# A/C drain connected to lav sink



## antiCon

ive been a plumber for over 15 years, moved to Houston, TX area a few years ago. Ive seen some strange plumbing in my life, however here in Texas i found it is CODE: to run the A/C condensation drain line to the Lavatory sink drain just above the trap... problem is with all the algae buildup in the trap arm is causing sinks to overflow when the homeowners are not home. Question is: has any other plumbers in TX seen this problem and/or have a different way of tying the a/c drain into the sanitary sewer where sewer gas can not get into the A/C unit? other plumbers i have talked to say "run the drain to the outside" but in TX this is not code due to the soil and foundation problems as well as the mosquito problem..


----------



## ILPlumber

Mine goes to my dogs water bowl.problem solved.......

Nobody cares that this was sent from my droid using. Plumbing Zone


----------



## Titan Plumbing

We like an introduction to start things off.

I have only run across a lav overflowing once due to the condensate stopping up the drain.

Around these parts, you can in fact run the primary outside.


----------



## Epox

Another problem is the trickle sound that can sometimes be annoying to customers not to mention a tight fit for the plumbers to get that tied in. I always tried to run a drain or a condensate pump it wherever I can. On a new home with unit in attic I'd sometimes run a drain with trap and primer. But even that has it's downsides.


----------



## affordabledrain

can we get an intro


----------



## TallCoolOne

In my parts this is standard installation. Just tell homeowner when they change the filter to pour some bleach down the condesation line, and keep some bleach in the p trap.

I have seen them run them into the waste and overflow also....


----------



## billy_awesome

If you ask me it should be in-direct.......


----------



## easttexasplumb

It legal to dump the water on the ground.

*Article 111.706*

Condensate water going to the outside of dwelling must have a gravel bed at least 9 feet deep. Said gravel must not contain more than 10 gray peices, and none shall be flat. The flat pieces must be used to skip across a body of water. The gravel must be no larger than a common field mouse and must be dug up during a drought.


----------



## TallCoolOne

billy_awesome said:


> If you ask me it should be in-direct.......


Be kinda hard in average house in my area, next to impossible....


----------



## PinkPlumber

Really? No running it outside???...fine...I'd connect it to a freaking downspout then....just to be snarky.


----------



## affordabledrain

it is acceptable to our local inspectors to run it to the outside. even on new construction


----------



## RealCraftsMan

Its money to me in H town. Do about five a week at $225....they overflow the lavs all the time! We do em all summer...


----------



## Tommy plumber

All A/C condensate drain lines are terminated outside; around here, at least. This one in picture I installed under the slab. Customer wanted a gravity drain instead of a condensate pump which malfunctioned one day.


----------



## victoryplbaz

It was ok here at one time to run it to the sink. Not sure but seems that we got away from doing it because of the flooding. Still some commerical building done that way.. I always thought it was stupid.


----------



## affordabledrain

here they will pipe it with the pump straight outside. Rtu will be piped to just flow right onto the roof


----------



## PinkPlumber

I'd hit that drain with the mower.....kinda like I chopped up my well vent pipe the other day...


----------



## affordabledrain

PinkPlumber said:


> I'd hit that drain with the mower.....kinda like I chopped up my well vent pipe the other day...


weed wacker?


----------



## PinkPlumber

affordabledrain said:


> weed wacker?



Oh nooooo......I took it out with the Cub Cadet....looked up and saw it coming.....and then just ran over it....brain fart or something....but then it was so stupid I couldn't stop laughing...:yes:


----------



## affordabledrain

man making more work for your self


----------



## PinkPlumber

affordabledrain said:


> man making more work for your self



Naw.....took 5 minutes to replace.


----------



## affordabledrain

five minutes of cutting in to my drinking time


----------



## billy_awesome

TallCoolOne said:


> Be kinda hard in average house in my area, next to impossible....


I guess, I've been on too many commercial jobs where there is a slop sink nearby!

I would hope there is a laundry sink in the basement, or usually when I do an residential underground I stub a 1.5" stand pipe from the floor drain up near the furnace for all my condensates.


----------



## pilot light

PinkPlumber said:


> I'd hit that drain with the mower.....kinda like I chopped up my well vent pipe the other day...


 At least they should have painted it a different color! ....! :laughing:


----------



## Pinnacle

tap into the floor drain above the weir? or run it along the concrete to the floor drain?


