Any HVAC Experts in the House?

[rnatalli]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a 3-ton Carrier Air Handler (FB4CNF) which was installed a few years back when our house was built. The drain pan has leaked several times already and it seems every season I'm chasing down a leak. It's definitely in the condensate pan which is just below the AC coil. Rather than having to weed through another half dozen incompetent techs and hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars before finding someone who knows what they're doing, I plan to simply replace the entire pan myself. My problem is I can't seem to find a part number for this $100 piece of plastic and Carrier won't provide it; they keep telling me, use an authorized tech, blah, blah, blah. Really annoys me as Carrier was cheap by not using a brass ring in the drain so it was likely cracked when they installed the PVC pipe. Any idea where I can find a part number for this thing?

 

[its phillip]

I don't know all the terminology about HVAC stuff either but I recently replaced the secondary drain pan underneath my unit in the attic (I think I also have a carrier). I couldn't find the part number either so I just measured it and tried to find a replacement online. I failed at that too so I paid one of my coworkers to make me one and rubber coat it. He didn't predrill the mounting holes though. That was annoying.

My pan was in super bad shape. The new one should last a long time

 

[Rickster71]

You may have already checked this site:
Carrier Air Handler Parts In Stock | Same Day Shipping from RepairClinic.com
Just in case you haven't.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me. I have a 3-ton Carrier Air Handler (FB4CNF) which was installed a few years back when our house was built. The drain pan has leaked several times already and it seems every season I'm chasing down a leak. It's definitely in the condensate pan which is just below the AC coil. Rather than having to weed through another half dozen incompetent techs and hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars before finding someone who knows what they're doing, I plan to simply replace the entire pan myself. My problem is I can't seem to find a part number for this $100 piece of plastic and Carrier won't provide it; they keep telling me, use an authorized tech, blah, blah, blah. Really annoys me as Carrier was cheap by not using a brass ring in the drain so it was likely cracked when they installed the PVC pipe. Any idea where I can find a part number for this thing?

What type of unit is that? Is it just AC, or is it a natural gas furnace plus AC? Either way, Carrier can not provide parts to you. It is illegal for someone not certified to touch an AC unit or a gas appliance. You need certification for both. An owner is limited to changing the filter and that's about it. Sounds like that furnace has a design problem. Are you sure the drain piping is not plugged? That is a common problem.

Be careful, a Twin Cities home owner did a repair on his furnace and it blew up killing a neighbor. He is now serving a long sentence for involuntary homicide. It might not even be you faulty if you touch it and it blows up, but you likely will still go to jail.

I never take the risk of servicing or repairing anything the law requires you to have a license for. I will pretty much touch everything else.

 

[its phillip]

And yes make sure you clear your drain lines like TLS guy said. The reason why my pan got so rusty is because my primary line was clogged for like 10 years. After clearing the blockage and replacing the pan a few months ago, I haven't even had any water in the pan since the primary line is draining fine

 

[rnatalli]

Sorry, think I used the wrong terminology. I'm looking for the pan that captures water coming off the coil. The drain is definitely clear, it's just hairline cracks that keep popping up. As for exploding, my furnace is all electric so won't explode like a gas one.

 

[Rickster71]

PM sent about condensate trough.

 

[rnatalli]

Dang, seems Carrier part numbers are impossible to come by

 

[Nestor]

What type of unit is that? Is it just AC, or is it a natural gas furnace plus AC? Either way, Carrier can not provide parts to you. It is illegal for someone not certified to touch an AC unit or a gas appliance. You need certification for both. An owner is limited to changing the filter and that's about it. Sounds like that furnace has a design problem. Are you sure the drain piping is not plugged? That is a common problem.

Be careful, a Twin Cities home owner did a repair on his furnace and it blew up killing a neighbor. He is now serving a long sentence for involuntary homicide. It might not even be you faulty if you touch it and it blows up, but you likely will still go to jail.

I never take the risk of servicing or repairing anything the law requires you to have a license for. I will pretty much touch everything else.

I changed the condenser fan on my central air last summer. I purchased the motor from a local authorized dealer with no issues.

I've been on the lam ever since.


Sent from my stupid iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rickster71]

I changed the condenser fan on my central air last summer. I purchased the motor from a local authorized dealer with no issues.

I've been in the lamb ever since.

You probably mean 'on' the lam.
Either that, or you and Adam are spending the weekend at a ranch or farm.

 

[Adam]

You probably mean 'on' the lam.
Either that, or you and Adam are spending the weekend at a ranch or farm.

