central air..

[Ken_ver_1_5]

ya I know its almost winter:)

not sure of the real name so I'll call it a pee pipe.

A friend has central air and there is this plastic pipe
that runs from the furnace to the outside. It drips
water when the ac is on.

the Question is can it be located inside?

the reason is the end thats outside is old and brittle.
My friend thought it might be a good idea th simply cut
off the bad part and re-rout the pipe to a drain instead
of being out side.

can this be done?

What pushes the water through the pipe?
it seems to be higher than the furnace as it exits the outside wall.

[Exmortis]

I have the same pipe, but it's set above the drain in my basement. And I have a second pipe from the central humidifier. If I were to take a guess, I'd say moisture from the A coil is evacuated through that small pipe when the AC runs.

[Frogy]

When we re-did the drains in the basement floor we installed a drain pipe for the furnace and drain directly to it for the a/c. Prior to that we had a pump on it to carry it over to the laundry tub. I can't see why he couldn't drain it the same if he has one close, if not he'd just have to run a line further.

[Ken_ver_1_5]

Great thanks for the info.

A drain is not far away. Not knowing much about c/a I wanted to be
sure I was giving correct advice.

[Dr.Dan]

If the line is higher than the furnace, there must be a condensate pump on it.
You'll see a line coming from the 'A' coil area down into the pump, and then it *should* go to a drain from there... not to the outside...

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/dehumidifier-condensate-pump-with-tubing.html

[Frogy]

I've seen many drain to the outside Dan but agree that inside is far better.

Ken, if going to a floor drain you can bypass the pump and just gravity feed. If he's keeping the pump it's good to clean it a couple of times a year.

[Rustynut]

Mine goes from the pump on the furnace via plastic flexible clear tubing up to the joists and over to the laundry tub then down into the drain.

Look on the side for a plastic box with tubing exiting if it's electric you soon will be able to tell. These pumps push the condensate quite a long way, rather easily.

[Dr.Dan]

Yeah, that exactly the same way mine is too Rusty... drain is a good 15' away from the furnace so it's gotta go up and overhead to get to the drain ;)

If a drain is that close to the furnace, I don't see why they would have installed a pump and drain it outside... allot of work for nothing...

[Lesley]

Mine goes to a tiny hole in the floor beside the furnace. I guess the installer drilled through the concrete. It's been 15 years and it's never caused any problems.

[Frogy]

I can't see a problem with that Lesley and have also seen that done before. The water table and basement floor is below the frost line and freezing won't occur. That option wasn't available to us since we also have our water softened drain to the same line as opposed to the laundry tub.

[Ken_ver_1_5]

I've seen many drain to the outside Dan but agree that inside is far better.

Ken, if going to a floor drain you can bypass the pump and just gravity feed. If he's keeping the pump it's good to clean it a couple of times a year.

Oh my I don't think he's ever cleaned the pump its been years.
I had better tell him it needs service thank you Frogy.