Frozen condensate pipe....

[efiste2]

Any good tips on keeping a condensate pipe from freezing on a worcester 24i. The inlaws have had BG out twice now and all they do is pour hot water down the pipe, then leave. The system is on a 3star 24h contract, but BG cant get back till tomorrow evening, and even then i think he will only defrost the pipe again. I have noticed that when the pipe goes through the outside wall it has a slight upward slope, ie no fall, will this only add to the problem. I have had the hairdryer on the pipe to get it running again, and also removed the bottom pipe connection on the boiler so that the condensate can run out of the tank and into a temp container. But any good tips on KEEPING the pipe from freezing would be much appreciated

 

[gassafeengineer]

what size is the condensate we generally fit 1 1/4" where the condensate leaves the building to stop it freezing but we have had this freeze on the odd ocassion so have fitted 2", pipe lagging will surfice but can be ugly hence the fitting of a larger pipe

 

[dextrous]

Give it a proper fall would be a start.

 

[efiste2]

its looks to me to a 20mm diameter pipe, so your 1 1/4 dia tells me its too small a pipe that has been fitted. Without going into detail the inlaws had the boiler fitted by BG two years ago, coincidently a couple of months before them we had our boiler installed by an independant. Im sure i wont suprise you chaps that the BG installation was THREE TIMES the price of ours!!! more or less the same boiler with the only difference that the inlaws have an external pressure pressure type thing (big red bomb like thing ) . And to be honest the independant chap did by far the better,neater job, which is backed up when i check our condensate pipe, and its the 1 1/4 one. Thanks for the advice chaps

 

[efiste2]

Just to add to the post BG came this afternoon and did the hot water trick again, but this time cut the length of the condensate pipe down, and informed us that they will return to fit (as gassafe said!!) a 1 1/4 inch pipe for the condensate to run out. he also added that if the condensate pipe bend from the boiler was removed (as we tried ) and allowed the water to flow into a temp container, there was a danger of the gas fumes leaking out through the disconnected pipe. IS THIS TRUE ......from a quick search on t'internet, it appears that a water filled U bend internal to the tank/boiler should stop any gasses escaping down the pipe. If that is the case, does the worcester 24i have ths "U BEND" system

 

[gassafeengineer]

All domestic boilers have an integral trap/syphon to stop the fumes escaping. Do you have a trap outside the boiler prob not so letting it drip into a tub is fine

 

[efiste2]

Thanks again for your advice mate, Much appreciated

 

[hym]

Extreme temps i am afraid. Even had the large diameter pipes with a perfect drop freeze. What do you do,,,you fit to manufacture spec. Is this a one off winter or is it signs of things to come if so everyone will have to rethink condensate routes, not just British Gas everyone is suseptible.

 

[laodan]

I had the same problem this morning. A pool of water had formed below the boiler leading me to the problem. So the government insisted on using outside condensate pipes to only find that they freeze in extreme temperatures, right? I must be one of thousands with this problem.

Anyway, could someone tell me if I have any right to get the chap back here who fitted the boiler in Dec 2008 i.e is anything wrong. The condensate pipe from the boiler is 20mm width (sorry metric here) which feeds into a large 4cm pipe on the outside wall.

It appears that the 4cm larger pipe was frozen as well as the 2cm one. I've now disconnected the 2cm from the 4cm, and the waste water will just have to drip on the ground outside for the moment.

Is there a longer-term solution here? I.e keeping the boiler on low through the coldest nights to keep things moving? Is there anything I can do with the pipe, for example, covering it with cloths to give it some insulation? Thanks.

 

[misscheef]

My heating enginneer came round and re-lagged the condenstate pipe with high quality waterproof lagging, after it froze 4 times, and even after this seriously customer-focused effort, it froze again this morning. The only solution as I see it is to use a raft of hot water bottles, a hair dryer (this can take longer) or hot water. One method I found that works quite well is to separate the lagging down the middle (where the split is), and slowly and VERY, VERY CAREFULLY! pour the hot water over the plastic pipe. A long-term solution is to box the pipe in (where poss.), but even this isn't 100%. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOUR CONDENSATE PIPE IS NOT AT GROUND LEVEL as it could be dangerous. At the earliest opportunity, talk to your heating engineer / DIY specialist for possible feasible long-term solutions to this problem

 

[ruffie]

Could anybody enlighten me as to why we must have these condensing boilers put in when they get frozen pipe problems in cold weather and refuse to work? I have been tapping condensate pipes, using boiling water and super efficient hairdryer to no avail. It seems to me that you most want to use your central heating when the weather is at its coldest, and the very fact that there is an error message built into the thing which says "frozen pipe or trap" means that the manufacturers anticipate this problem! We had a superb baxi for 30 years and the worst thing about getting an extension on the house was being forced to have a condensing bioler which I had been warned against many times. It has been nothing but trouble. "Engineers" come and "mend" it and the problem retunrns within the day. Now I don't know what to do as the error message is there to say that the pipes are frozen wheb they are not.

