Spring heat = early AC

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Don't forget to clean the condensate trap at the air handler,over years of conditioning air these traps collect dust particles and lose debris in the air.Over time they build up and constrict the PVC traps inner wall and prevent the exiting of condensation.If this get's plugged you'll wish you never had central air.

Condensate trap's are usually constructed of 3/4" sched 40 PVC (white looking pipe)it will look like the letter "P" that is lying down.There should be a cap on the as-sender of the trap this should twist off,it's not threaded but held on by friction.
Stuff a piece of hose deep down into the P trap,and cover the remaining gap with a rag, put your hand over it & compress it tightly,take the other end of the hose and blow into it.You should hear a girgeling sound several seconds after this procedure,if not, pour water into the trap with a jug or soda bottle and repeat.

Most air handlers are located in attics and should be placed in a safety pan with a wet switch or safety float switch,it's purpose is to detect condensation leaking out of the unit, once the water level get to one of these detectors it cut's one leg of low voltage and turn's off the condenser before any damage is done to your ceilings.

So now that most units have been running for several weeks know take five minutes and save your self from hours of repair!

[macojoe]

my unit goes thur my furnace in the basement. there is no pvc pipe, but i have a drain to a 110v bilge pump the float got stuck last year because of dirt, thankfully my son sleeps there and saw the water leaking on the floor before it was to bad!! cleaned all and was good to go
so far (knock on wood) it has been running quite and keeping things cooler then ever now that i cleaned it!!

again thanks to this thread!

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Glad to hear this thread was worth while to post

Well since we're on the topic,how's you're evap coil looking?
The down stair's unit(s) always get dirtier than elevated one's, because their gravity fed. It doesn't matter how clean you keep you're house,all thing's fall to the ground and they get sucked into the return grills.Dog & cat fur/ dander are the biggest culprit,but rug debris ,new clothes contribute,also crap that get's carried in from pet's, people's boot's/shoes like dirt,dust ect. it's unbelievable the amount of stuff that get's in there and pack the evap coil.

If you're air media is 1"thick I will bet a bucket of eels that it is not tight to the sleeve that it is supposed to slide into, not just you'rs personally but anybody and every body's this is a common problem,mostly from bad install's people just don't take pride in what they do,so if you see a collection of dirt around the filter opening or track door (even factory doors)they are equally to blame, the foam gasket is only on one side (should be on 4 sides,but it get's worn down and dose not block what it was intended for,so they suck too!Also they'll manufacture a unique cabinet which will require a filter size that is tough to acquire so people put in the closest match that they can find.......Which equals chitty protection for the coil.
Any way,this is an added ease point for debris to get in and the coil will get packed to the point that it will restrict air flow and freeze up.

I've seen it so thick that it look's like a damp wet black piece of construction paper was placed over the inside of you're "A coil".Nasty stuff!

Every install that I do I put in a Air bear cabinet it's 4" thick gasket lined and good for 2,000 CFM. If it's just for A/C the filter is good for a year, if you using it for heating and cooling it's recommended to change the filter twice a year.