Choosing your drain pump for your Aircon Installation
When your home layout is complicated for the aircon condensate to be discharge, you will require a drain pump to pump it higher so that your drainage pipe can have a gradient towards the drain hole in the toilet or the kitchen. For new BTO owners of Northshore Residence, the homeowners of 4-Room and 5-Room will face such problem. If design and aesthetic is of importance to your new home, the bedroom across the living dining will have the drainpipe flying across it before going to the toilet. You will have insufficient gradient for the condensate to flow and that is when you will require a Drain Pump.
Picture extracted from HDB: Northshore Residence
What are Drain Pumps?
Drain pump help to collect the condensate of the Aircon Indoor Unit and pump it upwards to a certain height before draining it into the drainpipe. This gives a lift in the installation height of the drainpipe and allow it to have a gradient towards the drain hole.
What are the available Drain Pumps in Singapore?
Little GIANT VCMA-20ULS Condensate Drain Pump (554455)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK0HAeKXils
Tank Volume: 1.89L
Max Flow Rate: 300LPH
Power: 75W
Sound Level: Not Available (Refer to video for noise level)
Price Range: Mid (>$150 c/w installation)
The Little Giant is the most commonly use drain pump in Singapore as it is easily available in Aircon Hardware Store. This is usually use in commercial where it serves large office space that has a bigger aircon unit. The condensate drain pump comes with a large tank volume and it has a high flow rate to handle large volume of water. But with the high-power consumption and noise of drain pump (Refer to video), I will not recommend this to be install in your home bedroom.
Hoot’s Product Rating for commercial: 5/5
Hoot’s Product Rating for Home Use: 3/5
Silent+ Mini Lime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cusBy20N-WI
Tank Volume: NA
Max Flow Rate: 12LPH
Power: 16W
Sound Level: 20dB(A)
Price Range: High (>$250 c/w installation)
The silent+ mini lime pump is one of the most compact drain pumps that I have come across. It is designed with noise and aesthetic in mind for residential use. It comes with all the accessories to hide it inside the trunking cover as well. There is no tank storage available due to the compact in size thus the pump will constantly be running to remove the condensate to the drainpipe. This is suitable for smaller room unit that has an aircon capacity < 3.5kW even though it states that it can handle up to 15kw. I would recommend this for homeowners who wants a seamless design with their aircon unit and have a higher budget in their pocket.
Hoot’s Product Rating for commercial: 2/5
Hoot’s Product Rating for Home Use: 4.5/5
DSP Condensate Pump by Daikin Singapore
Tank Volume: 0.35L
Max Flow Rate: 40LPH
Power: 3W
Sound Level: 21dB(A)
Price Range: Mid (>$150 c/w installation)
This product is newly introduced into the market, but Daikin Singapore sees the need for a change of the current available drain pump in the market. They have designed this condensate pump to be suitable for use in the Residential and Commercial market. The pure white cover with the curvy outlook make it look sleek with a visual that looks like a “speaker”. It compliments to be installed beside their iSmile Series which also has a pure white matt surface. It comes with an acceptable tank volume size and a good pump flow rate. Best of all, it come with a Brushless Motor that has a power rating of only 3W. It is one of the quietest and energy efficient drain pump that we see will set the trend in the aircon market soon.
Hoot’s Product Rating for commercial: 4/5
Hoot’s Product Rating for Home Use: 5/5
