Avoid HVAC Related WATER DAMAGE (wiring safety switches)

[@econolodge5558]

Excellent video mike,well explained, Thank you Gary

[@elgkas9928]

Another great video. You keep hitting them out of the park!

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

I try

[@Technichian462]

Can’t find anything labeld ‘R’ in my air handler. Found the circuit board. But nothing labled like that. Would it be called anything else? Like… XFMR-R XFMR-C Those two do nothing to the AC unit when disconnected. Still runs.

[@angeli662]

If you only added an HVAC with a zoning system in this video. Thanks, it's a great video anyway.

[@repairitdontwreckit4257]

Excellent video. I like the uncluttered explanation to the point. Also describing all the options allows us viewers to make decisions for the different scenarios. Thanks.

[@briancarlisi2224]

Excellent video with well explained wiring! I personally always break red as I want the T-stat to go blank whereby the customer will call so we can clean out the condensate line, both in summer & winter, particularly during deep freezes when the condensation line exiting the structure can freeze backing up the condensation.

[@bruderbro907]

Thank you for making this! Just exactly the info needed. 😎

[@studyallthetimeallthetime8473]

I got stuck in an attic 7p.m. on a Friday in AZ because NO One explained this to me properly. I eventually figured it out. I also see the pure logic in the correct way to do it. Thank you sir!

[@get2it7]

I just saw a video that breaking Y would cause the fan to stay on squirting the water everywhere

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

If the fan is blowing water everywhere the float switch probably isn't installed correctly.

[@ching-yi2007]

I have a Little Giant condensate pump and the company told me that it makes a difference which of the two wires coming out of Little Giant condensate pumps are attached to the air handler and the thermostat. One wire is for COM and the other is NO. From your video, it doesn't seemed to make a difference, which of the two wires are hooked up to the Air Handler vs Thermostat. Is that right? Thank you!

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

It's never made a difference for me unless you have other wires or terminals for an audio alarm or some other feature. But if it's labeled, might as well use them as they are labeled.

[@ching-yi2007]

@@JerseyMikeHVAC Thank you. You make great videos!

[@DeanCook-r7b]

Jersey lol

[@jbroheretoday]

Perfect. Thank you.

[@I_name_All_my_guns]

Thank you

[@bjohn4793]

Good stuff

[@DeanCook-r7b]

Thanks Jesey

[@mathewshoyt1763]

so either R or Y will shutdown the whole system?

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

R will shut down the whole system. Y will only shut down cooling mode.

[@karellfernandez73]

Thanks again.

[@loganpuckett2968]

My current air handler is wired so that the condensate pump and overflow switch are wired in series from the R wire on the mother board of the HVAC unit, when the condensate tray fills up I think the overflow switch is breaking power to the thermostat and condensate pump resulting in the tray being full of water and nothing getting pumped out and the thermostat without power (it’s a smart thermostat without batteries). Maybe the pipes to the condensate pump are clogged but it is not trying to pump out the water at all. Any suggestions? It has worked for a year in this new house and this just became an issue. I shop vac all the water in the tray and the AC kicks on as usual

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

what kind of condensate pump do you have? Typically on high water the 24v circuit will be cut to the stat wired in series like that, but it shouldn't prevent the pump from running at all. Might want to check if you have 110v at the plug the pump is plugged into or if the float is stuck.

[@loganpuckett2968]

@@JerseyMikeHVAC little giant VCMA-15ULS, and I checked the float switch isn’t stuck, and the pump is getting 110V. On the 24V side on the pump, is the pump supposed to turn on when the flow switch breaks connection?

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

@@loganpuckett2968 The pump works entirely off the float. The safety switch on the pump only kills 24v to the stat when the pump is full and will not pump. Basically the pump should work regardless if the 24v circuit is broken on high level or not. The whole point of this set up is to stop making water, not to stop removing it. The pump motor itself may be the issue. Does it pump when full of water?

[@loganpuckett2968]

@@JerseyMikeHVAC the condensate pvc pipe leading to the pump feels empty, I now think that the pipe from the condensate tray to the pump may be clogged. That is why I was wondering what tells the pump to turn on, is it the presence of water at the pump or is it the 24v control wire?

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

@loganpuckett2968 It's the water to the pump that turns it on at a certain level that lifts the float. 24v doesn't control the pump at all, so you're probably right. Plugged PVC drain line.

[@brianmcdermott2430]

Great work, Mike. Thank you.

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

Very welcome

[@wim0104]

awesome! thank you.

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

You're welcome

[@thedude2897]

I have a question and I'm not smart when it comes to this stuff, but I can figure some stuff out. lol I have a Daikin Fit. The company who installed it gave me a really cheap condensate pump. The pump has built in safety switch wires so not hard to figure out where they go to as they are the same. The one I'm looking at getting to replace it has 2 wires and 3 clip spots for it. Alarm (which I assume is for an external alarm), Run and Common. I'm trying to figure out which wire goes where. The float switch I have has 1 wire that goes to a wire nut where the condensate pump is tied into. The other wire from the switch goes to a wire nut then up into the air handler. I dont know how its tied into the board itself. So does the run wire go to the float switch wire or does the common?

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

What's the model of the condensate pump you're looking at?

[@thedude2897]

@JerseyMikeHVAC IQP-120 ClearVue. I actually had that pump on my older unit for years, but the company who put the new system in took it out and didnt even ask if I wanted to keep it.

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

@thedude2897 You should be able to disconnect the 2 wires connecting to the current condensate pump and reconnect them either way to common and run on the new pump. That said, if you want to hook up an external alarm you may need to reconfigure some wiring, because that pump was designed to cut off the cooling wire returning from the thermostat and not all installers install it that way. But for just the safety switch alone the easy two wire switch is all that's needed.

[@thedude2897]

@@JerseyMikeHVAC So the common and run wires don't matter which goes to the switch and air handler? I can just wire them whichever way? I won't bother with an alarm.

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

@thedude2897 it shouldn't matter

Thanks again for this info. I see on U TUBE, that a guy used a EPOXY WELD TO SEAL A LEAK ON A R410A HEAT PUMP system, on the hi side. Is this a good thing to do? And do you know if STAY BRIITE #8 will hold, on an ALREADY SOLDERED JOINT that is leaking, on the high side? I have a leak on my heat pump system, and the joint where the hi press. switch is soldered is leaking. I am thinking of just expoxing it and add some freon and see if that will fix it.

[@JerseyMikeHVAC]

There is an HVAC specific epoxy called Devcon Special F that could work, though I've never used it so can't attest to how well it works. It's expensive, but I wouldn't use any other type of epoxy because of permeability (even if it holds physically).