Furnance stopped producing condensate
I have a ’93 Goodman (gmpn100-4) furnace whose p-trap has recently broken. While my service tech is ordering a new part (he says it may take a couple of weeks), I have simply been catching the condensate in a plastic container under the broken p-trap and emptying it out twice a day for the past week. But today I discovered the furnace has stopped producing condensate, but still fires and is otherwise heating my home as normal. The outside temps did rise from the 30’s the week previous to upper 50’s for the weekend, but have now fallen back in the 30’s, so there should be plenty of moisture in the home’s air to condense by the heating process. Should I be concerned? I also noticed that the orange status light at the base of the furnace has gone out, when it’s usually on all the time. Any relation to my condensation problem? Thanks for your help.
Replies
When is the last time you changed your air filter? Checked the tension on the blower belt (if belt driven). Has someone thrown a rug over an air return grill, etc..
If filter clogged or other duct impediment, airflow may not be sufficient to condense the H2O products of combustion and the 'water' is going out the vent pipe. Have you notied that the vent pipe steam is more dense than a few weeks ago?
Thanks junkhound. The filter is one month old. I have shut off one register to a bedroom directly above and first in line in the system. No other airflow changes. I can't imagine that would be the difference between 3-5 cups of condensate a day to nothing. Vent pipe steam seems significantly less dense than before, though the airflow through the pipe is still good. Where else could the condensate be going? Ughh.
It should turn itself off if the flue becomes blocked, but like all things mechanical/electrical that mechanism could fail. It could be that the water's getting forced out the flue (you might set your bucket outside to see how much condensation is dripping out), or it could be that (as others suggested) for some reason you're not producing condensate.
I don't know what your precise setup is, so I can't guess at how to check it.