I submit the following to wiser heads than mine on the Maintenance Committee or anyone else who would care to comment, correct, etc.
There has been a lot of talk lately about ways to avoid water leaks, or at least catch them before there is major flooding of apartments. One thing that can help—though it is not a cure-all or infallible—is to keep an eye on those small pipes near the ground that extend out of the sides of some buildings.
The pipes coming out of our 2-story, 35-year-old buildings at Sheffield N carry off water from central air-conditioner air handlers (first floor and second floor) and from overflow pans under water heaters (second floor only). At least that’s what seems to be the case here, our having learned through some trial and error.
If you see such a pipe and it is dripping cold water, that is probably the normal drain water coming from directly from a first-floor or second-floor air handler.
If water is flowing in a fairly steady stream from the pipe, this suggests a problem. If the water is hot, it is probably from a water heater leak in one of the second-floor apartments, more likely one of the apartments near the side of the building where the pipe is located. The water is leaking into a pan under the water heater, and a pipe is carrying the water off to the outside. If you are fortunate, the leak from the tank will not be in excess of what is being carried off—otherwise, the pan will overflow and your damage begins. Take immediate action to remedy the problem.
If, on the other hand, the stream of water from the pipe is cold, it is probably coming from the overflow pan under an air handler in an apartment with central air-conditioning. Check the appropriate upstairs and downstairs apartments. The air handler is usually accessed by a removable panel in the ceiling, although it may be a ceiling in a closet. In normal usage the pan should be dry. If there is water in the pan, there, most likely, is your culprit. If the drain pipe is partially clogged, the pan may overflow causing damage. Shut off the a/c so no more water is produced, then take immediate action as needed to remedy the problem.
Checking these pipes on the outsides of buildings that have them should by no means take the place of any other kind of inspection or checking. Many of our buildings were constructed in a hodge-podge manner. Most of us don’t know with certainty what the pipes connect to. Through some trial and error, we’ve been able to determine this to some extent for our buildings. This is just an ADDED way to keep an eye on things.
Good grief, I've got to amend my own blog already.
ReplyDeleteIf the pipe is dripping cold water, the water COULD be coming from the pan under an air handler. In other words, the regular outlet pipe could have become clogged and the water be taking the secondary route out via the pan and its piping. (These pipe systems may join at some point inside the building so you see only one or two pipes outside the building.) There is no reason I can think of why there would HAVE to be a steady flow (although there was in the one instance of this here, when sure enough, we traced the problem to a pan half full of water).
If you have central air, it pays to have a technician check out the system at least once a year, and preferably twice. Besides changing the filter and checking out the coils, one thing he should do is check out the piping leading from BOTH the handler itself and the pan under it to the outside. To clear them the techs usually use compressed nitrogen gas. The techs I've run into don't think much of the anti-algae pills, by the way.
Thx Lanny. I have had 10 trouble-free years for central air using the anti-algae liquid Line Clear, now called AC Line. Those techs might have a conflict of interest, y'think!
ReplyDeleteI will squint at pipe endings outside but we have sturdy hedges, including a 5’wide bougainvillea hedge.