Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - My gas furnace is making water
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : My gas furnace is making water
Dim Bulb
02-19-07, 10:16 AM
Sounds crazy and I can not figure it out.
I have a new gas line installed and a new gas furnace in place 6 months ago. I also have central air installed. There is no floor drain or any drain accessible so there is a condensate pump installed on the side of the furnace so that any water pulled from the AC in the summer just gets pumped to the outside. There is no humidifier on the furnace and there is no plumbing pipe even on this side of the house.
The problem is that with it being winter, my condensate hose is frozen on the outside of the house. But this should not be a problem cause I am not using the central air during the winter so there is no humid air to be removing water from. But there was a puddle on the floor from the pump overflowing. I got a length of hose and sutck on end on the pump and the other end in a 5 gallon bucket and turned the pump back on. Well I am getting about a gallon of water every 4 hours. I have no idea where this water is coming from. It is not coming from my plumbing or anythign like that. I had the gas company come out to the house today and they are saying that there is no water in the gas line. The though was if there was a crack in the main gas pipe and a main water pipe out at the street that I would get water into the gas line and into the pump. this is not the case according to the gas company. They said I would need a repair call to have the furnace checked and repaired.
So my brand new furnace is churning out water on its own from out of no where. I even though that maybe my house was really humid and the Centra air was mysteriously removing the ware. But the hosue is not that humid. I have a hydrometer and my house is very dry at 30% humidity (yes we need lotion it is so dry) so I am thinking that maybe the water is coming in through the air inlet that goes to the outside, but it would need to be sitting in a bucket of water to pump that much out.
So any ideas where all this water can be coming from.
I have a new gas line installed and a new gas furnace in place 6 months ago. I also have central air installed. There is no floor drain or any drain accessible so there is a condensate pump installed on the side of the furnace so that any water pulled from the AC in the summer just gets pumped to the outside. There is no humidifier on the furnace and there is no plumbing pipe even on this side of the house.
The problem is that with it being winter, my condensate hose is frozen on the outside of the house. But this should not be a problem cause I am not using the central air during the winter so there is no humid air to be removing water from. But there was a puddle on the floor from the pump overflowing. I got a length of hose and sutck on end on the pump and the other end in a 5 gallon bucket and turned the pump back on. Well I am getting about a gallon of water every 4 hours. I have no idea where this water is coming from. It is not coming from my plumbing or anythign like that. I had the gas company come out to the house today and they are saying that there is no water in the gas line. The though was if there was a crack in the main gas pipe and a main water pipe out at the street that I would get water into the gas line and into the pump. this is not the case according to the gas company. They said I would need a repair call to have the furnace checked and repaired.
So my brand new furnace is churning out water on its own from out of no where. I even though that maybe my house was really humid and the Centra air was mysteriously removing the ware. But the hosue is not that humid. I have a hydrometer and my house is very dry at 30% humidity (yes we need lotion it is so dry) so I am thinking that maybe the water is coming in through the air inlet that goes to the outside, but it would need to be sitting in a bucket of water to pump that much out.
So any ideas where all this water can be coming from.
Jay11J
02-19-07, 10:24 AM
I am taking it you have a 90% furnace that uses two sets of PVC for exhaust going out the side of the home?
This is normal for a 90% furance.. You have two heat exchanger..
1-Main heat exchanger.
2-Secondary heat exchanger.
The secondary heat exchanger is pulling the "last drop" of heat out of your exhaust.. Since it's doing it's job of that, the exhaust temp drops lower to the condestiong temp of the exhuast, and water is produced. so this ins normal and it's all going on inside the furnace itself.
The installing dealer should of know better not to put the pump outside in the winter.. An Ice Rink waiting to happen and also what you just had going on.
Move that drain over to your laundry tub or washer dischange pipe or wherever your water softner is going to.
This is normal for a 90% furance.. You have two heat exchanger..
1-Main heat exchanger.
2-Secondary heat exchanger.
