# Excessive line sweating



## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

Let me start by saying thanks for your replies.

My home is about 8 years old and has an unfinished basement. The house itself is a one story structure.

My furnace sits in one end of the basement and the a/c lines run along the floor joists to the other end and out to the condensing unit. The house cools fine and the heat portion works fine. However, the line set running across the basement sweats (on the outside of the insulation and frost actually builts on the clamps holding the lines to the floor joists. Of course there is a constant line of water drips from one end of the basement to the other. I need to get this resloved before considering finishing the basement. Plus as it is I have to keep things sitting so the water doesn't drip on them. The ductwork stays dry. This morning I put a dehumidifier in the basement thinking there may be too much moisture in the basement itself. But with the ductwork staying dry I don't think this is the issue.

Thank you


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

Sounds like you either have low air flow. Or are low on charge.


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## kb3ca (Aug 22, 2008)

First, make sure your filter is clean and all the registers (air vents) are open.
Then have the refrigerant charge checked. Sounds like it is low if your getting frost on the line set. You might also consider insulating the the suction line ( largest line) with some of that foam pipe insulation used for copper water lines. It's cheap and you can purchase it at the big box stores.


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

Well, I got to thinking last night and went ahead and open the A-coil box. The coil was a block of ice. I thawed it out and cleaned the coil just because it was open. It really didn't look dirty. Put everything back together and turned it back on. This morning there was no frost, but I will watch it. A friend of mine is a HVAC guy and I spoke with him last night. He will come out in a few days and check the charge. I hated asking him because he is having some health issues. I will report back what he finds. Thanks guys.


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

The bottom of the coil may still be dirty. The top, easy part to see and reach. often doesn't look dirty. When the bottom is.


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

beenthere said:


> The bottom of the coil may still be dirty. The top, easy part to see and reach. often doesn't look dirty. When the bottom is.


Good tip. I did however know that. I sprayed cleaner from the top inward and flushed it the same way. I could see part of the bottom side and felt like I got most of it. As luck would have it, the ice fell off in sheets and had dirt on it. So that helped. I wouldn't feel 100% unless I took it out and cleaned it really good, but this should do. So far today it's doing fine. But I won't really know for several days I guess.


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

Almost afraid to post this, ha ha. So far all is good. I guess it was the coil being dirty. Like I said in the beginning, the house is 8 years old and if I had to guess, I would say the furnace has never been cleaned. I did the condensing unit last year because it looked dirty. I will still have some one come out and go over everything to be sure all is good. That way I won't wake up one morning when the temp is 85º and humidity is 90% with no A/C. Thanks guys!


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

Well, I knew I shouldn't have posted that. It did fine for three days and then Friday afternoon, it froze up again. I put the fan on 'run' and turned the thermometer up high. An hour or so later it was blowing from the supplies as it should, so I turned the thermo back down and let it cool. It did fine for the rest of the evening. I had to go out of town and returned home Sunday evening and it was still okay. My question is now, 'can a low charge condition' cause an intermittent problem? It would seem to me it would freeze right over as soon as it was back on. :huh:


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## beenthere (Oct 11, 2008)

A low charge can do that.

On milder days, it freezes. On warmer/hotter days, it doesn't freeze.


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

I did not know that. It does in fact freeze on milder days. Thank you!


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

Not enough load on milder days and low freon pressure = lower coil temp and freezeup. The proper charge usually compensates for that. You have hit the tipping point and your coil is running too cold. You will DAMAGE the compressor soon if it continues to freezeup and then spend mucho $$ on repairs.


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

Well, my bud came over and put gauges on it. It was a little low on refridg. However, he kept saying 'it acts like lack of air flow over the coil?' So we pulled the lower cover off the furnace where you access the blower. For some reason someone put a piece of filter material that looked like scotchbrite pad material inside the blower compartment. It was too big to fit and was folded in half. At two ends there was a steel rod about 1/8" in diameter. It was against the blower on one side. We removed it and he rechecked the pressures and it was spot on (after he added a little R22 earleir). Now it's runing fine and no sign of freezing up. Anyone ever heard of that?


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

Do you have another filter in the return duct? Lots of furnaces especially Rheem and Carrier came with a "starter" filter meant for use during house construction etc. It should be thrown away once a permanent filter holder is added in the ductwork.


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## MikeKy55 (Nov 4, 2009)

Yes, it has a regular filter where the return trunk meets the furnace. This is a Bryant furnace. Not sure who makes it? I have been under the impression there are only a few manufacturers and the sell under different names.


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## yuri (Nov 29, 2008)

Bryant is owned by Carrier and a clone of it. That is the starter filter, throw it away.:thumbsup:


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## ttouch52 (Jul 14, 2011)

if you have not insulated the suction line do it, the suction line will sweat if left uninsulated due to coming in contact with ambient air temp. Insulating the suction line and replacing torn or old insulation will maximize the efficientcy of your cooling system and will take care of your sweating problem


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