Condensate Leaks in High Efficiency Furnaces

Modern furnaces are marvelous machines, they keep us comfortable 365 days per year with very little thought on our part. This allows us to take them for granted.  We all have the oil changed in our cars regularly, your home deserves the same commitment. If you drove your car for five years without ‘popping the hood’ would you be surprised if it left you stranded? The above picture is a common problem I find in my home inspections in Blacklick, Ohio. The problem would be instantly discovered in my home inspection, or HVAC tech inspection.

Condensate is a by product of the combustion process and often leaks inside furnaces go undetected. In the above picture a small leak has rusted a hole in the furnace cabinet. The furnace is less than two years old. Your furnace is a $3500 asset that is needlessly self destructing!

Such a small rust spot may not seem like a big deal and it’s not if caught before it gets to bad. The real issue is that the water is often dripping on sensitive electronic/electric equipment. In this case the water is dripping on the vent fan motor. In a down flow or horizontal flow configuration the condensate is often dripping on the computer board, or other electronic controls. Not good. This would not be covered under the manufacturers warranty.

The good news is that is that if it’s caught in time the repair is very inexpensive and easy. I encourage all my customers to develop a relationship with a good furnace technician. Call me @ 740-334-0912 and I will put you in touch with the best. If you have your HVAC equipment (along with the rest of your home) cleaned and maintained yearly minor problems can be fixed before it becomes expensive and inconvenient.

Coming up next time, condensate leaks from the ‘A’ coil.