Air conditioner conundrum

[jeffpas]

Small rental building (3 apartments). The tenant put an air conditioner in the window- good for them.
However, in this all summer long 95+ degree 100% humidity in Central Illinois, its dripping out of that hole in the bottom of the AC 24/7 onto the deck stairs, which I just painted last year. Of course, its just a matter of time before it all rots, water is getting everywhere. I've got the ladder there to repair the window, so nows the time to do something.

I don't really know what to do here. Who wants to have to rip out and replace boards, and if the riser gets rotted I'm in big trouble- not to mention I've seen carpenter ants about looking for some nice soft wood.
My only thought is to screw a plastic funnel with a plastic hose to the bottom of the AC, and run it all the way down past the stairs. But thats going to look bad not to mention the tenants thinking I'm weird LOL.

 

[mb1280]

No funnel needed.

At one of the big box home improvement stores, they have clear plastic tubing.

If that AC is the same as my portable AC, the water comes out of a small tube that you can access, a drainage point.

Get something like 6" or 1" of clear plastic tubing that fits "around" that drainage plug, creating a water-tight seal. The kind I got, you can see re-enforcement lines / material, clear would be better, but I didn't see it. You would ask them to get this cut for you.

Then, "into" that, put your 25' - 50' length of narrower, clear plastic tubing.

I think it was two pre-made 25' lengths, that I connected with a copper coupler.

Attaching it to the side of the building? . . . Would galvanized steel pipe straps work? I'm not sure if they would eventually rust. Maybe pre-painting them with Rustoleum would make them hold up longer.

I think that would look fine.

 

[Bobby the builder]

Small rental building (3 apartments). The tenant put an air conditioner in the window- good for them.
However, in this all summer long 95+ degree 100% humidity in Central Illinois, its dripping out of that hole in the bottom of the AC 24/7 onto the deck stairs, which I just painted last year. Of course, its just a matter of time before it all rots, water is getting everywhere. I've got the ladder there to repair the window, so nows the time to do something.

I don't really know what to do here. Who wants to have to rip out and replace boards, and if the riser gets rotted I'm in big trouble- not to mention I've seen carpenter ants about looking for some nice soft wood.
My only thought is to screw a plastic funnel with a plastic hose to the bottom of the AC, and run it all the way down past the stairs. But thats going to look bad not to mention the tenants thinking I'm weird LOL.

If your worried about looks place a flower box under and let it water the flowers. Water is a blessing and a curse turn it into a blessing!