Water from my furnace

fastback4

I had to move the pvc water drain line coming from my furnace that goes outside the house because it created a small ice ring and became slippery. I have that line and also a humidfier line that that i had to move indoors. I have them both draining into a bucket that i empty out often. My question: Where does the water from the furnace come from and why does it appear only when the furnace comes on. I know there is a water line tap for the humidifier. I have a TempStar furnace about 3 years old...Thanks and happy 2013.....

qbert

You have a condensing furnace, water is creating from the combustion process. They should never be drained outdoors due to freezing.It should go to a floor drain or a condensate pump to a laundry tub or proper drain stub.

fastback4

Ok. I will redirect the pvc drain line to a drain in the basement floor. This Tempstar furnace has a electric vent motor that starts to run before the gas and flame come on. It vents to a 3" pvc line up the chimmney to a T at the chimney cap. If this 3" pvc line is a natural vent upwards how come i need the fan on? Can i eliminate this fan running and let the natural venting happen?

kirwinjd

Although the exhaust gases are venting vertically outside the furnace, inside the furnace the gases are drawn by the inducer motor through an "S" configuration in the heat exchanger which keeps the hot vent gases in the exchanger much longer than it would if the gases were to vent straight up and out the furnace vent pipe.
In other words, the vent gases are actually traveling mostly horizontally through the heat exchanger. The inducer motor maintains a constant draft so the flames do not smother. By the time the vent gases exit the furnace, the temperature of the vent gases have dropped so much that they actual condensate water.

kirwinjd

Eliminating the inducer fan? That would be a no. It's there for the reason as explained in my previous post. If the inducer motor is not running, the pressure switch won't close which allows the gas valve to open up. There are also flame roll out switches located in the burner assembly which would sense the flames rolling out due to lack of proper venting and shut the furnace down

fastback4

Thank you...I now understand the mechanics of this furnace and will only redirect the water drain line....

carmon

that is a very good idea.... you certainly should not alter the furnace operation.... it could be very dangerous.......