Last week in Battle Creek ran the whole thermostat. Tuesday got up to about 74, more than 20 degrees above a normal early-November high, and plenty of homes had the A/C back on. Wednesday brought a soaking rain with gusts around 30 mph. Then the bottom fell out: highs only in the upper 40s Friday and Saturday, and lows down to about 35 by the weekend. In one week, a lot of houses went from cooling to running the heat for hours.
Here is the part most homeowners never think about. A high-efficiency Furnace makes water every time it runs, and so does the A/C coil sitting on top of it. In many Battle Creek basements, both drain into the same small condensate pump: a plastic box about the size of a shoebox on the floor next to the Furnace, with a thin tube running to a floor drain, sink or sump. That pump sat mostly idle through a mild fall, and now it has to keep up every day of the heating season. Summer slime, a stuck float or a kinked tube is all it takes. When the pump cannot empty, one of two things happens: water spills onto the basement floor, or the safety switch shuts the Furnace off and the house slowly loses heat, usually on a cold night.
What to do this week: find the pump next to the Furnace and look at the floor around it for water, rust or a white crust. Slowly pour a cup or two of water into the pump and watch it kick on and empty within a minute. Follow the tube to where it ends and make sure it is not kinked, crushed or sitting under water. Listen while the heat runs: steady humming with no pumping, or gurgling inside the Furnace, means the drain is not keeping up. Since the system just went from cooling to heating, it is a good week to change the Furnace filter too.
That is everyday work for A.W. Crooks Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. We handle Furnace Repair and Furnace Tune-Ups, replace failed condensate pumps, clear clogged condensate lines and traps, and fix the safety switches that shut a Furnace down. We are Battle Creek’s residential plumbing and heating company and cover homes within about 60 miles. Service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no weekend upcharge during business hours. To book one, see Furnace Tune-Ups. Call (269) 962-5441, email tctc@mitctc.com, or book online at crooksplumbing.com.
Quick pump check: dry floor around the Furnace? Pump kicks on and empties when you pour water in? Tube clear and not kinked from end to end? No humming without pumping, and no gurgling while the heat runs? If anything failed the check, get it handled before the next cold night instead of after the house goes cold.