I had to stop and sit for a while because I didn’t want to make a mess going to the bathroom, so I was thinking. I realize thinking is generally not a good activity for me to engage in particularly after the Pinky and the Brain incident that we shall never speak of until the statute of limitations expires, but sometimes I solve an actual problem.
The problem is the condensation line from the AC gets stopped up and when the line is full it shuts off the AC leaving us sweating and immobile because hot in the house. The solution is to install pipe that is big enough to hold a lot of water and orient it so that as it fills it creates enough pressure to maybe force the blockage out. At least if there is a big pipe it will hold a fair amount of water and whatever process clears it up has the time to clear it up before the backup gets to the shutoff switch. As configured now the condensation line is a dinky thing connected to the condensation pan inside the AC that runs to the drain outside, and it is tiny. What I’m thinking about is putting like a 4″ sewer line segment to catch the extra water and hold it until it makes enough pressure to blow out the blockage, or it seeps by the blockage but keeps the AC running.
Now why this is a problem with the new AC but wasn’t with the old AC is because of how the filter went into the new system compared to the old system. The old system had the filter going into the side of the system and a big empty space under it and the overflow condensation would end up on the floor making a mess on the rug in front of the AC but still letting the AC continue to run. The new AC has the filter under everything in the system except the condensation collector and if there is overflow it gets in the filter, ruining it. So it is vital to not ruin the filter and keep it dry because filters for the new system last for 90 days and are expensive to replace.
Witch on a Bicycle 
I’m a little lost here. When did you have your “new” ac
installed? Also, what is the size of your drain line?
For years the standard (less then 20 tons) was 3/4 inch.
If you have that size then you might only need to clean
out the drain line.. If it is 1/2 inch you might be able to make
the people who installed your ac to come back out and
install the correct size line.(If it hasn’t been too long ago.)
Note: The area of a 3/4 inch pipe is 2.25 times that of a 1/2
inch pipe.
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The line is barely ½
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Wouldn’t a holding tank be just a short term solution?
Once it is filled wouldn’t you be back to where you are
now? It seems to me you need to replace the whole
drain line.
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The existing line runs through the slab and would require using a jackhammer to replace, then more concrete work to repair the slab to the same degree of strength as before the repair. Or we could just give the excess water a place to wait and hopefully it will collect enough to create pressure to blow the blockage out.
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