condensation drain hole in slab overflowing!!

19 years ago

I have an 40 year old Florida home that believe it or not, drains the ac condensation directly into a huge hole (cavity) cut out of the concrete slab directly below my ac air handler

unit inside the closet! The obvious mold and health issues aside, the hole has been filling up with condesation water and overflowing the past month or so, which it has never done before. Im pretty sure I dont have a secondary drain line because I only see the 1 pvc drain pipe. When it floods the hallway I have to take the air handler grating off and wet vac all the collected water from inside the hole in the slab. After 5-7 days, it fills right back up again flooding the hallway and I have to wet vac all the water out again. Looking into the hole and feeling around I'd say the entire holding area below the slab is about 2-3 ft in diameter and 1-2 ft deep. Can my ac unit be producing that much condensation to fill that cavity in 5-7 days or is the cavity so saturated it will not hold the condensation any more? Also, is this hole in the slab the way they did things back then or is it a cheap way to get rid of ac condensation? I was thinking of sealing up that hole and re-routing the pcv drain pipe through the closest outside wall to drain outside. This condensation "hole in th floor" beneath the air handler appeares to be a horrible and unhealthy set up!!!! Any ideas?

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Comments (4)

busboy
19 years ago
Yes your unit CAN produce that much condensation and the sump is probably saturated.Especially with a high water table. You can route the line through the wall but where will the water go then? Probably right underneath the slab. Get the water AWAY from the house via downspout lines or dedicated pvc line. A relatively inexpensive lift pump is another option if you don't have a natural drainage slope available. Yes I would get that hole filled. Dave
funnycide
19 years ago
it is not that unusual of a setup. It might not be the best but it is not terrible. I have never seen where there is a large hole cut in the concrete. Usually it is a 1" or so hole drilled in the slab. The condensate drips into the stone under the slab and hopefully is absorbed in the earth.
The best is to drain it outside the building. You could also dig around in the hole and see if you can make the ground absorb the water. It probably won't work though.
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jimmymoon
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks for the great advice. I have a decent drainage slope so I think I will run a line outside, say 5ft from the slab. Thanks again guys, really appreciate it. Jim
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HU-434638957
4 years ago
This is happening to me. Has for years. The house was built in 1980. The AC unit is enclosed in an area located in the middle of the house between the kitchen and dining room. The hole used to let the water drain from the unit is probably 6" in diameter (in the floor) but larger beneath the floor and it is at least an arms length in depth.

I've had sooooo many overflows in to the dining room. I think the dirt is continually eroding and the flow area keeps clogging. Heck even my kitchen floor tiles continually break because the floor is caving.