[laportjm]

As anyone experienced multiple shutdowns of their AC this summer due to Zooglea bacteria building up and water backing up and shutting down AC. It has happened once a month since June. We are being told this has been a very common service call this summer. We are going on our 5th year with this new AC and has never had this problem. One issue we have experienced is our Wi-Fi thermostat is kicking the temperature from what we set at 78 and holding and something within the unit is tripping the thermostat back to 74. So obviously the AC is running unnecessarily pretty much all summer. We are not physically there so we are unable to see what it is doing from time to time. 2 times it was noticed and specifically put to 78 and holding (I don’t know what this “holding” feature is but it has always done that since install) but never has it kicked itself back to a much lower temp than we have set. We have lost internet and believe our gateway is toast so we are unable to keep an eye on it. We will be there in the next couple weeks and have neighbor and relatives that are able to help us out until we get there. Anyone experiencing this Zooglea bacteria and a thermostat doing such as described. Thank you.

[Bill14564]

By any chance does your system have a humidity setting? It *could* be that as the gunk builds up and water stands in the drain pan it is causing the humidity to increase. In response, the humidity control of the system might lowering the set temperature to try to bring the humidity back down. Just a guess.

I do have a friend who has had a terrible time with his lines this year. He flushes them and cleans them but still has trouble.

[CarlR33]

Are you flushing the AC drain line at all? If not that is your issue. We would need to know the brand of thermostats to help you there. If an ecobee it has a permanent hold feature like most other smart thermostats.

AC Line and Tray cleaning - best process?

[retiredguy123]

I have not heard of the Zooglea issue being a problem in The Villages. How do you know that is the problem? When you set the thermostat to 78 degrees and "hold" it should stay on 78 until you change it. That is what the hold setting means. It sounds like you need to get an HVAC technician to thoroughly clean out the entire condensate drain pipe, which could have an obstruction in it. Then, you need to pour a gallon of hot water down the drain every month or so. If the thermostat is being reset to 74 degrees, you will get more condensate water flowing, and if you have an obstruction, it could cause the water back up into the drain pan. It is amazing how much water flows through the drain pipe in the summer, especially with a thermostat set at 74 degrees. If you have the optional humidity feature turned on, turn it off.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I have not heard of the Zooglea issue being a problem in The Villages. How do you know that is the problem? When you set the thermostat to 78 degrees and "hold" it should stay on 78 until you change it. That is what the hold setting means. It sounds like you need to get an HVAC technician to thoroughly clean out the entire condensate drain pipe, which could have an obstruction in it. Then, you need to pour a gallon of hot water down the drain every month or so. If the thermostat is being reset to 74 degrees, you will get more condensate water flowing, and if you have an obstruction, it could cause the water back up into the drain pan. It is amazing how much water flows through the drain pipe in the summer, especially with a thermostat set at 74 degrees. If you have the optional humidity feature turned on, turn it off.

I'm confused by this. Are you simply saying that the algae/gunk that builds up in the lines is technically something other than zoogloea? Or, is there some other reason you pour hot water through the line every month?

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I'm confused by this. Are you simply saying that the algae/gunk that builds up in the lines is technically something other than zoogloea? Or, is there some other reason you pour hot water through the line every month?

I have just never heard of an HVAC technician ever diagnose "zoogloea" as a specific cause for a drain being clogged. The OP said it is very common in The Villages, but I am skeptical that this is true. It seems as though you would need to do a lab test to confirm that it was bacteria. There are many ways a drain line can be clogged. My biggest concern is a dead lizard or snake. That is why I occasionally flush out the drain by connecting a garden hose to it. The last two times I did this, I got a lot of chalky white solid particles, which I really don't what they were.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I have just never heard of an HVAC technician ever diagnose "zoogloea" as a specific cause for a drain being clogged. The OP said it is very common in The Villages, but I am skeptical that this is true. It seems as though you would need to do a lab test to confirm that it was bacteria. There are many ways a drain line can be clogged. My biggest concern is a dead lizard or snake. That is why I occasionally flush out the drain by connecting a garden hose to it. The last two times I did this, I got a lot of chalky white solid particles, which I really don't what they were.

When mine was clogged it was definitely a clear or milky, slimy algae-like substance. Probably was zoogloea but it wasn't worth paying for a lab test to confirm that.

The purpose for the hot water or vinegar or bleach is to kill any algae growing in the line. If anoles were the problem then flushing with cold water would be all that was needed.

An anole issue can be prevented with a small piece of mesh over the opening.

[jrref]

No bleach. Bleach will harm the PVC. Hot water, vinegar, Top Job, pretty much anything else should be fine. If your drain is maintained once a month, Hot Water is all you need.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

By any chance does your system have a humidity setting? It *could* be that as the gunk builds up and water stands in the drain pan it is causing the humidity to increase. In response, the humidity control of the system might lowering the set temperature to try to bring the humidity back down. Just a guess.

I do have a friend who has had a terrible time with his lines this year. He flushes them and cleans them but still has trouble.

The HVAC techs place tablets in the drain pan to deactivate the bacteria that form the slime.

https://a.co/d/1DMKbi6

Here's a system that automatically treats the line periodically.

https://a.co/d/9JLwmEp

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I have just never heard of an HVAC technician ever diagnose "zoogloea" as a specific cause for a drain being clogged. The OP said it is very common in The Villages, but I am skeptical that this is true. It seems as though you would need to do a lab test to confirm that it was bacteria. There are many ways a drain line can be clogged. My biggest concern is a dead lizard or snake. That is why I occasionally flush out the drain by connecting a garden hose to it. The last two times I did this, I got a lot of chalky white solid particles, which I really don't what they were.

