30" cable tie used to clear Air Conditioner drain line

2,735 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by CapCity12thMan
Animal Eight 84
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Air Handler's 3/4" drain line P trap plugged last night.

Overflow pan drain line was dripping this morning , glad the wife knows to immediately tell me.

Drain line P trap is hard to access and clean out due to a retrofit of an additional return air duct into my old system.
Can't get a conventional snake into the 3/4 drain line.

I pulled the high level float switch out of its tee and used a heavy duty 30" long cable tie wrap ( zip tie) as a snake.

It was rigid enough to curl into a bent shape to get into a 3/4 pipe tee and reach the P trap, but stiff enough to push out the biological mung.

Then poured a quart of bleach into the line using funnel & tubing.

Normally I purge it with bleach same time as the pleated filter change but skipped that step in May.

Hope this tip is useful to others.
Dill-Ag13
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Put a ball valve at the top of the line and add a 1/4 NPT barb to the downstream side of the valve. Attach rubber hose with clamp at this location when needed and use it blow air into the downstream side of the line with the valve blocked off to flush the line
Birddog
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Next time use distilled vinegar instead of bleach. Less corrosive with same results.......
AggieRob93
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I have attached a section of rubber hose having an OD which will fit inside the overflow line and attached to a shop vac, running it into the overflow via the access as far as it will go, and blowing out the nasty build up. My concern with using air from a compressor was it being too powerful, and unintentionally blowing some connection(s) apart and not having a way to access. This shop vac method has proven successful on several occasions.
CapCity12thMan
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might look into getting the LeakShot I got for mine...works awesome

https://texags.com/forums/61/topics/3299660
Animal Eight 84
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AggieRob93 said:

I have attached a section of rubber hose having an OD which will fit inside the overflow line and attached to a shop vac, running it into the overflow via the access as far as it will go, and blowing out the nasty build up. My concern with using air from a compressor was it being too powerful, and unintentionally blowing some connection(s) apart and not having a way to access. This shop vac method has proven successful on several occasions.


Shop vac with tubing is a good idea. I might be able to get 4 ft of 3/8 plastic tubing in downstream of the Ptrap.
I can envision that working in the limited access I'm dealing with.
Thanks!
Pinochet
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Home Depot and even Walmart carry a flexible plastic snake designed for the shower P trap. It is 2 or 3 feet long and has barbs to catch the hair on the way back up but it will work for the AC line as well. At a couple bucks each, I keep them around for fixing the Chewbacca clogs in the showers. Thought about teaching the wife to do it but didn't want her to realize how easy it was.
maddiedou
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Birddog said:

Next time use distilled vinegar instead of bleach. Less corrosive with same results.......


Ao is this true. I have alartments and we blow the lines out once a year and pour bleach in yhe pan but I would rayher use vinegar if this works

texsn95
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Dill-Ag13 said:

Put a ball valve at the top of the line and add a 1/4 NPT barb to the downstream side of the valve. Attach rubber hose with clamp at this location when needed and use it blow air into the downstream side of the line with the valve blocked off to flush the line
I did the same but with a water hose fitting, since we have a detached garage, we don't have enough air hose to reach up above the 2nd story, but can run the water hose up from the front door to clear it out.
CapCity12thMan
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or just get one of these

https://www.amazon.com/Leak-Saver-Condensate-Non-Contaminating-Cartridges/dp/B07THM2122
texsn95
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CapCity12thMan said:

or just get one of these

https://www.amazon.com/Leak-Saver-Condensate-Non-Contaminating-Cartridges/dp/B07THM2122
Never seen that before, pretty neat.
CapCity12thMan
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yeah had an issue earlier with a really stubborn clog, and float switch was constantly shutting off AC since it is running non stop in 100 deg heat.

Purchase on Amazon, showed up the next day and a couple of shot and it blew everything out. Confirmed worked for my HVAC needs.

Have not yet confirmed it works for any sort of PVC launching experiments with my two teenage boys
Who?mikejones!
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Take a shop vac and vacuum out the exit end of the condensate line
EMY92
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CapCity12thMan said:

or just get one of these

https://www.amazon.com/Leak-Saver-Condensate-Non-Contaminating-Cartridges/dp/B07THM2122
Just have to make sure that you're not just blowing the air back to the coil. I've got an older house with just the single drain going outside. If it clogs, I use a shop vac and it clears it in seconds. One of those guns, I'd have to blow back inside the house which I'd rather not do.
CapCity12thMan
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yes, absolutely - we installed one of these so I can connect the LeakShot gun to the line and have it only go one direction.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085FQ4QTB/ref=cm_sw_r_api_i_JD0EHQD21245677T3EYX_0
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