Insulating boiler pipe outside

loulou41

I had my first inspection for homecare 200 from BG,and the engineer showed me the boiler pipe outside the house and told me I am should insulate them to avoid them from freezing in the cold. I have seen loads of different pipes outside houses and I have never seen them with insulation. I have seen them at B&Q but I thouoght you only need to insulate the indoor pipe. Also I think the outside pipe is not going to look right look right with the insulation. I might be wrong, does anybody on this forum has insualted their outside boiler pipe, I am not sure what size to buy! Thanks

Pssst

Was he referring to the condensate drain and/or the high pressure relief blowoff outlet?

ormus

i have 3 gas boiler pipes outside my house and not one of them is insulated.
you should only need to insulate any water pipes.

andrew-b

If it's the condensate pipe going to a drain gully and is standard white plastic "overflow" pipe (as used on toilet/tank cistern overflow/warning pipes) then a piece of pipe insulation suitable for 22mm pipe will fit.
this will do you.

Andy

EliteHeat

If the condensate drain pipe runs more than a metre or so externally and if it is 21.5mm in diameter, then it should be insulated. If it is in 32mm or greater then there is no need.

If the pipe freezes during the winter then the boilers condensate trap will not be able to drain and the boiler will stop working until the pipe thaws out.

It is possible to easily convert from 21.5mmm to 32mm on the external run if you don't want to use unsightly insulation.

Mojisola

EliteHeat wrote: »

If the condensate drain pipe runs more than a metre or so externally and if it is 21.5mm in diameter, then it should be insulated. If it is in 32mm or greater then there is no need.

If the pipe freezes during the winter then the boilers condensate trap will not be able to drain and the boiler will stop working until the pipe thaws out.

This happened to my parents last year - and their pipe is in the loft apart from the last few inches so it's worth doing. Well-insulated lofts can be very cold in the winter!

loulou41

EliteHeat wrote: »

If the condensate drain pipe runs more than a metre or so externally and if it is 21.5mm in diameter, then it should be insulated. If it is in 32mm or greater then there is no need.

If the pipe freezes during the winter then the boilers condensate trap will not be able to drain and the boiler will stop working until the pipe thaws out.

It is possible to easily convert from 21.5mmm to 32mm on the external run if you don't want to use unsightly insulation.

Thanks, it does run more than a few meters and next to it there is another black pipe but he told me that pipe is there in case I have an overflow in the toilet and does not need to be insulated. I guess I will have insulate with 21.2mm as I do not want to convert to 32mm to avoid expenses. They are fairly cheap at B&Q.

loulou41

Thanks for all your replies. I was thinking one of those but do not know the difference from B&Q!!
NMC Pipe Insulation 5 pack (W)13 x (L) 1000 x (Dia) 22mm

Climaflex Pipe Insulation 22mm x 13mm x 1m

EliteHeat

That's the stuff. Guaranteed to enhance the appearance of any house

loulou41

Thanks, which one of the two should I buy climaflex or NMC?

EliteHeat

Buy the cheapest to suit your needs.