Setting up a drain tube for the condensate out of the tankless water heater to the existing laundry drain.

The Takagi tankless water heater I installed is a condensing model. That means it cools the exhaust gas below the boiling point of water, thus causing most of the water vapor there to condense out to liquid.

This has a number of advantages, it's more efficient as it recovers the heat as the water condenses (heater is rated 93% efficient). It also means you can use inexpensive PVC pipe for venting. The downside is you need to get that condensate out of the heater.

Since I had an open laundry drain right below the heater, that was a perfect place to run the condensate. All I needed was an adapter to convert the 1/2" male pipe thread to a hose barb for some clear PVC tubing. I used some brass parts I had laying around and picked up a $3.00 roll of clear tubing from the hardware store.

I'll keep an eye on the brass fitting for signs of corrosion. If that's an issue down the road, I've picked some PVC plastic fittings for the drain tube.

The alkaline soap/detergent residue in a laundry drain will neutralize the slightly acidic condensate. In my area, the water is slightly alkaline and the city doesn't require condensate neutralizers. The 3 ft. tall drain standpipe affords the required air gap between the end of the drain and the level of the water in the P-trap. The garage temperature never drops below 50*F even on a cold winter day, so no worries about the drain tube freezing.

Google answers page on condensate volume from natural gas combustion:
- http://answers.google.com/answers/thr...

And here's a video where I check the pH of the tank less condensate:
   • Tankless Water Heater Condensate: Bat...  

More to come...

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Intro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
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