Condenser Boiler

[denby04]

Am I being fobbed off? 2 months ago I had a complete new central heating system installed with a condenser boiler. Woke up this morning, house cold, error message on the boiler. Sorted this out using the manual, heating kicked in but sporodic drops of water are dripping onto the worksurface. Contacted the man who installed the system and he has told me the outlet pipe will be frozen and to pour hot water over the pipe outside and, if that did not work, to use my hair dryer and point the heat through the hole where the pipe goes out of the property. He told me this is a very common problem. Mmmm, done all that, still dripping slightly and I will not be a happy bunny if the same happens in the morning. Also, if anyone has the same problem in the past how can it be fixed. Many Thanks.

[eastern]

Thats the biggest problem with condensing boilers, they produce a lot of condensate water and if the drain pipe goes out side the property then it can freeze. I don't know how you can get round this other than rerouting the outlet pipe and lagging it. I made sure my pipe stayed in the property down through the floor and spliced it into the sink waste under the floor. My mates a plumber and I will ask him for any tips for you, by the way what make of boiler is it?

[denby04]

Hi eastern, thanks for your response. The boiler is a Remeha Avanta Plus 28C.

[The Builder]

Any way you can intercept the pipe before it reaches the outside air?
Then, temporarily let it disharge into a bucket.
Other than that, pipe lagging should do it.

[denby04]

There are more pipes below this new boiler installed in the kitchen then my previous one (it looks an absolute mess to be honest). Not sure about your advice The Builder as I am a 50 plus single female with no knowledge of anything DIY. I need to get my act together and learn basic DIY cos I am sick of being ripped off.

[denby04]

Oh, How do you lag an outside plastic pipe?

[The Builder]

Same as any other Denby .................. standard pipe lagging from any good DIY place.
I think there's been a bit of a run on it lately though :o(

[terence7556]

hi denby you are not alone with this problem, hundreds of people are going through this.even the folks whose installers stopped their 22mm pipe at the wall and then connected it into 32mm 0r 40mm waste pipe are still experiencing the pipe freezing and stopping their boilers working.its the extreme cold weather.lots of people are paying £60-90 on a call out to have a plumber come and pour hot water on their condense pipe. by the way the condense pipe is meant to have water dripping out of it

[AlBags]

For now, you could try lodging a board against the wall .. and covering the outlet. Then place a sheet to stop cold air circulating over outlet. That may get you over the extreme cold period.

[boxtops]

Fingers crossed, it's not happened to me, my boiler outlet is on the first floor so hard to access without a long ladder. Then again we leave our heating on all the time at the moment so when it kicks in, it puffs out a big cloud of condensation which hopefully would melt any ice ?

[The-HouseHusband]

If the condenser pipe has been passed through the wall on the horizontal you will always get the problem. Most installers do it that way as it is quick and easy for them and they dont suffer the consequences. The pipe should have been passed through the wall with the outer end lower than the inner allowing the water to flow freely, unfortunately if the pipe passes through horizontally water will not flow correctly and as you have found with the cold weather a build up of ice in the pipe causes problems inside the house. More importantly it could also cause moisture within the cavity wall if you have one leading to damp problems in the future. Sorry to sound like the angel of doom but have worked alongside some "cowboys" in my time and have reported a few to trading standards. I would get the installer back to carry out remedial action.

[boxtops]

THH - I experienced that - my installers came back and re-angled the outlet pipe, I've not had any problems since.