----------



## TallCoolOne

billy_awesome said:


> I guess, I've been on too many commercial jobs where there is a slop sink nearby!
> 
> I would hope there is a laundry sink in the basement, or usually when I do an residential underground I stub a 1.5" stand pipe from the floor drain up near the furnace for all my condensates.


Basement eqauals snow here. Not in the picture.......


----------



## antiCon

RealCraftsMan said:


> Its money to me in H town. Do about five a week at $225....they overflow the lavs all the time! We do em all summer...


 lol thats what we charge also :thumbup:


----------



## SSalter

ILPlumber said:


> Mine goes to my dogs water bowl.problem solved.......
> 
> Nobody cares that this was sent from my droid using. Plumbing Zone


Great idea!! But is condensate healthy for animals? I have three dogs this would be a wonderful use of the water that keeps my yard muddy right now


----------



## Don The Plumber

RealCraftsMan said:


> Its money to me in H town. Do about five a week at $225....they overflow the lavs all the time! We do em all summer...


Why do the lavs overflow from condensate water? Are the drains that slow? Wouldn't it be easier to clean out the lav drains, or am I missing something here? Even a condensate pump should not overflow a lav drain. 

I find it amazing, even at this time in brand new houses, that there is no requirement for a floor drain, or a hub drain, next to a furnace.


----------



## TallCoolOne

Don The Plumber said:


> Why do the lavs overflow from condensate water? Are the drains that slow? Wouldn't it be easier to clean out the lav drains, or am I missing something here? Even a condensate pump should not overflow a lav drain.
> 
> I find it amazing, even at this time in brand new houses, that there is no requirement for a floor drain, or a hub drain, next to a furnace.


I think it backs up to to little fall, they tend to back up most when you first starting using air con around May, and now it June (107 temps) and the air con is running 24/7.

No floor drains in my area, Cant tie into furnace no drain for them here, only overlflow of air con, Hub drain would be a bad plan in case the pipe got out of line with the aircon drain then it would flood the house.

Our Aircons and water heaters are in the attic, which would be the 3rd story of most houses.....


----------



## antiCon

It's code here to run the AC lines into a lavatory sink it's illegal to run outside problem is when algae builds up in the P-trap and the AC is still running in the sink...sink is clogged and overflows


----------



## justme

if its in a house you could always run it to the tub


----------



## plbgbiz

Used to get these all the time from Wolverine. It is a pretty common setup in some of the condos around here.


----------



## Don The Plumber

TallCoolOne said:


> I think it backs up to to little fall, they tend to back up most when you first starting using air con around May, and now it June (107 temps) and the air con is running 24/7.
> 
> No floor drains in my area, Cant tie into furnace no drain for them here, only overlflow of air con, Hub drain would be a bad plan in case the pipe got out of line with the aircon drain then it would flood the house.
> 
> Our Aircons and water heaters are in the attic, which would be the 3rd story of most houses.....


Why no floor drains?
Why no hub drains? Can't you use an air gap fitting if your worried about it getting out of line? Or secure it properly? I know its gotta be a PITA with all that stuff being in attics. 99% basements or crawl space here. And not much mechanical in attics, due to freezing.


----------



## TallCoolOne

Don The Plumber said:


> Why no floor drains?


We don't have floor drains here.

Only on commercial and industrial here.....


----------



## ZL700

*Heres how you clean them*

No need to even pull the lever or PO. With spring on end and length, you can brush right past wall Ell/TY. I can do all my 6 lavs and attic AC P-traps in 5 minutes.


----------



## Will

justme said:


> if its in a house you could always run it to the tub


Where do you find those at? Would come in handy on some jobs.


----------



## PLUMBER_BILL

plbgbiz said:


> Used to get these all the time from Wolverine. It is a pretty common setup in some of the condos around here.


The Wolverine 50788 is 1-1/2 ... The OP stated lavatory drain.

Does WB make those in 1-1/4 ?


----------



## plbgbiz

PLUMBER_BILL said:


> The Wolverine 50788 is 1-1/2 ... The OP stated lavatory drain.
> 
> Does WB make those in 1-1/4 ?


Pretty sure they were Bill. But it's been about 15 years. Memory may be failing me.


----------



## Gettinit

PLUMBER_BILL said:


> The Wolverine 50788 is 1-1/2 ... The OP stated lavatory drain.
> 
> Does WB make those in 1-1/4 ?


They do not.


----------

