Improve Unit Drainage with Rigid Drain Line, Strainer, and Condensate Pump

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 06:00:07 +0000

CellarCool prides itself on helping our customers and educating them about proper cellar construction and cooling unit care. We also intend to help our customers prevent common technical issues that may arise during the course of a unit’s operational life. One of the most persistent problems our customer service team has encountered is clogged drain lines. We’ve put our heads together and come up with a list of modifications you can make to your unit, prior to installation, that will help prevent drain line clogging issues. These modifications include rigid drain lines, drain line strainers, and a condensate pump.

Pre-Installation Modification #1: Rigid Drain Line

CellarCool’s ceiling-mounted units, which include built-in condensate pumps, use 1/4″ clear plastic drain lines. Sometimes, however, during installations, this drain line can accidentally become kinked. This inhibits the flow of condensate from your unit’s drip tray to the proper condensate disposal area. If the drain line becomes so kinked that water cannot pass through it, the drip tray in your unit may overflow. This can cause water damage to the unit and possibly your cellar’s wine racks, your bottle labels, and perhaps the floor or walls of the cellar itself.

A remedy to this problem is rigid drain lines, made of copper or PVC plastic. Copper or PVC drain lines are much less likely to kink, minimizing the danger of accidental kinking during installation. As long as care is taken to ensure that these drain lines are kept clean and clog-free, rigid drain lines should provide you with a reliable and consistent way for your ceiling-mounted unit to dispose of excess condensate.

Pre-Installation Modification #2: Drain Line Strainer

Besides kinking, another cause of drain line obstructions is insects. Insects, especially in dry areas of the United States, migrate to moist areas. The water in drain lines is a prime target. Sometimes bugs can climb inside drain lines. There, they become stuck and die, resulting in an eventual drain line blockage. Purchasing a drain line strainer, such as the above strainer from Cole-Parmer, can prevent insects from climbing inside drain lines and blocking them.

Pre-Installation Modification #3: External Condensate Pump

The final way to upgrade your cooling unit’s drainage system prior to installation is to purchase an external condensate pump. This pump easily attaches to the outside of a CellarCool evaporator unit. If you live in a high humidity area and anticipate that your unit will produce lots of moisture, an external condensate pump is a great way to prevent water from overflowing the drain pan and causing damage to your wine cellar.

These are all ways you can improve the drainage of your CellarCool unit prior to its installation. Rigid drain lines will prevent kinks. Drain line strainers will prevent vermin-related clogs. And the external condensate pump kit can pump excess condensate to a safe disposal location.

The post Improve Unit Drainage with Rigid Drain Line, Strainer, and Condensate Pump appeared first on CellarCool®.

CellarCool Condensate Pumps

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2021 06:00:50 +0000

The CellarCool condensate pump is a small condensate removal pump that is installed in our Ceiling Mount units. This pump facilitates the removal of condensate from the internal drip tray and routes it away from the unit—preferably via a rigid drain line (PEX or CPVC).

Advantages of a Condensate Pump

CellarCool units can, under certain circumstances, produce moisture in the form of condensate during normal operation. This moisture collects in a tray inside the unit. The water is then routed out of the unit via a gravity-fed internal drain tube.

In humid environments, occasionally, excess condensate may be produced. This can cause the drip tray to overflow. This, in turn, may cause water damage to the cellar, the racking, or the unit itself.

Our condensate pump uses a reservoir that contains a thermistor to sense the condensate produced by the unit. This thermistor determines when the water in the drip tray has risen too high. The thermistor engages the pump, which removes the excess condensate from the drip tray. By means of a rigid drain line, the condensate drains to a safe location.

Premature Pump Failures

Environmental factors can play a role in causing a condensate pump to prematurely fail. Buildup of mold or bacterial growth in the drip tray can clog the condensate pump and cause it to malfunction. Sometimes, also, the timing of the unit’s installation can be a factor. Sometimes CellarCool systems are installed in homes before the home’s construction is complete. During normal operation, the unit will sometimes take in wood and drywall dust and other construction debris. This debris sometimes contaminates the drip tray and clogs the condensate pump’s lines.

Other factors which can lead to premature condensate pump failures include:

– kinks in the drain line
– restrictions or clogs in the drain line
– sagging (when part of the drain line droops or sags, creating an uphill slope in part of the line, prohibiting water from draining naturally)
– freezing (in cold climates, if the drain line is routed out of doors, water freezing in the line can become an issue)
– exceeding specified application parameters during installation (the drain line must have no more than a 15-foot vertical rise and 50-foot horizontal run)

Conclusion

To conclude, condensate pumps—which come standard on Cellar Ceiling Mount units—help prevent leaks and water damage. When paired with a rigid drain line, they remove excess condensate from your unit. Environmental factors and installation oversights can sometimes lead to clogs and pump failure. We advise our customers to have their cooling units inspected regularly to ensure that they’re operating as efficiently as possible.

The post CellarCool Condensate Pumps appeared first on CellarCool®.

condensate pump Archives - CellarCool®