I have a swamp cooler… except it is not a swamp cooler.

I have a swamp cooler… except it is not a swamp cooler.    Chelan Home Inspections

Well the cooling season is now upon us on the Eastern Flanks of the Cascade mountains. With that I have to get back into my Air Conditioner/Heat Pump testing mode.

After a good 1-½ or more of testing the AC I go check some registers to see what temperatures I am getting to prepare to take a cooling split reading. This is a temperature difference between the return air and the closest register to the air handler.

Then I go open the Air Handler to see what is going on in there and this is when I find that the air handler is actually a swamp cooler. The AC evaporator coil condensate drip pan has water running over it. This is most likely a blocked condensate line but the pan is also rusted which is not helping.

From the photo you can see the water has now collected in the fan housing and causing rusting.

Better yet is now is dripping into all of the electrical wiring and breakers below. This is not necessarily very good for the electrical connections to say the least.

Here is the stain in the crawlspace from past leakage. Coupled with the rust in the air handler this has been going on for a while.

I always let my client know that Air Conditioning systems need yearly maintenance and that when that maintenance is performed that all condensate lines and trays are checked to ensure they are working properly.

Here is a couple of good links-