Condensation refers to the transformation of matter from gaseous to a solid or liquid state. It is depicted in the formation of water droplets when warm air will be chilled, therefore reaching a relative humidity of 100%.
It can be seen when you bring an ice-cold soft drink outside in hot weather or on the occasion when your mom tells you to always place your cold glass of lemonade on a coaster.
If you have mini-split A/C units, they are the best device to provide you the best chilly atmosphere for your household. They have an added benefit of capturing humidity indoors then discharge the condensation out of the house.
The overall effect is that the home would feel dryer and much chillier. When the moisture will dry-up in your skin, it will cool your whole self, which will create a feeling of comfortable chilliness.
Can Water Droplets Be Dangerous?
Since it is already a known fact that this kind of unit will take out the humidity from the atmosphere inside the house, condensation is still an issue since it needs to go someplace.
Water droplets need to be emptied in the right manner. If not, it would accumulate over some time and might overflow, therefore destroying the furniture, floors, walls, ceilings, and many more significant possessions. If you would just let stay as is and do not find a way to fix it, the stored water would cause destruction to your household and will be expensive to rectify.
The way to fix it is sufficiently draining the liquid and direct it far from your house. There are lots of means to do that, some need the pumps, and some involve a type of tube to drain the droplets away. All the different ways in removing the accumulated liquid in your particular unit are exemplified below.
The Usage of Pumps
In some situations with a few units, gravity is employed to drain the liquid droplets would not work, so a condensate pump is applied for usage.
There are kinds with pumps already included. Examples are concealed duct units and ceiling cassettes. They do not employ elastic tubes but use 1 to 1 ½ inch PVC piping. Maintaining the correct slope, in the long run, would not cause any difficulty.
On a few occasions, emptying many units that have only one line is a good possibility. Before you do this, you should look up the user manual or query the A/C’s installer first. You need to be sure that the piping is adequate for the amount of condensation that the A/C units will bring out.
If you purchase an A/C unit and would also need a pump, you would not need to buy that anymore since it is already included. Some already have ceiling cassette units, concealed duct units, and ceiling suspended models.
Some A/C units that can be mounted on the wall or the floor are supposed to be set up on an outside wall. That is where the liquid can be emptied by gravity without using the condensation pump.
If you opt to set up a unit inside a wall or below the surface, then you have to add something more substantial than the tube for draining to relocate the accumulated liquid to the place where the drain ends. A solution for this is to add another condensation pump to move the water to the desired area for drainage.
Many Types of Pumps
All pumps for condensation purposes have a similar usage (which is to take away the accumulated liquid), yet there are various kinds that you can select.
Despite its many different styles, all of these pumps have the same applications.
They have a storage compartment to collect the liquid matter produced in a drying or cooling process, via a drain bin towards an indoor unit.
A “float switch” is built inside the A/C unit. Its purpose is to automatically turn on the pump when the liquid matter reaches a particular point. On the others, the switch can also work as an alarm. It will turn off the unit inside the house to halt an overflow of liquid in case the pump would stop working.
Standard Pump
This kind of pump is made to be concealed within a ceiling or wall. The storage is built within the unit. It is joined to the drain bin where the liquid matter is stored.
This style of pump is fantastic for homeowners because it is usually concealed behind the wall and remains silent at all times.
High Suction Pump
It has similar capabilities as the pump mentioned above. It has a very adept sucking ability, as the name suggests. It has the same behind the wall installation process but has a better capacity in bringing the water higher and further away.
This kind of pump is especially useful for under the ground installations because of its suction capability in elevated levels before the drainage outdoors.
Low Profile Pumps
These types of pumps are not intrusive and can fit within the A/C unit.
Surface Mounted Pumps
This style of pumps is acknowledged for its simplicity of maintenance. It is set up right below the A/C unit.
The storage bin and the pump are located outside of the unit, in a tiny box that can easily be seen. It is not as quiet compared to the others, but you can fix and clean it easily.
The Usage of Drain Tubes
These kinds of tubes are the most prevalent process in removing water droplets in an A/C unit. It is done with the use of a vinyl tube that has a 5/8 inch inner diameter. This method is done by almost all indoor types that are either floor or wall-mounted.
This tube is flexible but cannot be coiled because it will halt the water from getting out and could brim over. Instead of that, try utilizing a braided tubing because it would not curl up.
Using Pipe Runs
A/C units that are either wall or floor-mounted do not include condensation pumps for water removal. They look to gravity for taking out the accumulated liquid. It implies that the drainpipe should be inclined downwards to prevent the water to be backed up.
It is of utmost importance that the opening that the drainpipe would run through should be ¼ inch to ½ inch smaller on the outside than the inside. It will keep the drain pipe tilted down for thorough drainage.
Now you are aware of the many styles of removing accumulated condensate from your unit. You, as the owner of the house, can judge which liquid removal process is best for you and your household.
