Let the cooling season begin
Last summer I noticed water on the floor next to the furnace - a sure sign the drip pan for the air conditioner unit had developed a leak. In November, after the cooling season had ended, I opened up the hood and indeed there was a lot of rust in the bottom of the pan. Calling the heating & cooling company which installed it 20 years ago brought some shocking news -- it would be $300 just to purchase the sheetmetal pan! "Now", the manager said, "It is very hard to replace just the drip pan, it is likely the A-coil will get damaged in the process. The a-coils they sell nowdays are more efficient and run at higher pressures. Although compatible, this will put additional load on the compressor outside, and given its age, may cause it to fail." So to replace one leaky piece of metal I would have to spend some $3,000 to replace the whole air conditioner. Now you know that I have trouble replacing somthing which still functions properly just because something is inconvienent. I thought about a fix over the winter.
The usual materials I would use to fix a leak - epoxy, fiberglass, plastic, tar would not work. Actually they would work, but when I turned the furnace on in the winter I suspected those materials would melt, catch on fire or off-gas something nasty. By the way, the drip pan is galvanized sheet metal which I cannot weld -- the zinc in the coating prevents this.
I spent $18 to purchase some heavy sheet metal (almost 1/8" thick), and using the bandsaw cut the pieces, the box brake to bend the metal (which was very hard since this was really too thick to bend) and of course, the welder to stitch it together.
The new and the old drip pan. (Sorry about the sideways picture) After cleaning the old pan up to make measurements, the extend of the rust damage became clear.
The drip pan during re-installation in the furnace hood. The A-coil was not removed from the hood, I put some boards up inside the ductwork and using small rope, lifted/suspended the coils in place while the pan was being fabricated. Fortunately none of the lines broke and the system stayed presurized. The house is cooler and much less humid again!
The usual materials I would use to fix a leak - epoxy, fiberglass, plastic, tar would not work. Actually they would work, but when I turned the furnace on in the winter I suspected those materials would melt, catch on fire or off-gas something nasty. By the way, the drip pan is galvanized sheet metal which I cannot weld -- the zinc in the coating prevents this.
I spent $18 to purchase some heavy sheet metal (almost 1/8" thick), and using the bandsaw cut the pieces, the box brake to bend the metal (which was very hard since this was really too thick to bend) and of course, the welder to stitch it together.
The new and the old drip pan. (Sorry about the sideways picture) After cleaning the old pan up to make measurements, the extend of the rust damage became clear.
The drip pan during re-installation in the furnace hood. The A-coil was not removed from the hood, I put some boards up inside the ductwork and using small rope, lifted/suspended the coils in place while the pan was being fabricated. Fortunately none of the lines broke and the system stayed presurized. The house is cooler and much less humid again!
posted by Denis at
9:38 AM
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