Condensate Collector and Trap

Abstract

A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system may include a furnace having a cold header having a plurality of drain ports, and a condensate trap configured to attach to each of the plurality of drain ports, at least one of the drain ports having a plurality of mounting positions for the condensate trap, each mounting position corresponds to an orientation of the furnace in which the furnace can be installed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) furnace, comprising:
 a cold header comprising a plurality of drain ports; and   a condensate trap configured to attach to each of the plurality of drain ports, each drain comprising at least one mounting position for the condensate trap, wherein at least one of the drain ports comprises a plurality of mounting positions for the condensate trap.   
     
     
         2 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , wherein the cold header comprises at least three drain ports. 
     
     
         3 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , wherein the condensate trap is configured to receive condensate from the drain port of the cold header to which the condensate trap is attached. 
     
     
         4 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , wherein the condensate trap comprises opposing outlet ports on either side of the condensate trap. 
     
     
         5 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the drain ports comprising the plurality of mounting positions for the condensate trap comprises a first position and a second position, wherein the second position is at angular displacement to the first position and rotated about the drain port that the condensate trap is attached to. 
     
     
         6 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , wherein the cold header is configured to attach to a partition panel of the furnace. 
     
     
         7 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 5 , wherein each mounting position corresponds to an orientation in which the furnace can be installed. 
     
     
         8 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 7 , wherein the cold header and the condensate trap are configured to allow the furnace to be installed in at least four different orientations. 
     
     
         9 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 8 , wherein removal of the cold header is not required to relocate the condensate trap to a different mounting position. 
     
     
         10 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , wherein the condensate trap comprises a plurality of internal baffles disposed within the condensate configured to at least one of (1) prevent a need to prime the condensate trap and (2) prevent condensate from backing up into the cold header. 
     
     
         11 . The HVAC furnace of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an inducer blower mounted directly to the cold header, wherein the cold header comprises a plurality of mounting positions for the inducer blower, each mounting position associated with an orientation of the furnace.   
     
     
         12 . A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprising:
 a furnace, comprising:
 a cold header comprising a plurality of drain ports; and 
 a condensate trap configured to attach to each of the plurality of drain ports, each drain comprising at least one mounting position for the condensate trap, wherein at least one of the drain ports comprises a plurality of mounting positions for the condensate trap. 
   
     
     
         13 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , wherein the cold header comprises at least three drain ports. 
     
     
         14 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , wherein the condensate trap is configured to receive condensate from the drain port of the cold header to which the condensate trap is attached. 
     
     
         15 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , wherein the condensate trap comprises opposing outlet ports on either side of the condensate trap. 
     
     
         16 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one of the drain ports comprising the plurality of mounting positions for the condensate trap comprises a first position and a second position, wherein the second position is at angular displacement to the first position and rotated about the drain port that the condensate trap is attached to. 
     
     
         17 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , wherein the cold header is configured to attach to a partition panel of the furnace. 
     
     
         18 . The HVAC system of  claim 16 , wherein each mounting position corresponds to an orientation in which the furnace can be installed. 
     
     
         19 . The HVAC system of  claim 18 , wherein the cold header and the condensate trap are configured to allow the furnace to be installed in at least four different orientations. 
     
     
         20 . The HVAC system of  claim 19 , wherein removal of the cold header is not required to relocate the condensate trap to a different mounting position. 
     
     
         21 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , wherein the condensate trap comprises a plurality of internal baffles disposed within the condensate configured to at least one of (1) prevent a need to prime the condensate trap and (2) prevent condensate from backing up into the cold header. 
     
     
         22 . The HVAC system of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an inducer blower mounted directly to the cold header, wherein the cold header comprises a plurality of mounting positions for the inducer blower, each mounting position associated with an orientation of the furnace.