Water in my furnace? - DIY Chatroom

Jonboat · 06-17-2006, 01:37 AM

My wife turned on the AC while I was @ work when I came home she said the house wasn't cooling & when the ac came on it barely blew & would only run a couple of minutes. I went out to look @ compressor & the fan seemed to be working so I went to the furnace & noticed water leaking from around the fan @ the bottom I could also hear water leaking inside the furnace

Anyone have any ideas??? We have a forced air gas furnace ( Magic chef Air ease) the central air is a janitrol also have a humidifier (Aprilaire)on the furnace. I just put 500 into a waterpump for our car now this.... please tell me this isn't going to cost big bucks!!!

redline · 06-17-2006, 10:16 AM

Is the fan (blower) turning inside the furnace?

The water may just be condensation from the a/c. The drain line may be plugged and just needs to be cleaned out.

Jonboat · 06-17-2006, 11:21 AM

I shut the a/c off last night ,I didn't want to take a chance of any further damage. I went down this AM turned it on the blower does work but only for about a minute or two then shuts off it comes back on a couple minutes later barely blowing. I can hear & see the water is coming out of the fan dont seem to be coming out of the hose that runs to a drain. There's a water line with a bigger insulated line running into the furnace that sounds like where the water is coming from. I really appreciate all the help I dont have a clue about these things!!

MAS2006 · 06-17-2006, 12:49 PM

Check your return filter and replace if needed, make sure return is clear. Switch fan from auto to on at thermistat to check blower, some units have two speed blowers. The line from compressor should be warm, the insulated line returns coolant to compressor, cold to touch. AC pulls water from air, hence the drain pan and line. Turn off water supply to humidifier (only need for heating season).

coolmen · 06-18-2006, 11:37 AM

All this water is from when the out side a/c is on and if lets say a VERY dirty filter or bad indoor blower motor does not send air across the evaporater coil.this will freeze over and a block of ice will form.so much ice that it wont just melt back into the drain pan but drip around this and down into the furnace area/motor area.keep in mind that low refrigerant will make it freeze allso.A simple clogged drain may be the source as well.

Jonboat · 06-18-2006, 04:13 PM

When you say the filter, I assume you're not talking about the furnace filter, where would that be located? How can I check for a clogged drain? There doesn't appear to be any water coming out of the hose that goes from the furnace to a drain in the basement. There's an elbow the drain hose is connected to, do I need to remove that & inspect it for a clog? I'm thinking the blower is shutting down because of the water could that be ?

Jonboat · 06-18-2006, 05:34 PM

I just took the elbow off & a 6" X 18" piece of sheet metal to look inside. I couldn't see alot but the bottom ( drip pan?) looks wet & rusty. There was debris ( flakes of rust ) in the elbow but not enough to think it would cause a clog. There was also quite a bit of slimy looking residue in the drain hose. I cleaned both the elbow & hoses ,. I couldn't find the filter other than the furnace filter which looks new.
We ran the A/C several weeks ago noticed water coming out of the blower after some investigating I assummed it was from the Humidifier. I checked owners manual & seen your supposed to turn off water :o ( first time homeowner ,bought the house in Feb. ) supply to the humidifer so I did & it ran good the rest of week then it cooled back off so it 's been a couple weeks since it's been on.
I'm thinking I'll put the elbow& hoses back on then use a hair dryer on the fan to dry up as much water as possible that may be sitting in the bottom of the housing. Do you guys have any other suggestions that I might try before having to call someone?

Jonboat · 06-22-2006, 03:15 PM

Just wanted to Thank you guys for your help it did turn out the blower in the furnace was burned out & did just as you said it didn't blow across the coils causing it to freeze then the water overflowed the drip pan.Thanks alot!