New GCH System, but will exposed copper pipes freeze?

Cattikina

I have just had a new Gas Central Heating system put in, but I am worried that the plumber has not lagged the copper pipes that are running outside on an external wall. Bearing in mind UK winters, will these copper pipes freeze/get damaged by being exposed?
Was it his responsibility to lag the pipes if it is needed?
Should I phone him and get him to do this?

Also, is it the plumbers responsibility to fill in holes around pipework, as he hasnt done this and there is one under the boiler, that I can see through past the pipe to outside!

Should I be filling these up, and with what? There are some copper pipes and some grey plastic ones.

He has done a good job (?) but I dont know if I should call him back, or whether these problems are usually left to the user to deal with if they want to?

Thank you for any help you can give me. I havent paid the remaining part of his invoice yet but he wants it in the next day or two!

greenbee

If the copper pipes are the ones labelled 'gas' then don't worry about it. Gas won't freeze. It's only water pipes you need to be worried about. (Although there have been problems in the past with people stealing the copper pipes, which is obviously dangerous as they don't necessarily bother disconnecting the gas!)

It's probably worth asking him to fill the hole in the wall, or you could do it yourself with a silicone sealant. Plumbers seem to do this fairly frequently, which wouldn't be a problem if they mentioned it! I had this with the waste pipe under my kitchen sink, which I blocked with silicone.

If you have a plastic waste pipe from the boiler to the outside (for condensate) make sure that this is lagged, as this is where it may freeze if there is a hard frost. I'm pretty sure someone on this board suffered the consequences of this last year!

Canucklehead

Hi..the OP has the same thread running on LPG & Heating...perhaps the mods could merge them.

Canucklehead

Cattikina

Thanks for both your responses, saw Canuckleheads earlier response too.

Im pretty sure the copper pipes are gas ones as they come from the gas connection to the boiler. But ,I have been outside again and seen there is about a foots worth of white plastic waste pipe. I told the guy I am concerned that there is no lagging on the exterior plastic waste pipe, and asking if he can fill in the holes around the pipes. Hopefully he'll get back to me!

Thank you very much guys

Mankysteve

They wont be water pipes not unless your fitter us a cow boy.

notbritishgas

The condensate waste pipe if run externally should be of a minimum diameter of 32mm.
Normally if that is followed and the condensate freezes then there is not enough of it to block the larger diameter pipe.
Not too sure if fitters also lag the pipe, but in my case it has not been lagged.