Condensing Gas Package Unit for Roof or Ground Installation, Collector, and Condensate Drain Apparatus

Abstract

Air conditioning units packaged with condensing heat exchangers, collectors for such units, and apparatuses for passing a tube through a duct wall and making a loop and trap in the tube. In different embodiments, a drain line may connect to a collector attached to the heat exchanger or condensate may discharge through an inducer fan and out with combustion gasses. A drain line opening in the collector may be lower than a drain hole to the inlet of the inducer fan, which may be lower than an exhaust hole for the fan. A plug in the drain line opening in the collector may be used to discharge condensate through the inducer fan and a bifurcation in the exhaust conduit may separate condensate from most combustion gasses. Embodiments having a drain line connected to the collector may route the drain line through the roof, a conduit, or in the return duct.

1 . An air conditioning unit packaged with a condensing gas heat exchanger for efficiently heating and cooling a space, wherein the unit is configured for installation at ground level and the unit is also configured for installation on a roof of a building, the unit comprising within a single enclosure:
 an outdoor section;   a return section having a return duct opening for connecting the unit to a return duct that delivers air to the unit from the space;   a heating section comprising the condensing gas heat exchanger; and   a supply duct opening for connecting the unit to a supply duct that delivers air from the unit to the space;   the outdoor section further comprising:
 one or more burners firing into the condensing gas heat exchanger; 
 a collector connected to the condensing gas heat exchanger; 
 an inducer fan having an inlet connected to the collector, wherein the inducer fan, when operating, draws air past the one or more burners and draws combustion gasses through the condensing gas heat exchanger and collector and exhausts the combustion gasses through an outlet of the inducer fan to outside of the enclosure; and 
 a drain line opening penetrating the collector; and 
 a drain hole extending through the collector to the inlet of the inducer fan wherein the drain hole is higher than the drain line opening. 
   
     
     
         2 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 1  further comprising a condensate drain line connected to the drain line opening penetrating the collector, wherein the condensate drain line extends to the return duct opening for routing through the return duct for disposal of the condensate within the building. 
     
     
         3 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 2  further comprising a tubular conduit through which the condensate drain line passes between the drain line opening penetrating the collector and the return duct opening. 
     
     
         4 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 3  wherein the condensate drain line passes through the heating section and the tubular conduit protects the condensate drain line from direct heat from the condensing gas heat exchanger where the condensate drain line passes through the heating section. 
     
     
         5 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 3  wherein the condensate drain line passes through the outdoor section and the tubular conduit protects the condensate drain line from freezing where the condensate drain line passes through the outdoor section. 
     
     
         6 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 5  further comprising an interstitial space between the condensate drain line and the tubular conduit, the unit further comprising an inlet passageway from the heating section to the interstitial space, and an outlet passageway from the interstitial space to the return section, wherein, when the unit is operating, air flows from the heating section, through the inlet passageway, through the interstitial space along the condensate drain line, and out the outlet passageway to the return section, to keep the condensate drain line from freezing where the condensate drain line passes through the outdoor section. 
     
     
         7 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 1  further comprising a floor of the enclosure and a condensate drain line connected to the drain line opening penetrating the collector, wherein the condensate drain line extends vertically downward from the drain line opening through the floor. 
     
     
         8 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 7  further comprising a roof curb assembly for supporting the unit on a roof and containing the return duct and the supply duct, the roof curb assembly comprising a tubular conduit for passage of the condensate drain line for disposal of the condensate within the building, wherein the tubular conduit extends from the floor, through the roof curb assembly, and through the roof of the building. 
     
     
         9 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 8  wherein the tubular conduit extends:
 from vertically below the drain line opening; 
 at a slope through the roof curb assembly; 
 to the return duct and the supply duct; and 
 through the roof of the building between the return duct and the supply duct. 
 
     
     
         10 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 7  wherein the condensate drain line extends vertically downward from the drain line opening penetrating the collector through the floor and on vertically downward through the roof of the building for disposal of the condensate within the building. 
     
