So we run our AC a lot. Wife likes it cold. That certainly isn't gonna change. The AC drainage water seems to sit in the low spot between our house & neighbors. Ground is always super soggy and it's almost on the edge of turning into a mud pit.

I live in GA and there is a lot of clay in the area. Any chance I could rent a auger and drill a couple of dry wells a few feet down & fill with rocks? Give the water more surface area to seep into the ground?

I don't want to have to do a french drain out the back of my property due to cost & trouble. More Cost... cause I don't have to patience to under take that one myself.

No reason that won't work.

Clay is clay tho, so seepage is going to be slow.

I made a dry well for my down spout. Dug a giant hole. Placed four 5 gallon jugs with a bunch of holes drilled in them in the hole, filled rest of the hole with gravel and topped with nicer looking rocks. No more swampy backyard.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
So we run our AC a lot. Wife likes it cold. That certainly isn't gonna change. The AC drainage water seems to sit in the low spot between our house & neighbors. Ground is always super soggy and it's almost on the edge of turning into a mud pit.

I live in GA and there is a lot of clay in the area. Any chance I could rent a auger and drill a couple of dry wells a few feet down & fill with rocks? Give the water more surface area to seep into the ground?

I don't want to have to do a french drain out the back of my property due to cost & trouble. More Cost... cause I don't have to patience to under take that one myself.

Is this a window unit or central A/C ?

Are you sure that's all from the A/C and you don't have a water line or other leak?
That sounds like a lot of condensate to just be from the A/C.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Are you sure that's all from the A/C and you don't have a water line or other leak?
That sounds like a lot of condensate to just be from the A/C.

Central AC unit. Neighbors house is really near and the area gets ZERO sunlight. Fall / Winter it totally goes away. If we have any sort of rain it just makes the area even worse.

Mine does the same thing.

Now I have a project for tomorrow

When an area is perked for a septic field, you have to break the crusty layer for the water to drain back into the ground. The crusty layer maybe down several feet or six feet when my septic field was perked.

So I would get an auger and go down at least six feet and then fill with water and see how long it takes to drain.

I wouldn't rent an auger but a small excavator and dig and fill with crushed stone and make a decent sized drywell. and if you don't have room for that just dig a trench and make a french drain.

I had the same issue and ran a pipe under the ac drip line to catch the water then routed the catch pipe into an eight foot long French drain. I put the drain parallel to the house and above the bottom of the swale. Seems to be working well.

I used a separate pipe rather than running the ac line direct to the French drain because I didn’t want it to get clogged up if this turned out to be a bad solution. I don’t know if that’s truly necessary or just overly cautious.

I'd try the hole or two 2ft or better deep... depending or it you do it with post hole diggers* or a rented auger..... fill with stone ... direct the drain into these.... and just see. less work for sure... but of course it depends on how deep that good old Georgia red clay is...

speaking of post hole diggers... years ago I was at an eccentric friends home taking the tour with some others and we noticed a set of them hanging on his living room wall and was asked about them and his answer was he always wanted a "PHD hanging on the wall."

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
I wouldn't rent an auger but a small excavator and dig and fill with crushed stone and make a decent sized drywell. and if you don't have room for that just dig a trench and make a french drain.

Trying to find a cost efficient method. After a new fence and a new roof. Funds for a big project are drained. But renting a auger for $50 and a few bags of stone. Seem like it would be cost effective to try. Worst case if it only helps by %50 it's probably be worth the $100 investment. I figure if I do x2 of them a few feet apart in the area lower than the AC. The water would naturally drain down into them.

Are you sure that this is your primary a/c drain and not the backup. In this area the primary drain is always run to a bathroom and joined into the sink above the p-trap. The backup drain is only used when the primary gets clogged up.

If this is your primary drain then maybe it would still be more cost effective to re-plumb it to a kitchen or bathroom sink drain.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:
Are you sure that this is your primary a/c drain and not the backup. In this area the primary drain is always run to a bathroom and joined into the sink above the p-trap. The backup drain is only used when the primary gets clogged up.

If this is your primary drain then maybe it would still be more cost effective to re-plumb it to a kitchen or bathroom sink drain.

Yes this is the primary drain. Never thought about having it plumbed to somewhere else. The primary goes out the side of the house and drops right by the compressor. The back up is a short stubby line that comes out the back of the house. I guess I'd have to check GA code and see if that's a thing here. Might be a option.

In my area, just west of you, the primary and backup is usually run outside next to the compressor, just like yours... Even the new construction near me, it's always plumbed outside.

Ran a surface area calculator. Cause I don't math. With 8 inches wide & 30 inches deep. If calculator was right. For one hole that's a lot of surface area to help absorb the excess water. So instead of just 8 inch circle trying to drink the water.

Cylindrical Tank Surface Area
Result
Top Surface Area = π×82
= 201.06192982975 inches2
Bottom Surface Area = π×82
= 201.06192982975 inches2
Lateral Surface Area = 2π×8×30
= 1507.9644737231 inches2
Total Surface Area = 1910.0883333826 inches2

Pretty sure there is nothing buried on that side of the house. All Electrical & Telecom enters the house in front of the AC Compressor by 10+ feet. Gas main is on opposite side of the house. I guess I better call someone to check and make sure before I start drilling.

Around here Central A/C drains are connected to the sewer drain line . Usually through one of the vent stacks .

Most places do not allow any water from A/C or ground water in the sewer system.

Your dry well idea is workable, but with the clay
You really should have as large an area and as deep as you can physically put in.

The water will sit there for some time, and an AC unit can put out a lot of water.

With just a couple of holes large enough for a couple of bags of gravel,you will not be holding a lot of water.

I have done something similar but put in a couple of plastic barrels wrapped in landscape cloth to keep the dirt from infiltrating,and then filled with rock.

I was able to go 2 barrels deep to reach a sand layer. This worked very well.

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
Most places do not allow any water from A/C or ground water in the sewer system.

Because water condensed from the atmosphere might contaminate the sewage?