Any good tips on keeping a condensate pipe from freezing on a worcester 24i. The inlaws have had BG out twice now and all they do is pour hot water down the pipe, then leave. The system is on a 3star 24h contract, but BG cant get back till tomorrow evening, and even then i think he will only defrost the pipe again. I have noticed that when the pipe goes through the outside wall it has a slight upward slope, ie no fall, will this only add to the problem. I have had the hairdryer on the pipe to get it running again, and also removed the bottom pipe connection on the boiler so that the condensate can run out of the tank and into a temp container. But any good tips on KEEPING the pipe from freezing would be much appreciated

 

[nickso]

Could anybody enlighten me as to why we must have these condensing boilers put in when they get frozen pipe problems in cold weather and refuse to work? I have been tapping condensate pipes, using boiling water and super efficient hairdryer to no avail. It seems to me that you most want to use your central heating when the weather is at its coldest, and the very fact that there is an error message built into the thing which says "frozen pipe or trap" means that the manufacturers anticipate this problem! We had a superb baxi for 30 years and the worst thing about getting an extension on the house was being forced to have a condensing bioler which I had been warned against many times. It has been nothing but trouble. "Engineers" come and "mend" it and the problem retunrns within the day. Now I don't know what to do as the error message is there to say that the pipes are frozen wheb they are not.

Any good tips on keeping a condensate pipe from freezing on a worcester 24i. The inlaws have had BG out twice now and all they do is pour hot water down the pipe, then leave. The system is on a 3star 24h contract, but BG cant get back till tomorrow evening, and even then i think he will only defrost the pipe again. I have noticed that when the pipe goes through the outside wall it has a slight upward slope, ie no fall, will this only add to the problem. I have had the hairdryer on the pipe to get it running again, and also removed the bottom pipe connection on the boiler so that the condensate can run out of the tank and into a temp container. But any good tips on KEEPING the pipe from freezing would be much appreciated

if its at risk of freezing make it so its not at risk of freezing.

the error code will be for blocked condensate not frozen.

 

[Whitespirit66]

Could anybody enlighten me as to why we must have these condensing boilers put in when they get frozen pipe problems in cold weather and refuse to work? I have been tapping condensate pipes, using boiling water and super efficient hairdryer to no avail. It seems to me that you most want to use your central heating when the weather is at its coldest, and the very fact that there is an error message built into the thing which says "frozen pipe or trap" means that the manufacturers anticipate this problem! We had a superb baxi for 30 years and the worst thing about getting an extension on the house was being forced to have a condensing bioler which I had been warned against many times. It has been nothing but trouble. "Engineers" come and "mend" it and the problem retunrns within the day. Now I don't know what to do as the error message is there to say that the pipes are frozen wheb they are not.

Any good tips on keeping a condensate pipe from freezing on a worcester 24i. The inlaws have had BG out twice now and all they do is pour hot water down the pipe, then leave. The system is on a 3star 24h contract, but BG cant get back till tomorrow evening, and even then i think he will only defrost the pipe again. I have noticed that when the pipe goes through the outside wall it has a slight upward slope, ie no fall, will this only add to the problem. I have had the hairdryer on the pipe to get it running again, and also removed the bottom pipe connection on the boiler so that the condensate can run out of the tank and into a temp container. But any good tips on KEEPING the pipe from freezing would be much appreciated

Condemning all condensing boilers because of your experiences, or the experiences of your friends, can be misleading.

Just because you bought a Daewoo, and it was rubbish, doesn't mean that all modern cars are rubbish!

 

[nickso]

Could anybody enlighten me as to why we must have these condensing boilers put in when they get frozen pipe problems in cold weather and refuse to work? I have been tapping condensate pipes, using boiling water and super efficient hairdryer to no avail. It seems to me that you most want to use your central heating when the weather is at its coldest, and the very fact that there is an error message built into the thing which says "frozen pipe or trap" means that the manufacturers anticipate this problem! We had a superb baxi for 30 years and the worst thing about getting an extension on the house was being forced to have a condensing bioler which I had been warned against many times. It has been nothing but trouble. "Engineers" come and "mend" it and the problem retunrns within the day. Now I don't know what to do as the error message is there to say that the pipes are frozen wheb they are not.

Any good tips on keeping a condensate pipe from freezing on a worcester 24i. The inlaws have had BG out twice now and all they do is pour hot water down the pipe, then leave. The system is on a 3star 24h contract, but BG cant get back till tomorrow evening, and even then i think he will only defrost the pipe again. I have noticed that when the pipe goes through the outside wall it has a slight upward slope, ie no fall, will this only add to the problem. I have had the hairdryer on the pipe to get it running again, and also removed the bottom pipe connection on the boiler so that the condensate can run out of the tank and into a temp container. But any good tips on KEEPING the pipe from freezing would be much appreciated

Condemning all condensing boilers because of your experiences, or the experiences of your friends, can be misleading.

Just because you bought a Daewoo, and it was rubbish, doesn't mean that all modern cars are rubbish!

especially if the daewoo had an essential part installed incorrectly.


daewoo are ****e though

 

[Whitespirit66]

Yes, on a Daewoo, the anti-theft device is............. the badge on the bonnet!