Air intake for furnace

An air intake shoe for a direct vent, condensing furnace of the type in which a combustion air duct brings outside combustion air to the furnace, said intake shoe is coupled to said combustion air duct to supply combustion air to a burner box that contains at least one gas burner, a heat exchanger receives hot combustion products from the burner, an inducer coupled to a discharge side of the heat exchanger exhausts the combustion products into an exhaust vent duct and induces a flow of said combustion air from said combustion air duct through said intake air shoe and said burner box, and a drain line is coupled to said air intake shoe to drain condensate therefrom;

• wherein said air intake shoe comprises a tray portion having a bottom wall and side walls and a top opening that fits an intake opening in the burner box, and a tube portion having left and right generally cylindrical end portions one of which is connected to said combustion air duct and the other of which is coupled to said drain line, and a central portion therebetween from which said tray portion protrudes radially, said central portion having a generally cylindrical wall that is contiguous with the bottom wall of the tray portion but which opens to the tray portion to permit combustion air to flow to the burner box, and has a lip dispensing below said top opening, such that when said furnace is installed in an inverted, downflow orientation with said top opening facing downward atop said burner box, said lip traps condensate in said shoe and channels it to said drain line.