Clogged AC drain

Factual Questions
1

We have an air handler in the attic. I was in the basement and notice water dripping from a pipe marked attic overflow. I run up to the attic and the drain pan the air handler sits on is filled. Back to the basement. The terminal end of the primary drain is open, in fact it connects to a second air handler in the basement, and there is no problem with that one, so the problem is in the attic. I notice there is water leaking from around where the drain attaches to the part of the AC with the coils. There is also a little red plug next to it. Both are attached to the same fixture. I pull the plug, water starts coming out, I stick it back in. Water is still leaking around primary drain. I turn off the AC with the on/off switch next to it, mainly because we have three air conditioners and five zones, and I don’t know which thermostat to touch.

I can’t figure out how to disconnect the primary drain from where it attaches to the air handler. I see no nut, just some black stuff that I assume is a seal of some sort. The aluminum is wrapped in insulation, which i did not remove, so maybe the secret is under there somewhere.

There is already an enlarging water stain in the ceiling of my daughters bedroom. I had thought it was from the roof, because just last week I checked the AC pan and it was bone dry.

Anyway, how can I get to the drain to try to clear it, or given that it is above living spaces would I be better off just paying for the HVAC people to come out so I know it is being fixed correctly?

2

The primary evaporator drain seems to be blocked, from your description. When that doesn’t function, the exterior drain pan, with its own drain line, protects your real estate.

If the condensate drain line doesn’t have a break (union or slip/hose fitting), you’ll need to create one, so the blockage can be investigated/corrected.

Once you’ve solved the initial problem, research the drain pan leakage. The water stain indicates the pan isn’t performing properly. Pans should also drain to an observable location, thusly making you aware of a problem with the primary condensate drain.

3

The auxillary drain is in a semi-observable location. It ends about two feet above the hot water heater, very close a floor drain. It was the dripping of water into the the pan around the hotwater heater that alerted me. I was luck, I don’t go into the basement often.

Unfortunately, the condesate drain line does not seem to have a break. I guess I will have to create one.

The secondary drain pain seems intact. Water was leaking AROUND the evaporator pan drain, and from there, some follwed lines and such and dripped down past the pan, or that is how it appears so far.