Important to note that just last week one of the rooftop pvc drain pipes got clogged, causing water to leak onto the drop ceiling, this is the unit over the ryobi shelves.
I wonder if that specially-formed pipe clearing tool is still up there.
houses have both types of drains, but by current code the condensate must drain into a homeâs plumbing system.
in the event of a blockage the drain pan under the home unit drains to the outside - usually an eve.
On our RTUâs I would think that a larger diameter pvc pipe would reduce potential clogging (but contractors are always to cheap to go that extra 10%)
Also, standard pvc is not normally allow on roofs. Most drains are supposed to be made out of copper. I think in the past few years that they have changed the code again. But in keeping of the pan clean there are tablets that you drop in the pans to treat the growth. Otherwise itâs standard mechanical cleaning. There are as well styles of traps with ease of cleaning by having plugs to remove. There are also traps with built in gizmos to make it easier to clean, but I have no personal experience with those said traps. We can also blow the trap out with CO2. Another thing to remember is after cleaning the trap must be primed. If it is not & the unit doesnât shut off the water will build up in the pan if it is a pull through coil.
Most pvc wonât wold up to the UV exposure.
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Yep. Canât tell you how many roofs Iâve been on in north Texas to where the pvc was broken & degraded. Funny thing is that if itâs a really nice building (aesthetics pleasing) likely behind the scenes are just the opposite.
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typical shoddy contractor work - they get paid to do it correctly per the contract but âout of sight / out of mindâ prevails - plus the typical building inspectors are worthless.
Has that unit been checked for proper Freon charge? Low airflow would exacerbate an undercharged systemâs freeze up problem.
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An undercharged system is likely to burn the compressors out. But also is one of the most mis-diagnosed problem. A lot of techs (we will call them that for names sake) will say the system is low on charge because itâs freezing up. They fail to find the root cause due to lack of training, ignorance,laziness & all out crookedness to sell a new unit.
To correctly check a system, all items have to be as close to design conditions as possible. Then can you deem a unit to be low, overcharged, malfunctioning metering device, or a compressor going bad.
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Any time I have changed any of the filters, they have been way too plugged up. After a few days they are always dirty enoug to be the first choice culprit.
Re: clogged filters. Would some type of pre-filter on the Woodshop returns help? Or is it just a matter of changing the current filters more often?
Regardless of the dust collection system, much of what gets cut, aerosols. The Jet air filters are great, but how many would we need to properly filter the airborn junk? Assuming the filters on those get changed/cleaned regularly 
Iâve vacuumed those many times to hopefully help, but does it? Do I need to be changing those filters instead of cleaning them?
Another side note is that the return for the RTUâs is in the woodshop. That doesnât help matters at all. In all reality it should be moved to allow more of the dust to settle.
Moving the return elsewhere allows dust to settle in other rooms. Have you seen what just the occasional propped open doors have done to the computers for laser?
Yes but at the same token, itâs easier to clean dust that ends up on the floor than dust that ends up in the evaporator coil. There is also wood working/cutting being done in the workshop area but the dust is not as bad or frequent. We can make a thru plenum with filter. The only kicker is if itâs a fire wall( which I believe it is not). We can also add filter media to pre-filter the current set up. The fact is that we need to get the dust under control or the life expectancy of the unit will be cut in half. I canât speak for our land lord or the contract but if what we are doing shortens the life expectancy of the unit & that unit takes a crap early. We are likely going to have to flip the bill. Just think 10-20k, I donât remember the size of our unit to get a better estimate on cost.