Yes, you could replace with a bucket. It wouldn’t be code compliant, you’d have to remember to empty it but, you could do that.

Thanks. If it fouls out for good, I'll remove it. Remembering to empty it is the next step. It's next to our rock tumblers so it might be a bit easier.

Dumb idea. Really dumb because I've been there. I replaced an old furnace with a condensing furnace in my workshop a few years back and used a 4 gallon bucket for the condensate until I could run a drain line. Well I didn't get to it right away and temperatures started to drop here in Minnesota but I kept the temperature set at 40 when not using the shop figuring I'd just dump it every now and then. Then came and went and forgot, and when I went out to the shop I had one heck of a mess. My idea was dumb but it was just a workshop, your idea is really dumb because it's in your house.

Condensate pumps fail. They are cheap -$60. Get over it and replace it.

Just make sure your lines are clear and move on.

$60 isn't cheap. What's cheap is the $9 I paid off amazon for a small fountain pump and salvaged the float switch off a small burned out sump pump. Since these pumps will only last a year or two running full time I figure running 10 minutes a week over 4 months a year it will last 46 years. This comes out to only 19 cents a year, now that's cheap.

"If you want to continue to do your own work, stop watching tiktok videos and how to training videos on You Tube. Put some money down and sign up for HVAC at a local Trade School. "

You don't need to be a medical doctor to perform first aid, you don't need to be a certified auto mechanic to perform an oil change or air filter change and you don't need to go to a trade school to learn how to install or maintain a condensate pump. DIYers with basic skills can do any of those tasks and how-to videos can help them to get it right the first time.

If your furnace is a condensing type, then in cold weather is going to produce a lot of condensate. It be could more than a gallon a day in very cold weather. If the furnace is not the condensing type, then you only need to worry about emptying the bucket during the summer.

The pump looks in rough shape. Do you know what caused it to look like that. I have three pumps that are almost 15 years old. They look like the day they were installed. I install cleaning tablets periodically to keep them clean. We a little care a pump will last a long time and they are not expensive.

Chage it. You'll forget to empty it and then have a mess. You can wire it to your furnace/AC so that if it fails, the system shuts down (safety mechanism to prevent floods).

Just change the pump and be done with it already.

Re: wiring it to shut down the system sounds like a great way to freeze the house.

"Re: wiring it to shut down the system sounds like a great way to freeze the house."

Freeze or flood..... Pick your poison.

That logic would disqualify a task as a DIY task if the DIYer reads the instruction manual. Silly.

No one would know Charles. It would be between the DIY'er and the instruction manual. Silly.

Loose lips sink ships.

https://www.houzz.com/user/kevin9408 - Makes sense what you are saying, but it's right behind our rock tumbler station, so we see it often.

Austin Air Companie

Looks like you are an actual HVAC company. Your company may be outstanding with the service you provide, but your social skills are sadly lacking when you reply in such a condescending manner to a person asking a simple question. These type of replies to a simple question, to me, would disqualify you in my book as a company I would even want to do business with. Think about that. Go to HVAC trade school? Really? For something as simple as a question about a condensate pump? Beyond that, you continued to be rude to others who replied. Yikes!

mike_home

Pump looks rough. Yep. We have only lived in this house for a few years. The man who lived here before us had a massive wood working shop in the basement (1152 sq ft) that had everything coated with all kinds of gore. The pump grime was just another part of it that I didn't bother cleaning. Took a lot of time to clean the basement up. We also had a basement company come in and do repairs/upgrades to turn the basement basically into another room that is like any other room in the house - except that it is still an unfinished room like we wanted. They tapped the walls that were holding water and put a sump system in with a large dehumidifier which keeps the basement at 55% humidity so it no longer smells like a typical basement.

This guy has behaved like this for years. The clown simply will not go away and continues to post spam....

Dude, the pumps typically last between 5-10 years and for $60 you aren't rigging together some nonsense from e-bay. Condensate is acidic and so the pump parts have to be designed for that.

If you want to get a little extra life from them and prevent some problems - run a very mild bleach water solution through them to clear out all the bio-sludge. The condensation from the evaporator coil also dumps in there - so there's mold and such that accumulates in the drain tube and eventually causes clogs.

Jake The Wonderdog

I certainly thank you for taking the time to respond. I like the idea of running a mild bleach solution through it from time to time. Makes sense.

I bought a new pump at Lowes the night it continued to run in case I couldn't get it stop running without unplugging it. It was a little under $100.00. My biggest problem with the one I bought was that it had horrific reviews. Some said it didn't have a check valve with it. Some said it didn't work out of the box. Some said it lasted 1, 3, 5 days or a month then quit. If there are a few bad reviews, I won't pay a lot of attention to that, but there were a large number of them that were all similar. The main reason I came here was to find out if the pump is absolutely necessary or if I can do without it for a time. I returned the pump unopened to Lowes and if the time comes to replace it, I know I can do without it long enough to order one like I have now. I've gotten some very good advice and information here - for the most part. Of course, you always have that one on any forum who throws off that curve.

Unfortunate Autstn air is right on all counts and his statements would qualify as confucious say quotes if one or more are not already on the list. Blue pill or red pill.

Yes, a regular confuse-us for our time. Be sure to watch Freon Wars: fear and loathing in refrigerant regulation Part 1, 11, 111, 1V, and V. And don't forget, he services the Katy, TX area (just not those municipalities that require permits or inspections.) .

AC repairs don't require a permit Charles, In any jurisdiction in Texas.

95% of my job, is repairing your AC typically on short notice over a weekend etc.

Can you imagine coming home to a 90F hot house, only to be told "Hey I need to pull a permit to fix this."

I suppose if you keep voting for big government one day it might become some incarnation thereof.

The freon wars are still coming. Refrigerant leaks are a big problem, always has been. Even worse now because refrigerant costs keep going up.

PFAS bans have begun. Maine was the first. BUT many of them have yet to focus on future refrigerants. -- The 2024 "FREON WARS" update video is coming soon.

"AC repairs don't require a permit Charles, In any jurisdiction in Texas." Permits for repairs may not be required, depending on the scope, but most municipalities require permits for replacements. You do those, right? So just some truth in advertising, please.

If an install requires a permit, yes. But these "in my area" are only required within the city limits.

The odds I am in the city limits performing an HVAC installation? Hasn't happened in the 15 years I've owned my own HVAC company. It is not my focus to chase city limit HVAC installs or HVAC installs outside the city limits. I am a one man operation. If an installation comes, then it comes. I don't chase these types of jobs.

Repairs are always there, whether your AC is new or not, a premium brand or not. It will break. They all do that.

My HVAC installations that are outside city limits, follow city code requirements. Inspectors in Texas only look for code violations. An HVAC system that is in code compliance doesn't mean it is operational and doing it's job (heating and or cooling).

I don't understand why a homeowner asking a question about HVAC on a forum intended to give free information about HVAC to non-professionals has to be subject to a lecture. The only exception would be if it involves doing something that is dangerous and could cause physical harm and/or loss of property.