How big should the drip pan be on my AC unit?

Question

The reason I asked was my friends drip pan (in attic) overflowed and the home warranty company won't cover it because they said the drip pan was too small. She said it's about 2" wider all around than the unit is.

Answer 1

all of our pans r 2 inches wider than the unit....and 2 inches high...with a 3/4 pvc drain line....they can not turn her down for that reason she stated they might have got her if the dran line was clogged and the water could not get out......!! if they did turn down her claim....tell her to ask for another inspector and to call a hvac company and have them both meet her on the job site...( my father was an adjuster for 20 yrs)

lic. gen. contractor

Answer 2

usually 2 " wider than the unit and at least 2" deep. Your friends home warranty probably did not cover damage because she did not have regular A/C maintenance which could have prevented the overflow. The pan is the secondary in prevention of the water leak. The primary is the PVC pipe connected to the Cased coil. If that is clogged then it overflows to the pan which should have a secondary drain that would flow over a window so the homeowner could see it and call someone to look at it. A third prevention would be an overflow switch that would turn off the system if the pan's drain were to be clogged as well and begin to overflow.

Answer 3

I would install a condensation pan saftey switch on any above ceiling unit along with a secondary pan which fits under the complete airhandler etc. they are about 80 bucks

Answer 4

your coil is the only thing that needs to be over the drip pan. just make sure the drip pan is level and your furnace or air handler is level. that is only a secondary drip pan so make sure the primary is correct.

Answer 5

if its an out side unit none, if in the celing one inch larger all around the unit, and 1/12 inches high with a drain hose,