A customer recently contacted Voltair with a problem. They had noticed water was leaking from their air conditioner’s internal head unit down onto their wall (see picture above).
Our technician carried out a full diagnostic service on the machine—following our 20 point checklist—and found the condense pump was blocked and the main filter to be extremely dirty.
So, what’s the issue?
An air conditioner filter that has not been regularly serviced and cleaned will often lead to dust and dirt accumulating within the drain pan below the internal coil of the air conditioner.
The build-up of dust and dirt restricts the flow of condensation and places a strain on the condense pump, which can lead to the pump burning out and breaking.
This then leads to the condensation water building up within the drain pan of the air conditioner and an overflow of water will leak down the wall.
Why do we install condense pumps?
Condense pumps are sometimes required if the internal head unit of a high wall split or multi-head system is installed on an internal wall within the home.
When the air conditioner is in cooling mode, it produces condensation (water) which needs to be filtered to an external part of the home. When we install a condense pump, this allows the condensation produced from the unit up into the roof space and out to an external drainpipe or area within the home.
How did Voltair address the issue?
In this case, our technician unblocked the filter within the condense pump and cleaned the float switch along with the main filters of the air conditioner.
This cleared the blockages within the drain pan and resolved the issue of water leaking down the front of the air conditioner. Luckily for this customer, the condense pump did not burn out and need to be replaced, as the cost for a replacement pump is quite expensive.
Our recommendation:
Much like your air conditioner’s filters, regular services should be scheduled to inspect your machine’s drain lines. Over time, drains can become blocked up with dust and dirt, causing your drain pan to fill up. When this happens, you might start to see water leaking down your wall which can not only damage the wall, but also your air conditioner.
We recommend an annual service is carried out on the air conditioner before switching it back to heating mode to clear any blockages and ensure the condense pump is functioning as it should.
If you have any questions about your condense pump and would like to schedule a service, please feel free to get in touch and one of our friendly team members will be happy to assist.
