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Heating & Air Conditioning

Wet, sweating insulation

14 years ago

My AC unit is located outside, on the north side of the house. The ground and surrounding area stays wet (wet, not damp) most of the time due to lack of direct sun to dry it out. Lots of mold and icky white stuff growing on the ground, with green stuff crawling up the bricks. Disgusting.

I have devised a way to redirect the condensation (dripping) away from the area. However, my biggest issue is the insulation around the hose/pipe that connects from the AC unit to the house. (Please forgive my inability to properly describe the AC parts. I have NO knowledge of air conditioning units. I will do the best I can.)

I assume this is the piping that connects to the furnace. It runs from the AC unit, @ 40 feet through a crawl space under the house.

There is @ a 2 foot stretch of this pipe exposed outside of the house. When installed, this pipe was covered with a sleeve of insulation. It is this sleeve of insulation that concerns me. It is always wet. Sopping wet and dripping. It is cracked in many places and seems to work more as a sponge now. (This is the major the area/ground is constantly wet around the AC unit).

I know it needs to be replaced. My question is... is there a certain type of insulating sleeve I can use that will hold up better? One that won't mold or decay.

Or is this something that simply has to be replaced regularly?

I very much appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks ahead of time!

A pic of the area.

A pic of the soppy insulation.

The ground underneath is squishy wet constantly.

This area reeks a smell of mold.

I welcome all suggestions.

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Comments (4)

brickeyee
14 years ago
Just remove the old insulation and apply a new piece.
Rubatex is a common brand, but there are others.

You will need the slit version that comes with a pressure sensitive glue under a plastic protection strip.

Some cement is going to be needed to attach the new to the old at the brick wall.
Any unsealed place will allow outside air to come in contact with the copper line and cause sweating.

It is not much of an issue outside though, just annoying.
paulbm
14 years ago
Do you have sandy soil in that area where your drain is at?
some times i take a 5 gal. bucket with a top on it. Drill holes in the bottom of the bucket put stones in the bucket, and put lid on. bury it so the top of the bucket is about 6"
below the ground. run you drain down into the bucket a few inches through a tight hole, This way the water will go into the ground and not on top of the ground. later paulbm
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dan_martyn
14 years ago
MG3483,

It would appear the existing insulation thickness may be too thin, although the cracking may be contributing to the condensation problem. If the existing insulation wall thickness is 3/8", I would recommend upgrading to 3/4" or 1" wall thickness if you can find it. Also, refrigeration piping comes in 1/8" increments, so measure the existing piping diameter to verify the correct size replacement insulation. "Armaflex" is a premium insulation for this purpose and it is recommended that you paint the outside of this insulation with light colored latex paint to reduce the ultraviolet damage which causes the cracking and weathering. Make sure each seam is sealed.

Also I would double check the refrigerate level as low refrigerate levels can cause icing from the coil back to the compressor. This maybe causing a higher than normal temperature difference in the lineset.

Stay cool!
weedmeister
14 years ago
Is that white pipe in the middle the condensate drain? If so, is it leaking at the wall and is that causing some of this problem?

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