Quality Heat Pump Repair Halted the Continued Flooding of a Basement in Kingsport, TN

We received a call from an existing customer in Kingsport, TN in need of a heat pump repair. He stated that their basement was flooding and that the water appeared to be coming from their indoor HVAC unit. When we arrived we removed the cap from the auxiliary drain opening cleanout and noticed that the pipe was completely full of water. We removed the 2 larger panels from the indoor HVAC unit and loosened the small panel so we would have access to the main drain line.

There wasn't a cleanout before the p-trap on this unit so we didn't have easy access to the p-trap for snaking or cleaning. The unit did not have any float switches, an emergency drain pan with a float switch, or even a wet switch to keep the flooding of the basement from ever happening in the first place. Water protection devices are so important on indoor HVAC equipment and a unit should never be installed without multiple water protection devices.

Once the panels came off we noticed that the drain pan for the indoor coil was completely full and had been overflowing down through the return plenum and into the basement floor. There was lots of rust inside the indoor unit and the condition of the indoor unit was not good. We removed the condensate pump from its mounting position and removed the drain line from the pump. We put a shop vac on the drain line with a special attachment that we made for servicing HVAC drain lines. At first startup the pump struggled to pull the clog out, but it was able to overcome the clog. We ran the shop vac for several minutes to clear the pan and drain line completely. We vacuumed the debris from the indoor coil pan as well.

We opened up the condensate pump and it was full of debris, zoogleal, and rust from the indoor unit. We vacuumed the pump clear and wiped the debris from inside the pump. We ran 1 gallon of a foaming drain cleaner down the drain line and into the condensate pump. We allowed the cleaner to work and help to diminish anything left in the drain line as well as the discharge line of the condensate pump. Then, we ran 2 gallons of clean water down the drain line and into the pump to help flush the lines and to remove the foaming drain cleaner from the lines as well. We confirmed that the condensate pump was discharging the water to the outside and that the water that was flowing outside was clean water.

We put the unit back together and restored cooling to this home. We offered to further check the unit out by hooking up probes to the unit and the customer declined. We also offered water safety devices so that the basement did not flood in the future, but the customer declined that service as well. We are not pushy salesmen and will only perform the necessary tasks to get your unit back up and running again. We present the facts so that you can make an informed decision on the route you would like to take. If you are inside our service area of Northeast Tennessee and are in need of a heat pump repair, please feel free to reach out to Magnolia Services based out of Johnson City, TN. Stay safe and best wishes.

Location: Kingsport, TN