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My parents live in an apartment. They have a split AC, the main part is on the balcony. From this main part hangs a flexible tube from which the condensation water is expelled to a bucket. Getting the bucket from the balcony to the bathroom to empty is getting more and more difficult for them.

On the external wall, right next to their balcony, there is a wire attached to the lightning rod. It would be fairly easy to connect the tube to the wire so that the water seeps (or drains) to the ground (adhering to the wire).

This is very tempting, but water + wire + lightning do not seem to be a good combination.

How smart is this idea?

I am also considering a misting solution but that would be choice two is the above is really a no-go.

WoJ
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2 Answers2

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A standard solution would be a condensate drain pump and some clear plastic tubing. (Search "condensate pump" or "condensate drain pump".)

The AC unit drains into a reservoir in the base of the pump. The pump has a small float switch which kicks on when sufficient water has accumulated. The water is pumped out through a length of clear plastic tubing (usually 3/8 inch internal diameter vinyl tube), which is fed into for example a laundry sink or washing machine drain. The pump should be able to deliver water anywhere on the same floor.

I installed one for our condensing boiler heating system. It only runs for a few seconds at a time and is very quiet - much quieter than an AC unit anyway. The cost was about $40.

Adam Brown
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The location here is very important. If it is a location where the air conditioning is used very often, ( Like Florida or the deep south or southwest) Then the misting would cause other problems because the area around the balcony would always be moist. Rust, mold and mildew would grow quickly.

You need to get rid of the water. If you have asked the apartment complex and they cannot or will not offer a solution, you are right in finding one yourself.

Again, if your parents are in a hot climate it is imperative that they get some cooler air. My sister-in-law does home health care here in FLA. She said she finds older people that are in distress because they are afraid running the AC will create too high an electric bill. Your parents health is the top concern.

Your plan of running the drip line to the Lightning cable sounds a bit crazy, however it is taking a calculated risk. I live in the lightning capitol of the country. It would be a much higher risk for me than if this was Ohio.

If there should be a lightening strike on the rod it surely would blow up the AC unit and possibly start a fire. I know. I had lightening hit a tree in the lot next to mine, follow the roots to my irrigation system, blow multiple holes in the pipes underground and decimate the controller in the garage. That happened once in my 35 years of living there. In time the area became more developed and the tall trees were cut down. My risk had been reduced.

You need to factor your risk. If thunder storms are rare, the risk may be marginal. If possible, when a storm is known to be coming, maybe the line could easily be disconnected. Possibly you could run a small tube down to close to the ground.

As stated there are many unknowns here. Provide more information as to the floor of the unit and pics of the outside and of course the location, how often the AC is running and this answer can be more detailed.

update Since you revealed the balcony is only on the second floor, i would let the drain drip down to the ground. The distance is not such that there would be much disbursement in the air.

RMDman
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