

Any input?

(Also, this unit was apparently in an apartment, from what the person I got it from told me, so it's just the A/C unit. The box that it would normally slide into wasn't included, but that should have nothing to do with the drain....)

 

[PoorOwner]

no, don't drill a hole, the water is supposed to sit there and the fan blade is supposed to pick it up when there is enough water, the rest is evaporated naturally or from the fan blowing across it.

Obviously, you will want to tilt it a little towards the back so water doesn't collect to the front end of the unit.

Here it is always so hot and dry I have never seen more than a few drops of condensate under the fan.

 

[SARG]

I drilled a drain hole in mine because of the noise created by the fan hitting the collected water ........ and then fabbed a tray from roof drip edge to carry the dripped water away from the house.

 

[HMCFab9]

I'm not too worried about the noise, if it is supposed to do that & it helps it cool better.

There's very high humidity right now, so there's a lot of water in it

 

[Will S.]

Interesting thread. I bought one that does the same the O.P said, and I have wanted to drill a drain hole, but didn't want to hit a coil or freon line. So I thought I'd wait til cooler wx, and slide the unit out of the cabinet so I can see where to drill.

Now that I'm seeing some of you saying it is purposely built this way for cooling, I better wait. But it is annoying listening to the noise of the condensate being hit by the fan.
Hmmmm

 

[TractorJeff]

I feel for you!
Its sticky wet, I mean HOT here too!
I'd drill a hole to drain it as its a Garage unit water dripping on the ground will only help the mosquitoes!

 

[HMCFab9]

I feel for you!
Its sticky wet, I mean HOT here too!

Ya... Not exactly typical weather for Wisconsin, but there isn't much a guy can do about it..... Except try to stay / work inside an air conditioned shop if possible

 

[PoorOwner]

it is part of the design and efficiency from that splashing.

 

[bonneyman]

no, don't drill a hole, the water is supposed to sit there and the fan blade is supposed to pick it up when there is enough water, the rest is evaporated naturally or from the fan blowing across it.

Obviously, you will want to tilt it a little towards the back so water doesn't collect to the front end of the unit.

Here it is always so hot and dry I have never seen more than a few drops of condensate under the fan.

10-4 There is a slinger ring on the condenser fan blade to hurl that collected condensate onto the hot condenser, adding a little extra efficiency and additional cooling.
On heat pump versions there's a bellows operated snap valve that closes to retain the water for summer operation but opens to allow defrost water to drain out during winter operation. Those pesky valves can fail in either mode, causing problems.
Install the unit so it has a slight pitch toward the outside to help facilitate water flow, and make sure the drain passage form the evap coil pan to the outside cabinet area stays clear.

 

[HMCFab9]

Thanks for the info poorowner & bonnyman!

I assumed it was that way for a reason, but I wasn't sure

 

[Milton Shaw]

My neighbor drilled a hole in his before he asked me. Heard a loud hissing sound. Guess he learned a lesson buying a new unit the next day.. He understood when I explained the slinger ring on the fan blade.

 

[tpwalsh]

Interesting. Learn something every day. I had wondered if any company was using that condensate to cool the condesor, but I hadn't seen it yet. I wouldn't have expected it either on a $99 walmart special either.

I drilled 2 drain holes in mine because it backed up to the point that the inside fan was spraying water out into my living room. Not good. I'll take the loss of efficiency knowing that I won't have gunk building up(that caused the issue in the first place)

 

[southalabama]

Slinger ring.

I hadn't used a window ac in years. The slinger ring was developed since I had quit using one. It took some reading after I had installed one to figure it out.

 

[n20junkie]

I had to make “wings” for my window AC units on my old house because the water was getting all over the sill so bad that it eventually got inside and wet the drywall a bit.

 

[larry4406]

I always learn something here on this site - slinger ring to disperse the condensate on the fins to improve thermal conductivity and performance all while eliminating the drain. Clever I guess when gravity is not adverse and it actually works.

I have two of these window shakers that I harvested from the house when we bought it and am thinking of using them in a detached barn that is under construction; would be through wall mounted with a pan and drain made as CYA.

 

[shade]

I drilled holes. Mine wouldnt quite sling and water got to close to the front of the unit to risk running into the wall.