Derrick Cole answers why air filters stay clean and when you need a condensate pump. A filter that never clogs might be too thin, have bypasses, or leaky ducts letting air skip it. Condensate pumps handle about 15 to 22 feet of lift and usually come with just a 1-year warranty.
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Hey, on this episode, we talk about why is my filter always clean and do I need a condensate pump? You ask your comfort and energy questions and they get answered. This is the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Hey, this is Derrick Cole. Welcome to episode 84 of the Ask Derrick Cole Show. Answering our home and energy questions. You always talk about changing filters, but my filter never gets dirty at home. Is that good? Filter never gets dirty. That is not good. You could be having a couple things. One could be the filter you're putting in is so, so terrible. It's so bad, it's so thin that it's catching nothing as it comes through, right? So it's staying clean that way, or it's just bypassing the return altogether and not going to the filter. Now, how's that happening? So what could be going on is with your duct system, you could be losing so much of that is coming through. The duct is breathing from the house. So it doesn't need to get the return because the house or the duct is so leaky that it's coming back to the unit through that method and not through the filter, which is what it's designed to do. The reason you want it going through the filter is because you want that cool, conditioned, clean air coming back to unit, not the dirty, hot under the house and the attic air coming back to the system. Make sense? So one of the big problems is dirt. So dirt is the cause of most breakdowns. And the reason being is because that filter at the point where it's supposed to filter that air before it gets into the unit, it's not doing that. It's not getting to the filter, it's not coming through the filter. Or if it is coming through the filter, the filter is not stopping it from getting through. And that is also a problem. But yes, I've heard that quite a few times. You look at the filter, you're like, oh, it's clean. And then 30 days later, the filter, oh, it's still clean. Okay. After about two or three of those, you're like, wait a minute. There is a bigger problem because the filter is not getting dirty. So either we need to change the type of filter or we're having a problem where the air is not even getting to the filter or the unit because it's going through other paths to get there, which is also a problem. Why do I need a condensate pump? Condensate pump is very crucial because anytime, obviously, okay, with air conditioning, you are dehumidifying. So with when you dehumidifier when you dehumidify the air, water is the byproduct of doing that. Water needs to go somewhere. So that's why we have drain lines. Alright? So when you need a condensate pump is when that drain line either is going below where it needs to. For example, my house, okay, I have a small 1300 square foot house, but it's so low under my house that by time, the unit sitting there, by the time the condensate line comes out, it cannot have enough grade or slope down enough to get outside before that happens. So we have a condensate pump because if I didn't have one then the condensate line would be like this, okay? Water doesn't go sideways or up hills, you know, it's not going to work. So condensate pump, it goes to the condensate pump. That pump then pumps it out to the outside. So the most common pumps can go up at a 15 foot or 22 foot lift. So if you have a basement or if you have that low house, you're having a problem somewhere where that condensate line cannot grade enough to get to the outside. So then you need a condensate pump to push it out for you. So it's not a bad idea. Only bad thing about condensate pumps is they only have a one year parts warranty coming from manufacturer. Depending on which one you use, you can have one or two years. I think DiversTech has a two year warranty, but that is an accessory, just like an air cleaner or anything else added on to your system. It's not the 10 year parts and labor warranty of the equipment because it is outside the equipment. It's like a thermostat, it's in a, you need it, but at the same time it's not part of the unit. It's not the unit, it's not from carrier, it's not from trane, it doesn't come with that. You see a lot of them too with, with the mini splits. Because again, you're having that problem where you can't get outside fast enough. So the condensate pump then pushes it to the outside. That makes sense. Did y' all know that? Yeah. So the most common problem is that low house. Obviously you don't have these on package units, you have these on split units. So you have that low house that you basically depending on where the unit is sitting, you can't get to the outside fast enough for it to still be downhill. So then you feed into a condensate pump and then that pushes it out. So you need a condensate pump. Most cases around here, unless it's just a ginormous house, when you have a split unit, you just don't have it enough room to get that condensate outside. So condensate pump is needed. So that is a good idea. Alright, it's episode 84. Make sure you hashtag your questions. Ask Derrick Cole and we'll get them on the show. By.
