A/c has drips on the connecting duct work?

Question

my unit is in the basement and it was just recently cleaned---coils in inside and the filter. was running good for a few days but i have noticed again that there are droplets of water forming on the duct work that is attached to the unit. does anyone have any suggestions or ideas about this?? the a//c is still giving us cold air, if we leave it at 76....if we try to go down to anything other than 76 the temp in the house goes up...but it still is giving us cool air. i am so confused

Answer 1

it's condensation. Yor ductwork is leaking cold air and the warm humid air is condensing (can you say rain) causing the water to drip.

You need to seal and insulate your ductwork

Answer 2

My guess is that you have two problems, 1. The condensation forming on the duct work, indicates the basement is damp, if you have a dehumidifier it is either not working properly or you need too use it.

2. It sounds like you possibly need to add freon. The reason I suggest this is, when you try to run the unit harder to cool below 76 the house warms up. This could be from the evaporator freezing up. If the charge is low, the evaporator ices up and can freeze. This will result in loss of air flow. This could also explain, and possibly correct your first problem.

Have a qualified service technician look at the unit.

The Fact that the AC is not working properly could, as I said, be causing the humidity to be high in the basement. An air conditioner is a dehumidifier. The humidity could have risen over time as the AC unit was removing less and less moisture from the air in the house.

In the mean time, if you can at least borrow a dehumidifier. it would be a good idea to dry out the basement ASAP, before mold starts to grow.

Answer 3

Water droplets are from the a/c's ability to function as a dehumidifier by removing the moisture in the air. If the return air is open to the basement, the air downstairs is getting to the lower temp before the upstairs. Where is the thermostat located? If the return air vent and thermostat is not in the main floor it gets it signal from the basement temp.

Answer 4

Sounds like you need a dehumidifier to get rid of the excess moisture.