Deep Freeze Issues, Part Two

We found a stopgap approach to yesterday’s condensate overflow issue: we’ve been catching the overflow with a series of rags, replacing them every 4-5 hours. It’s mostly worked, as the amount of condensate seems not to be too dramatic.

Not a sustainable fix, but enough to get us through the next few cold days, we think.

We stopped off at Home Depot, to get some 1″ tubing, in case we needed to create a makeshift spigot. This would involve us cutting the PVC (something we’re reluctant to do, but would do as a last resort).

As long as we made these cuts below the main condensate line coming from the furnace… it would work. But I was wary to do anything so drastic, unless we really had to.

In the basement, I went with a different tack: warm up the PVC pipes along the North wall, and try to get them away from the wall if possible.

OSCA, look away. Just… don’t look.

There were several lengths of PVC that felt super cold, so I had a portable heater applying a low and steady amount of heat… hoping it would thaw things out.

Annoyingly, I did this for several days… and saw no change in the backed up condensate. Very frustrating, because I have no idea where this thing is plugged up.

I was able to remove a few clamps that were holding the PVC tight against the wall. This gave me a slight bit of wiggle room, allowing me to pull the PVC slightly away from the wall.

I was careful not to pull too hard, for fear of snapping the PVC. But I was able to get a bit of space… and filled it with some insulation. Kind of made a makeshift blanket in parts.

Also stuffed in insulation where I could, to minimize the drafts coming in from the joist spaces above.

Despite all this – the condensate line was still stuck and overflowing upstairs.

Related:
Deep Freeze Issues, Part One

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