Fan Coil Unit design question

[Hannes]

I have been looking at condensate pan design in fan coil units (FCU). How prevalent is the practice of using only a minimal sized condensate pan on coils installed on an angle?

I have worked with only a small sampling of FCU's for residential condo's and they seem to have the condensate pan only at the coil's lower corner, apparently feeling that the surface tension of the water will stop drips (doesn't work well if the coils have excessive dust, debris or if something goes wrong).

Is the use of minimal sized condensate pans normal?
What companies design the FCU's with a full pan?

Thanks.

 

[Montemayor]

Hannes:

It's called "cost-effective competitiveness. I'm afraid it's the answer to selling to a vast, ignorant market of lay people who don't know any better.

What's worse is that the cheap, pan application (when installed in an attic) accumulates dust and blown-in insulation and the drain plugs up. As soon as this happens, the contents spill out and onto the drywall ceilings below, ruining a good part of the house or residence where this is installed. This has happened numerous times and I've changed mine to drain to the outside of my house.

As long as engineers are a minority population this will persist. The rest of the marketplace probably sees this as "American built-in obsolescence".

Art Montemayor
Spring, TX