Condensate Pump Drain Line Frozen

Today a plumber figured out that my heater is 90 efficient produces lots of condensate and the drain line had frozen.

Condensate pump drain line frozen.

Just saw off the portion of the line that is frozen. You can unscrew that float unit and put a bucket there to drain the condensate until the line thaws. Shortening the drain pipe to give water less space in which to freeze can also be effective. Water will back up but instead of triggering the furnace shut off it overflows through the new t fitting into the condensate pump and voila.

How to prevent frozen condensate drain lines. If you already have a frozen condensate line this is an easy fix. During periods of snow verify that snow hasn t risen to the level of the drain line where it can block it and cause further freezing. I added a secondary shutoff if the new pump fails via a float switch.

The vast majority of your condensate line should be inside your home where it s warm. It pumps it out only when the drain line is frozen. The condensate pump will only come on if the outside gravity line freezes. We went outside and saw the drain line was about 2 feet long of 2 pvc mounted vertically about 6 inches off the ground.

The best way to stop condensate drain line freeze is to use weather proof sleeves placed around the drain.