HVAC DIY Maintenance - Float Switch Explained

The filter tends to be the common root cause or some that don’t run a filter at all. What happens is that dust passes through the system and ends up getting caught up in the condensation that drains out and that causes the clogs. When a filter is too dirty, the suction will bend the filter and air passes around it. There are other instances of clogged drains or float switch issues such as improper pitch in the drain line, too much flow and not enough diameter in the pipe, and also issues with the drain pain holes getting clogged with buildup.

Excellent video. Thank you. Regular maintenance like this not only saves us money, but also tech’s time, which allows for people with serious problems to get service quicker. Basic preventative maintenance in all things is good, when it’s possible to do it.

People like you are seriously Heaven-sent. I thought I was gonna have to pay a service tech a bunch of money for something you did in like 2 minutes. Thank you!

3 years later and i just used this to clean my own line. Thank you sir.

I think this video just saved me a few hundred bucks. Thankfully, I had a shop vac ready to go. Float Switch was definitely filled with water. Drained that and turned on. Few minutes later, back off. Went to the drain pipe. Got my shop vac and a bunch of nasty stuff comes out. A lot! Turned it back on and it's been 10mins of AC on. Let's hope is stays that way! Thank you!

This is amazing, thank you. My house and system is just under two years old. I’ve always regularly poured white distilled vinegar down into the drain line. Yesterday, my entire thermostat was dead as if it had no power supply. There weren’t any batteries in it to begin with so we added some and system came back on but then started to cycle on and off 5 minutes at a time. When it was on, I could feel cold air blowing out so I knew it wasn’t a total system failure. I checked drain line and was shocked to see it was completely full. Outside was still dripping though so I was confused. I hooked shop vac up to outside and inside until there was not even a drop left in line. I pulled out an entire shop vac full of liquid! It was the consistency of plasma. It worked, the air kicked back on and cooled me down from 77 to 72 in under an hour (Central Florida). Videos like this are a lifesaver! I deduced that the float switch must have popped up and killed power to whole system. Since thermostat didn’t have batteries in it initially, it also went down completely. I learned my lesson that in Florida, when you run your air as low as I do, just vinegar won’t do the trick - it seems I’ll need to regularly get out the vacuum. This is also my first handler in the garage if that matters. All my other handlers have been in insulated closets.

Yours is the only video I watched that showed keeping the float closed when running the vacuum. I’ve been searching to see if it should be open or closed. Thanks.

You just saved me a late night call for repair - just used the shop vac to clear the line bc the power kept shutting off. Thanks for sharing your knowledge 👍🏽

I’m a retired home inspector. Excellent job of explaining the ac routine maintenance. 👍👍

Brilliant! Thank you for making this easy to follow and briliant to understand! It seriously may have saved me a useless trip. You're amazing.

Saved me some money and a service call and some great advice to service my system. Two story house and noticed some water leaking out of the ac/heat unit from upstairs. Had this happen a few years back and I remember the guy out and unplugging drain hole. I went up there and like a complete moron went at it with a coat hanger after taking the cover off and cleaning it out. Button everything back up and nothing. Didn't have a problem with the unit working until I meddled with it. The one switch the coat hanger was near was the Safe-t-switch in your video. After watching your video I went back up and sure enough, the black piece was now dettached. I fiddled with it and sure enough... paydirt..as soon as I put the black piece back on the safe-t-switch the unit came to life. Thank you for this simple and very informative video.

Very well done, sir...we are recent retirees to southwest Florida. Hot, nasty and humid air. We experienced the float issue which killed power to unit. Called neighbor who does A/C and he got us up and running after a huge snot clog vacuumed out. Luckily, at minimal cost. I am now subscribed to your channel so I can keep up on the refresher of what to do. Confident we are now on the right track for monthly/semi annual maintenance. Thanks for helping many folks who may have thought their only option was to call a repair company costing hundreds of dollars for something easily done at home!

👋🏽😃✔This is PRECISELY WHAT I FACED. The filter on this inside unit is NEWS TO ME, TOO!!! No one ever told me it existed or handed me a maintenance list when I purchased my condo. Now, I'm your newest fan and subscriber! Thank you for sharing this incredible information. Your video is an eye opener and a head turner for me.✔✔🙏🏽🇺🇲🙏🏽🇺🇲🙏🏽✌🏽

Thanks man. I didn't think it could be the float because there was no power to the thermostat. But I didn't realize that that's literally the point

The BEST video on how to HVAC EVER!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Your advice saved me a lot of trouble. Cleared out my float switch and no problems. Thanks for the great video.

Just cleared my line using the wet vac and my AC turned back. Temperature dropping down from summer Hellfire. Appreciate the video!

Very well explained, thank you for sharing your hard earned knowledge !!

Thanks! Very well done, simple explanations so us lay people can learn some of the basics to save money.

This was my issue, thank you for this helpful, and money-saving video!