The secondary heat exchanger is pulling the "last drop" of heat out of your exhaust.. Since it's doing it's job of that, the exhaust temp drops lower to the condestiong temp of the exhuast, and water is produced. so this ins normal and it's all going on inside the furnace itself.
The installing dealer should of know better not to put the pump outside in the winter.. An Ice Rink waiting to happen and also what you just had going on.
Move that drain over to your laundry tub or washer dischange pipe or wherever your water softner is going to.
Dim Bulb
02-19-07, 11:06 AM
I have a Rheem upflow furnace and it has an A.F.L.U.E of 94.2%
I have to figure something out then for the water. I have no floor drain in the basement. I have no main drain visible at all in this house. The house was built in 1905 and all the plumbing is on teh other side of the house. But the laundry is upstairs and anything else is upstairs. I believe the main drain actually ends on that first floor and is run through an exterior wall 9the back wall of the house) cause all plumbing appliances are against or very close (within a few feet) of this wall.
So when no drain or access to the drain is available, what should I do? continue filling 5 gallon buckets and emptying them in the morning and at night? I was thinking of. I will be redoing one of my bathrooms this spring and redoing the plubming going to it to give better flow and I can run the hose from teh condensate pump over to the bathroom and put in a T on the sink drain and use that? And just make do until then. It would be about a 25 foot run from pump to drain.
I have to figure something out then for the water. I have no floor drain in the basement. I have no main drain visible at all in this house. The house was built in 1905 and all the plumbing is on teh other side of the house. But the laundry is upstairs and anything else is upstairs. I believe the main drain actually ends on that first floor and is run through an exterior wall 9the back wall of the house) cause all plumbing appliances are against or very close (within a few feet) of this wall.
So when no drain or access to the drain is available, what should I do? continue filling 5 gallon buckets and emptying them in the morning and at night? I was thinking of. I will be redoing one of my bathrooms this spring and redoing the plubming going to it to give better flow and I can run the hose from teh condensate pump over to the bathroom and put in a T on the sink drain and use that? And just make do until then. It would be about a 25 foot run from pump to drain.
Dim Bulb
02-19-07, 11:11 AM
oh and about the two heat exchanger.
I only have 2 outlets from the top front of the furnace. Both are 2 inch and plastic PVC and exit the home. One I though was the intake and the other one was the exhaust.
I will get the PDF spec sheet on the furnace
I only have 2 outlets from the top front of the furnace. Both are 2 inch and plastic PVC and exit the home. One I though was the intake and the other one was the exhaust.
I will get the PDF spec sheet on the furnace
Dim Bulb
02-19-07, 11:20 AM
yes there is a primary and secondary heat exchanger and yes it is 90% efficent and it is a 2 stage.
The model number is RGRK12ERAJS and the spec sheet can be found here
http://www.rheemac.com/products/ProductInfo.aspx?XSL_File=rheemac_product_profile.xsl&Market=Residential&SectionVar=Heating&Category=Gas%20Furnaces&SpecificModel=RGRK
There is only 1 inlet and 1 outlet
If you need more info let me know and I can provide it
The model number is RGRK12ERAJS and the spec sheet can be found here
http://www.rheemac.com/products/ProductInfo.aspx?XSL_File=rheemac_product_profile.xsl&Market=Residential&SectionVar=Heating&Category=Gas%20Furnaces&SpecificModel=RGRK
There is only 1 inlet and 1 outlet
If you need more info let me know and I can provide it
DaVeBoy
02-19-07, 04:08 PM
Condenstate pumps are made for the discharging of the furnace condensate water out of the sump of the condensate pump and can pushed a long way through tubing...way over to a laundry tub. I just replaced a broken check valve in a condensate pump whose discharge line ran up to the ceiling of the basemsnt (about 7 1/2 feet up)...then ran about 30 feet over to the laundry tub, and then down. Works fine. The check valve is a little plastic ball inside the plastic discharge nipple. These are sstandard and replaceable 1/2 X 3/8ths.