Home Page link

Tubing and wiring in water

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

HVAC Discussions - Heating, ventilation and air conditioning. 

Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Tubing and wiring in water JackFoster 07-31-2006
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by JackFoster on July 31, 2006, 1:39 pm
Our new condo has electric heat pump with tubing connecting the air handler
with the outside unit. Taped to the tubing insulation is the low voltage
wiring to the outside unit. It is about 50 feet between the air handler and
the outside unit.

What is unusual is that this bundle of tubing and wiring is routed through a
plastic pipe that runs under the slab of the lower level from the air
handler to the outside by the unit. The end on the inside rises through the
poured concrete floor and the end on the outside is burried in gravel a few
inches. This is not water tight. There is always water enough in this pipe
that I can see the water from the basement end, I would estimate the water
level to be five inches below the top of the slab, however during heavy
rains it rises higher for a few hours.

Long story short, all or some of my 50 foot run of tubing and wiring is
constantly under water. The builder says the water is mostly ground water
present in the gravel below the slab, which I agree with. BUT, he also says
being in the water is not a problem for the tubing. "We put water line made
of copper under slab all the time and it is never a problem."

And what about the wiring also underwater?
Any experience with this or rules of thumb?

Thanks,
Jack

Reply only to group...e-mail is bogus



Posted by Moe Jones on July 31, 2006, 3:35 pm
Don't worry too much on the control wiring but I would worry about slugging
refrigerant back to the compressor on start up. Have a HVAC technician check
this because it can shorten the life of your compressor.

When the unit shuts down you could get allot of liquid refrigerant migrate
to the line set under ground and on start up all the liquid refrigerant
heads for the compressor.

If this is happening there are different ways to fix.

--
Moe Jones
HVAC Service Technician
Energy Equalizers Inc.
Houston, Texas

> Our new condo has electric heat pump with tubing connecting the air
> handler with the outside unit. Taped to the tubing insulation is the low
> voltage wiring to the outside unit. It is about 50 feet between the air
> handler and the outside unit.
>
> What is unusual is that this bundle of tubing and wiring is routed through
> a plastic pipe that runs under the slab of the lower level from the air
> handler to the outside by the unit. The end on the inside rises through
> the poured concrete floor and the end on the outside is burried in gravel
> a few inches. This is not water tight. There is always water enough in
> this pipe that I can see the water from the basement end, I would estimate
> the water level to be five inches below the top of the slab, however
> during heavy rains it rises higher for a few hours.
>
> Long story short, all or some of my 50 foot run of tubing and wiring is
> constantly under water. The builder says the water is mostly ground water
> present in the gravel below the slab, which I agree with. BUT, he also
> says being in the water is not a problem for the tubing. "We put water
> line made of copper under slab all the time and it is never a problem."
>
> And what about the wiring also underwater?
> Any experience with this or rules of thumb?
>
> Thanks,
> Jack
>
> Reply only to group...e-mail is bogus
>
>



Posted by Dido on July 31, 2006, 5:48 pm

> Don't worry too much on the control wiring but I would worry about
> slugging refrigerant back to the compressor on start up. Have a HVAC
> technician check this because it can shorten the life of your compressor.
>
> When the unit shuts down you could get allot of liquid refrigerant migrate
> to the line set under ground and on start up all the liquid refrigerant
> heads for the compressor.
>
> If this is happening there are different ways to fix.
>
> --
> Moe Jones
> HVAC Service Technician
> Energy Equalizers Inc.
> Houston, Texas
>
>> Our new condo has electric heat pump with tubing connecting the air
>> handler with the outside unit. Taped to the tubing insulation is the low
>> voltage wiring to the outside unit. It is about 50 feet between the air
>> handler and the outside unit.
>>
>> What is unusual is that this bundle of tubing and wiring is routed
>> through a plastic pipe that runs under the slab of the lower level from
>> the air handler to the outside by the unit. The end on the inside rises
>> through the poured concrete floor and the end on the outside is burried
>> in gravel a few inches. This is not water tight. There is always water
>> enough in this pipe that I can see the water from the basement end, I
>> would estimate the water level to be five inches below the top of the
>> slab, however during heavy rains it rises higher for a few hours.
>>
>> Long story short, all or some of my 50 foot run of tubing and wiring is
>> constantly under water. The builder says the water is mostly ground
>> water present in the gravel below the slab, which I agree with. BUT, he
>> also says being in the water is not a problem for the tubing. "We put
>> water line made of copper under slab all the time and it is never a
>> problem."
>>
>> And what about the wiring also underwater?
>> Any experience with this or rules of thumb?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Jack
>>
>> Reply only to group...e-mail is bogus


It does not matter how low voltage is, if is in water soon or later will
develop electrolytes and then you will need new pipes and
perhaps new unit
Good luck from DIDO



Posted by PrecisionMachinisT on August 1, 2006, 12:53 am

>
> It does not matter how low voltage is, if is in water soon or later will
> develop electrolytes and then you will need new pipes and
> perhaps new unit
> Good luck from DIDO
>

Copper is a rather surprising material in it's resistance to corrosion--I
have several 50 year old lines exposed to fairly highly acidic water and
also to a high chlorine ppm content that service my swimming pool for
example...and despite a slightly "green patina" on the outside, there's very
little actual loss in wall thickness.

Nothing measurable happening so far as I can tell in any a the sweat joints
either.

Someone tried to sell me into buying them 'cupronickel heat pump water
exchanger coils' once, (a long, long time ago)....

--

SVL




Similar ThreadsPosted
Copper tubing April 24, 2007, 10:25 pm
Bending 1-1/8" Copper Tubing - Any suggestions December 30, 2006, 10:12 am
Replacing Section of Sheet Metal Trunk Line With Flex Tubing March 25, 2008, 3:53 pm
Subject: Re: Replacing Section of Sheet Metal Trunk Line With Flex Tubing March 28, 2008, 11:53 am
Spray rain water or collected condensate water on compressor to raise efficiency? September 28, 2007, 11:14 pm
Hard water & choosing an indirect water heater June 11, 2007, 7:29 am
geothermal water-water heat exchanger February 25, 2007, 1:23 pm
geothermal water to water heat pump August 6, 2007, 10:20 am
Motor wiring October 19, 2006, 11:24 pm
T834 wiring question July 20, 2006, 12:21 am

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap