Water in Ductwork
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:21 pm
Just a little insite to my day of mobile home repair.
A customer called and thought he heard water running. He also said his ductwork was full of water. I asked if he had been running his air conditioner. He said not yet. So I ruled out a leaky a-coil drain pan as the reason for water in the ductwork.
I drove the 12 miles to the customer's house. Generally if there's water in the duct, it means that the waterline is leaking right next or just above the duct. Ughh -- usually that means it'll be difficult to get at (and that was an understatement).
I finally found the leak, and it was a leaky section of a double-tee. Of course it was hard to get at -- above the ductwork, between the floor joists, and an I-beam was right in the way. Plus, they had blown into the belly white insulation and that crap was everywhere.
I do not recommend blowing insulation into the belly for several reasons. First, too much insulation can cut off the heat source to the pipes and more easily cause freeze-ups. Second, repairs are a mess!
To make this job worse, the waterlines were 3/8" poly (1/2" is normal). Luckily I carry 3/8" poly adapters & cimpers in my service van. It took awhile, but I got the double tee replaced and all is working well. Then just before I got done, I put a couple small slits in the bottom of the ductwork to drain out the water.
I then advised the customer that give the water a couple hours to drain, then run the furnace to dry-out the ducts. Then in a few days when the belly dries, it will need patched to keep from freezing this winter, and keep out the critters.
Mark
A customer called and thought he heard water running. He also said his ductwork was full of water. I asked if he had been running his air conditioner. He said not yet. So I ruled out a leaky a-coil drain pan as the reason for water in the ductwork.
I drove the 12 miles to the customer's house. Generally if there's water in the duct, it means that the waterline is leaking right next or just above the duct. Ughh -- usually that means it'll be difficult to get at (and that was an understatement).
I finally found the leak, and it was a leaky section of a double-tee. Of course it was hard to get at -- above the ductwork, between the floor joists, and an I-beam was right in the way. Plus, they had blown into the belly white insulation and that crap was everywhere.
I do not recommend blowing insulation into the belly for several reasons. First, too much insulation can cut off the heat source to the pipes and more easily cause freeze-ups. Second, repairs are a mess!
To make this job worse, the waterlines were 3/8" poly (1/2" is normal). Luckily I carry 3/8" poly adapters & cimpers in my service van. It took awhile, but I got the double tee replaced and all is working well. Then just before I got done, I put a couple small slits in the bottom of the ductwork to drain out the water.
I then advised the customer that give the water a couple hours to drain, then run the furnace to dry-out the ducts. Then in a few days when the belly dries, it will need patched to keep from freezing this winter, and keep out the critters.
Mark