The white, slimy, snot like stuff that forms if you don't regularly flush the system is Zoogloea bacteria.

https://youtu.be/5VOffWjmWkk

It became a problem when HVAC systems switched from copper to aluminum. Very low concentrations of copper ions deactivate the bacteria preventing the build up.

Some of the tablets (if blue) used to prevent HVAC Zoogloea build up contain copper sulfate.

[Topspinmo]

Maybe power fluctuations cause the setting problems?

IMO if anyone not living in house why do have set at 78? If I wasn’t here I’d set it to 85 or at least 80, it probably run 1/3 less. But, that me. Please tell us when the condensation drain was last cleaned/ blown/ sucked out? That way maybe someone can pinpoint cause of the problem? Said system was 5 years old? Has condensation drain ever been sucked out?

[laportjm]

Thanks everyone for your responses. All very good questions. We are gone from April to usually Oct and come and go from that point to April. We now know that we need to get our system cleaned twice a year instead of one so that is part of our problem. However, we have only cleaned it once a year since install just about 5 years ago and never encountered this problem. When we leave we do the vinegar and water cleaning/flush. This has been the only year that we had to have a tech come out June 30, July 31, and Aug. 9 due to back up issues and shutting the system down. The evaporator coil was replaced in April apparently there was a leak. I asked is that the start of the problem and I was told no. So not really sure what is causing the amount of bacteria so we will be cleaning it in Oct and April. However the 2nd issue about the Eccobee thermostat that we determined today is that apparently there is a setting within the thermostat that when it detects movement in the house it automatically reverts to 74 degrees. So when my neighbor went in one time and my cousin another, it detected movement and went to 74 so to them they saw 74 as the thermostat detected them and immediately changed to 74. My husband found where that setting is and changed to 78. Yes I agree someone mentioned why 78 should be more like 80 which we had done in the past and for some reason we started leaving it at 78. The Tech determined that it was zooalgea. I believe that, as where it drains onto our stones, it is a slimy, white substance (snotty as someone stated). Of course, we were immediately offered a couple options at a price higher than I want to pay at this point without trying a less expensive route first. Again thank you all for your responses, greatly appreciated.

[tophcfa]

Originally Posted by Altavia

The white, slimy, snot like stuff that forms if you don't regularly flush the system is Zoogloea bacteria.

https://youtu.be/5VOffWjmWkk

It became a problem when HVAC systems switched from copper to aluminum. Very low concentrations of copper ions deactivate the bacteria preventing the build up.

Some of the tablets (if blue) used to prevent HVAC Zoogloea build up contain copper sulfate.

Good information, Thanks. This drain snot problem very well might apply to us since we have a new HVAC system that’s less than a year old. I’m going to do some investigating to see if our new system has aluminum condenser coils and take appropriate preventative measures if so. It’s troublesome how changes to technology can have negative ripple effects, like adding ethanol to gasoline, or changing from using copper to aluminum for an HVAC systems condenser coils.

[Jimbo120]

PM me for specifics but I purchased a small drain Bladder at Lowes for around $40 which goes in the overflow pipe and reaches below the pipe going back in the system (important) The bladder is attached to a water hose and allows the full force of the water to clear the pipe. Some people put a shut off on the bladder to keep from having to run back to the spicket to turn off the water.

Originally Posted by laportjm

As anyone experienced multiple shutdowns of their AC this summer due to Zooglea bacteria building up and water backing up and shutting down AC. It has happened once a month since June. We are being told this has been a very common service call this summer. We are going on our 5th year with this new AC and has never had this problem. One issue we have experienced is our Wi-Fi thermostat is kicking the temperature from what we set at 78 and holding and something within the unit is tripping the thermostat back to 74. So obviously the AC is running unnecessarily pretty much all summer. We are not physically there so we are unable to see what it is doing from time to time. 2 times it was noticed and specifically put to 78 and holding (I don’t know what this “holding” feature is but it has always done that since install) but never has it kicked itself back to a much lower temp than we have set. We have lost internet and believe our gateway is toast so we are unable to keep an eye on it. We will be there in the next couple weeks and have neighbor and relatives that are able to help us out until we get there. Anyone experiencing this Zooglea bacteria and a thermostat doing such as described. Thank you.

[Jimbo120]

When the system is partially clogged it usually builds up water during use during the day and slowly drains out at night. What you experience is the system shutting down during the day and suddenly is running again in the morning.



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Originally Posted by laportjm

As anyone experienced multiple shutdowns of their AC this summer due to Zooglea bacteria building up and water backing up and shutting down AC. It has happened once a month since June. We are being told this has been a very common service call this summer. We are going on our 5th year with this new AC and has never had this problem. One issue we have experienced is our Wi-Fi thermostat is kicking the temperature from what we set at 78 and holding and something within the unit is tripping the thermostat back to 74. So obviously the AC is running unnecessarily pretty much all summer. We are not physically there so we are unable to see what it is doing from time to time. 2 times it was noticed and specifically put to 78 and holding (I don’t know what this “holding” feature is but it has always done that since install) but never has it kicked itself back to a much lower temp than we have set. We have lost internet and believe our gateway is toast so we are unable to keep an eye on it. We will be there in the next couple weeks and have neighbor and relatives that are able to help us out until we get there. Anyone experiencing this Zooglea bacteria and a thermostat doing such as described. Thank you.