Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - H2O around base of furnace- from inside?

Hi there- I have an LP forced air furnace- Goodman brand.
THis morning I am noticing some standing H20 at the base of the furnace on the inside. There is a fiberglass insulating panel on the right side of the bottom compartment that is wet from the ground up. On the same side of the furnace is a drain/condesate type of component that has a couple of black flex lines that run into it from the inside compartment, then a CPVC drain that runs from it outside the furnace and down into my floor drain.

I have also noticed a bit of water from the plenum area by way of a plug that is punched into the plenum. There is a white Schedule 30 PVC drain (3/4") that runs from the plenum into the same floor drain. This was just cleaned out, so I do believe it is draining. But why is H20 getting into the plenum. The AC has not run in a couple of months.

Should I replace the drain lines into the floor to make certain that nothing is plugged?

Also- I have a Honeywell humidifier attached to the furnace, and I turn it to 40 during winter/furnace months. Could this be too high and bringing in excess water? I also notice that this filter gets a build up on it rather quickly- like a calcium build up. I change it frequently- but it still reappears quickly.

Finally- we have recently changed our programable thermostat to a standard manual one. My wife likes to just turn the furnace up or down instantly. As a result the furnace often runs all day- if someone goes to work and forgets to turn it down. Same thing with the night time. Could this excess use have anything to do with the water?

As far as I know the water did not come from the ground/basement. But, I will keep a close eye next time it rains just to make certain.

Any troubleshooting ideas on this?

Thanks very much.

Here is a bit more info....

After running the furnace for about 30 minutes, I just went down to find a significant amount of H20 collecting in the plenum. It was draining into the floor drain from the Schedule 30 drain coming from the plenum, and when I removed the drain plug right next to it, the H20 rushed out. There is a 6" duct running from the Humidifier directly into the plenum, so I am thinking this H20 came from the Humidifier. I shut the Humidifier down to 20 or so- from 40 or 50. What is the proper winter setting for Honeywell Humidifier?

Also- On the 6" duct running into the plenum from the humidifier- there is a door/damper right before it enters the plenum. It is a trap door style, with a cord that you either pull down or let up to let the aid/H20 mixture through to the plenum. Should I have this all the way open (like it was) or only 1/2 open, or some where in the middle?

Those are a couple more clues.

Does anyone have any ideas? Could the Honeywell humidifier be shot? It appears to be sending plenty of water- it just seems like I have it working too hard and sending too much.


Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

I'm having a hard time trying to picture how the drain is laid out. Take a photo of your set up, and over all drain.

Sounds like your drain may be plugged.

Humidifier setting for 40% is good. The damper for the bypass should be open all the way to get good air flow over the humidifier pad.

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/Users/Oake/Desktop/DSC03927-1.jpg
/Users/Oake/Desktop/DSC03928.jpg

OK, that did not work. I have three images but I am working on posting them to no avail. Do they need to be hosted online somewhere? Or can I copy and paste- or attach a file to get them posted?

Thanks

you need to upload them to a host site like Yahoo, or imageshack.

http://forum.doityourself.com/electrical-c-d-c/400914-how-put-pictures-your-post.html

May I suggest that you turn the water to the humidifier OFF at least long enough to determine if that is the source of the problem.

I don't mean just the dial that sets the humidity level, I mean closing the saddle valve on the water supply leading to the humidifier completely.

Sure- Actually I just turned off the humidifier dial and that seems to do it. I wonder if I had it up too high. Or possibly the drain is plugged as some have suggested.

Here are links to the pictures, I can't seem to figure out how to get them online other than like this. Hopefully someone can copy and paste the link. THanks very much

http://oake.shutterfly.com/2312

http://oake.shutterfly.com/2313

http://oake.shutterfly.com/2314

I just saw the drain for the Furnace, and A/C. Nothing of the humidifier itself.

Take a photo of that, and step back and get the whole system in the photo.

Here are a couple more. Hopefully this will help. SHould I try to blow out the existing drain lines or replace them?

http://oake.shutterfly.com/2315

http://oake.shutterfly.com/2316

and when I removed the drain plug right next to it, the H20 rushed out.

Ok, sounds like the drain is plugged..

Take a wet/dry shop vac, and suck on the drain line near the floor drain.

OK thanks. The furnace tech just did that, but perhaps there is some more in there. I will suck out both drains.

he also suggested butting a vent T in the drain so that it could vent a bit, and I guess I cold also use that to "snake" it out periodically.

Does that sound right?

yeah, you can add a "T" in there, that way it can vent out if it has to.

Where did he suggest the T to be at?

When was the last time you changed the water panel in the humidifier. Should be replaced annually or it will gum up and not drain properly and make a mess like you describe. Also have seen the plastic supply tubes crack and leak.

The T he suggested should go just left of the trap in the white Schedule 30 3/4 drain.


By Water Panel you mean Filter right? I have changed that recently, and do so about every 3 months as it gets calcium buildup on it which does cause the water to leak out of the humidifier a bit.

I would suggest moving the drain down between the Trap from the A-coil, and floor.

Put a T down there, and leave the top part open to breath.. Otherwise, just run it down to the floor by itself, tha tway you won't have this issue again.