Central AC leaking through ceiling

16 years ago

Central AC was leaking a few months ago. Called AC Tech in. He couldn't find the location of the leak because it wasn't leaking when he came. He cut the pipes in the attic and blew out the lines. AC didn't leak for a few months ago.

This past week it was really hot, and this morning I noticed that there was a slow leak as the ceiling was wet. This evening it started pouring water out of the ceiling. I shut the air off for now, but any ideas what it can be?

It's hard to see where exactly the problem is. The Unit in the attic is lying on some 2x4's or something flat where you cannot see under it.

Comments (4)

deweymn
16 years ago
Possible causes:
Dirty filters cause coils to freeze into ice ball, the outside of the icy coil melts but does not go in the condensate collection pan and goes below unit.

Low freon level does same as above

Plugged drain line for the condensate removal.

Lack of secondary drain line

No safety pan under unit in case condensate pan of unit overflows

No overflow switch in case condensate pan fills up. Cheaper than a ceiling repair job

So, what did the tech tell you last time he/she was there?
billyknep
Original Author
16 years ago
Tech only said they couldn't find the problem since it wasn't leaking when he came at the time. He did have to add about 1/4 pound of freon.
I change the filter monthly, and had just changed it two days before it started leaking again. It was very humid yesterday when it really started leaking.

I know there is a secondary pan, and I have to check on a secondary drain line today.
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deweymn
16 years ago
Find where the drain line exits the house and if possible connect a wet vac to the pipe and see if you can remove anything that way. You might even pour some water into the pan if you can (10% bleach solution). Open up the panel on the unit near the coil if possible and do a visual inspect of the area where the drain line connects to the pan.

You eliminated the frozen coil possiblility so you are now left with a plugged drain line/overflowing pan or a crack in the condensate pan. Only further checking will tell you. If you are balancing on joists, bring up some pieces of plywood with you and begin making a solid surface around the unit for further needs.
Heckmonkey_hotmail_com
12 years ago
I too had this problem, got three units on top of our bar, first unit started leaking through roof, pulled air filters and replaced, cleaned out drain pipes which were full of gunk from dirty air filters and were clogging drain, added some bleach/water to drain, cleaned condensation pan, and unit is no longer leaking. Did this maintenance to all units. HVAC guy was going to charge standard 150 an hour plus parts, plus a possible emergency call which was going to cost me close to 800 an hour during this texas peak season heat/humidity, was literally going to break the bank! This post has saved me! Small business that is staying afloat no pun intended, says thank you for honest answers! Cheers!