     
         11 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 1  further comprising a plug in the drain line opening penetrating the collector and an exhaust conduit extending from the outlet of the inducer fan to the outside of the enclosure, wherein condensate formed in the condensing gas heat exchanger passes through the drain hole extending through the collector to the inlet of the inducer fan, through the inducer fan, through the exhaust conduit, and out of the enclosure with the combustion gasses. 
     
     
         12 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 11  wherein:
 the exhaust conduit comprises a bifurcation that separates the condensate from a majority of the combustion gasses; 
 the bifurcation comprises a high path and a low path; 
 the high path has a larger cross sectional area than the low path; 
 the majority of the combustion gasses pass through the high path; and 
 a minority of the combustion gasses pass through the low path with the condensate to keep the condensate from freezing when ambient temperature conditions are below freezing. 
 
     
     
         13 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 12  wherein the low path discharges into a vertical standpipe and the condensate is allowed to drip into the vertical standpipe while the minority of the combustion gasses emerging from the low path are exhausted upward between the low path and the standpipe. 
     
     
         14 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 13  wherein the unit is installed at ground level and the standpipe extends into the ground and terminates with at least one opening to the ground below a frost line in the ground. 
     
     
         15 . The air conditioning unit of  claim 1  wherein the condensate is directed to discharge into a bed of porous alkaline material in the ground to neutralize acidity of the condensate and dispose of the condensate into the ground. 
     
     
         16 . A collector for a condensing gas heat exchanger for an HVAC unit, the collector comprising:
 an exhaust hole for an inducer fan having an inlet connected to the collector, wherein the inducer fan, when operating, draws air past one or more burners and draws combustion gasses through the condensing gas heat exchanger and through the collector and exhausts the combustion gasses through an outlet of the inducer fan to outside of an enclosure of the HVAC unit;   a drain line opening penetrating the collector wherein, when the HVAC unit is installed for operation, the drain line opening penetrating the collector is lower than the exhaust hole for the inducer fan; and   a drain hole extending through the collector to the inlet of the inducer fan wherein, when the HVAC unit is installed for operation, the drain hole is higher than the drain line opening and the drain hole is lower than the exhaust hole for the inducer fan.   
     
     
         17 . The collector of  claim 16  wherein the exhaust hole for the inducer fan is round, the drain line opening penetrating the collector is threaded, and the drain hole has a smaller cross-sectional area than the exhaust hole for the inducer fan. 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . An apparatus for passing a tube through a wall of a duct and for forming a trap with the tube, the apparatus comprising a plate having a bend extending across the plate, the bend separating the plate into a first portion and a second portion wherein:
 the first portion is connected to the second portion at the bend;   the first portion is at a non-zero angle to the second portion, also at the bend;   the first portion comprises a first hole sized and shaped for passage of the tube;   the second portion comprises a second hole sized and shaped for passage of the tube and a third hole sized and shaped for passage of the tube;   the first portion also comprises multiple fourth holes sized and shaped for passage of fasteners;   each of the multiple fourth holes are substantially smaller in diameter than the first hole;   the first portion is configured to seal an opening in the wall of the duct by placing the first portion over the opening with the second portion outside of the duct and attaching the first portion to the duct with multiple fasteners that pass through the multiple fourth holes and attach to the wall of the duct; and   the apparatus is configured to permit the tubing to penetrate the wall of the duct though the first hole, then bend downward through the second hole, and then bend upward looping substantially 360 degrees around to extend downward through the third hole forming a helical loop in the tubing with a substantially horizontal axis that serves as a trap in the tubing.   
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 19  further comprising a first grommet at the first hole, a second grommet at the second hole, and a third grommet at the third hole wherein the first grommet, the second grommet, and the third grommet are all configured to protect the tubing from being damaged by edges of the first hole, the second hole, or the third hole. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 19  further comprising the tubing wherein the tubing passes though the first hole, then bends and passes through the second hole, and then bends and loops 360 degrees around to extend through the third hole forming the helical loop. 
     
     
         23 . (canceled)