Rusted Drip Pan in the attic?

Question

I have a metal drip pan in the attic (just underneath the AC). The pan is severely rusted resulting in water leakage through it. The brand of the AC is Carrier. Questions:

1) Where can I buy this kind of pan in Houston/Katy TX area.
2) Can I change it myself (The pan sits underneath the AC but seems easily removable if I disconnect the outlet PVC pipe connected to it)
3) If yes to above, how do I open this PVC connector to remove the pan and put the new one (I have pictures but don't know how to attach it to my post)
4) Can the drip pan be of any brand or it has to be Carrier. The dimension of my current pan is 32 x 31.

Thanks

Answer 1

Most big chain hardware stores carry these and they are pretty easy to change out. You may have to drill your own hole for the PVC pipe ,,, some come with knockouts. My question is..Why is there so much water in the pan? The pan is really designed for protection if your main condensate line gets backed up or if you develop a leak in a furnace. It really shouldn't have any water in it unless there is a blockage somewhere preventing proper drainage from the main drain line. Yours being rusted out is a indication you have a problem somewhere. So you might want to get that fixed too.

Answer 2

I would go buy a new pan that fit the dimension or larger and ask the folks there how to connect it up to the pvc pipe.



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Answer 3

You should see water dripping outside. It can be when it drips within you need to fear. My guess is that it was once humid. As the humid air hits the cold coil it's going to condensate and drip into a drip pan that has a hose and that's what you saw the water dripping from. Wait until it cools off external, crawl within the attic and appear on the unit yourself.

Answer 4

Any type of drip pan will do the job, Walmart ,hardware store or auto store, with a hack saw cut the pipe use PVC glue and a coupling of the same size as the pipe to repair the pipe just tilt the unit and pull it out

Answer 5

Very likely a stock item

Contact The Carrier distributor.

Do have the model and year of the unit (From UL name plate.)