Not the way that I thought I'd get mentioned in this thread...

 

[ImcLoud]

Do yourself a favor and take your pan out, then bring it to your local sheet metal shop and get a metal one fabricated, I charge $80 {and I am expensive} to make a custom pan and if you bring yours in you should be able to wait for it or pick it up the next day, literally 15 minutes of work and $9 of metal...

Also not sure which unit you have but some units have 2 pans in them already, since they can be mounted in different positions, the other pan will be on the side of the coil, sometimes it is the same pan for both horiz and vert installs and you can just move it to the position you need, this may not apply but some units are made this way and I have done this before, just flip it around to the non cracked side and call it a day.

BUT your best bet is to have a metal pan made, get it home and coat it with a decent finish {por makes some nice stuff}, then plumb it in and never worry about it again...

Another option is to plastic weld your pan or epoxy it up, I had a customer that had a pan that froze, but how the unit was installed you could not remove the pan with out removing the unit {lots of labor--- recover refrigerant, cut lines, remove plenoms, rebraze lines, re vac system, reattach, charge, ect..} so I could see the crack and used some plastic jb weld type epoxy {made by devcon, nice stuff} to fix it and its been leak free for 3 or 4 years now...

good luck, hope this helps..

 

[Rickster71]

Not the way that I thought I'd get mentioned in this thread...

If it helps.
I'm pretty sure the ranch is air conditioned with a functioning condensate pan.

 

[Nestor]

You probably mean 'on' the lam.
Either that, or you and Adam are spending the weekend at a ranch or farm.

Autocorrect will be the downfall of society.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Do yourself a favor and take your pan out, then bring it to your local sheet metal shop and get a metal one fabricated, I charge $80 {and I am expensive} to make a custom pan and if you bring yours in you should be able to wait for it or pick it up the next day, literally 15 minutes of work and $9 of metal...

Also not sure which unit you have but some units have 2 pans in them already, since they can be mounted in different positions, the other pan will be on the side of the coil, sometimes it is the same pan for both horiz and vert installs and you can just move it to the position you need, this may not apply but some units are made this way and I have done this before, just flip it around to the non cracked side and call it a day.

BUT your best bet is to have a metal pan made, get it home and coat it with a decent finish {por makes some nice stuff}, then plumb it in and never worry about it again...

Another option is to plastic weld your pan or epoxy it up, I had a customer that had a pan that froze, but how the unit was installed you could not remove the pan with out removing the unit {lots of labor--- recover refrigerant, cut lines, remove plenoms, rebraze lines, re vac system, reattach, charge, ect..} so I could see the crack and used some plastic jb weld type epoxy {made by devcon, nice stuff} to fix it and its been leak free for 3 or 4 years now...

good luck, hope this helps..

I was just about to say that Irv is the expert but Adam ran him off the forum........

 

[rnatalli]

Do yourself a favor and take your pan out, then bring it to your local sheet metal shop and get a metal one fabricated, I charge $80 {and I am expensive} to make a custom pan and if you bring yours in you should be able to wait for it or pick it up the next day, literally 15 minutes of work and $9 of metal...

Also not sure which unit you have but some units have 2 pans in them already, since they can be mounted in different positions, the other pan will be on the side of the coil, sometimes it is the same pan for both horiz and vert installs and you can just move it to the position you need, this may not apply but some units are made this way and I have done this before, just flip it around to the non cracked side and call it a day.

BUT your best bet is to have a metal pan made, get it home and coat it with a decent finish {por makes some nice stuff}, then plumb it in and never worry about it again...

Another option is to plastic weld your pan or epoxy it up, I had a customer that had a pan that froze, but how the unit was installed you could not remove the pan with out removing the unit {lots of labor--- recover refrigerant, cut lines, remove plenoms, rebraze lines, re vac system, reattach, charge, ect..} so I could see the crack and used some plastic jb weld type epoxy {made by devcon, nice stuff} to fix it and its been leak free for 3 or 4 years now...

good luck, hope this helps..

Thanks. I did check and there's only one pan and it can't be repositioned because of where the drain is, but it was a good thought that I hadn't considered. I will try using some epoxy again and be more generous than usual.

 

[ImcLoud]

Thanks. I did check and there's only one pan and it can't be repositioned because of where the drain is, but it was a good thought that I hadn't considered. I will try using some epoxy again and be more generous than usual.

I have had good luck with the devcon products, I believe you can get them on amazon...