CRT Tipster's Blog

Those who have read Part 1 of “Is Bigger Really Better” know that when it comes to air conditioner sizing, bigger is not necessarily better. But there are areas where bigger is better when it comes to preventative maintenance.Take the area of the condensate collection pan for example. Collection pans get dirty and produce odors. In some cases they are a breeding ground for bacteria, fungus, and other microbes.There is no question that these areas are among the dirtiest, if not the most offensive, areas of the air handler. Water overflowing comes about from fouling so bad that the collection pan drain line becomes solidly plugged, preventing water from flowing out naturally.Before the mid-1980s, all that could be done was to add tablets to the condensate pan to attempt to address the problem. Tablets dissolved quickly. Even those that purported not to dissolve quickly (a small weighted red box), an analysis of the active ingredient showed its’ solubility rate was 1.5 grams per liter of water. This would be how much would dissolve in one liter (about a quart) of water.

These type products, considered the best at the time, were used with varying results. It was not uncommon to see literally dozens of these boxes in an air handler, all with fungi and other microbes growing around them.

If the products were that good and they were not consistent, then there must be something we didn’t know as to why. One reason might have been that the water flow was much higher than the tablet could effectively treat. We checked a small fan-coil unit in Florida and found that this smaller unit flowed 1-1⁄2 gallons of water per day or about 6 liters of water.

Now if 1.5 grams of the tablet dissolved in 1 liter of water, then 6 liters would take up 9 grams with one day’s flow of water. But the tablets weighed 3⁄4 ounce or 21 grams. At its 50% active ingredient level, that meant the tablet contained only 10.5 grams of actives. So, in a little over a day, there would be nothing there to work with.

Most engineers and professionals need products they can rely upon, and HVAC maintenance people demand the same. It is irritating to have to make an emergency call to a unit to handle an overflow, or having complaints on odors, and other service related matters.

In 1986 our company made a major breakthrough in this area. This was the development of the first true controlled-release condensate pan treatment. Unlike old treatments used without consistent results for decades, PanGuard and Algae Guard makes a remarkable leap forward. They slowly release ingredients over a 3 to 6 months period of time. This lays on the table what every manager wants: consistency and predictability of results.