British Gas - Condensing boiler freezing up

macman

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

My boiler was fitted by warmfront. The condensate pipe freezes every year but the maintenance agreement I have with the specifically excludes the condensate pipe freezing!

I had a plumber look at it after this year's freeze and he lagged it, so hopefully it won't freeze again - but he did say that the boiler had water in it that had backed up from the frozen pipe, so goodness knows what damage that has done!

But if they had fitted it in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, then it would not freeze, and so no maintenance would be required. It's not a maintenance issue, it's a faulty install!
If it has caused any damage then you will not be covered by the warranty, as the faulty install will invalidate it.

macman

confuseddad wrote: »

I will check tonight thanks. At the back of the boiler there is a serius of pipes mostly copper. Water in gas etc ther is also a pipe with what looks like a plastic cover on that is ribbed. Coild that be it?

Again thanks man.

It won't be copper (because the condensate is corrosive). It is always plastic, probably white.
The other copper pipes should be: CH flow, CH return, cold water, hot water, gas.
The condensate pipe will run down away from the boiler, either through the outside wall or to another waste elsewhere.

zzzLazyDaisy

macman wrote: »

But if they had fitted it in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, then it would not freeze, and so no maintenance would be required. It's not a maintenance issue, it's a faulty install!
If it has caused any damage then you will not be covered by the warranty, as the faulty install will invalidate it.

It is out of warranty anyway. But Eaga owns the company that manufacture the boiler, Eaga also manages the warmfront grants on behalf of the government, and they also operate the maintenance agreement for warm front (called warmsure). So if it is a faulty install, it will be difficult for them to argue they are not responsible for putting it right!

To be honest I wouldn't have bothered with a maintenance agreement for a new boiler, but it broke down three times during the initial two year warranty, so I really felt I had no choice. I went with warmsure, even though they weren't the cheapest, precisely because of the above.

However, I seem to have hijacked OP's thread - apologies!

confuseddad_2

Thank you mac man.

I suppose it could run into the kitchen sink drain outlet?

macman

confuseddad wrote: »

Thank you mac man.

I suppose it could run into the kitchen sink drain outlet?

Yes, that's the obvious route, if nearby.

Watcher61

Zanderman wrote: »

Just resurrecting this thread to see whether the OP ever got any response from British Gas.

My elderly mother (82 year-old asthmatic, living alone) is in the same situation - was sold, by BG, a very expensive condensing boiler 18 months ago, and last winter it failed her, just when she needed it most, because the condensate pipe froze up.

They came out and thawed it, but it wasn't impressive service, and made the installation look amateur. And it's at first floor level, so no, she can't pour hot water over it.

Recently she's had the same problem - and BG have told her they now have a solution - a heating strip that can run along the pipe, triggered when it gets cold. Great. BUT the cheeky b*****rs have said it will cost £190 to install it!

Now, to my mind, if you install £2500 worth of new boiler, and it breaks down when it gets cold, you've installed something that is, in consumer-speak, 'unfit for purpose'.

And in such circumstances the 'fix' should be free. With, potentially, some money back for the inconvenience, and for the error of the effectively mis-sold 'improved' boiler (her old boiler never broke down because of the cold!!)

Anyone tried, and anyone succeeded, in getting BG to retrofit this system free yet? I'm inclined to try, but wonder if there's anyone who's already had a go.

My mother (now aged 80) has the same problem. British Gas fitted the boiler 2 years ago. It froze up last winter and despite being lagged it is freezing up again. Result - no hot water or heating. It is not safe for an old lady to be out in this weather pouring boiling water from a kettle over a plastic pipe. Likely result - broken hip and hypothermia!

What are British Gas going to do about it?

Zanderman

Watcher61 wrote: »

My mother (now aged 80) has the same problem. British Gas fitted the boiler 2 years ago. It froze up last winter and despite being lagged it is freezing up again. Result - no hot water or heating. It is not safe for an old lady to be out in this weather pouring boiling water from a kettle over a plastic pipe. Likely result - broken hip and hypothermia!

What are British Gas going to do about it?

Without prompting? Probably nothing. My attempts to get some response from them (as detailed in previous post) have so far led to nothing - apart from an auto-acknowledgement.

But I'm not going to give up - they're repeatedly installing flawed systems, or badly installing good systems (not sure which) and they should be rectifying this. A central heating system that fails when it gets cold? You couldn't make it up could you!

And expecting little old ladies to sort it for themselves by climbing a stepladder, in the snow, holding a kettle of boiling water?

Try emailing their customers complaints man Andy Eley, at customercomplaints@britishgas.co.uk That's what I'm doing, and I won't give up until I get some sense out of them.

Hooloovoo

My boiler is in the downstairs toilet. The condensate drain goes into the sink drain pipe which is 32mm. It then increases up to 40mm before it goes through the wall and into an external foul drain.

It still froze up yesterday! So using a bigger pipe is not always the solution.

My personal solution is to remember to run some hot water down the little-used sink everyday from now on!

rustyboy21

Just checked through Baxi and Worcester condensing boiler installer guides and neither state that you need to insulate the pipework.

Worcester do say that you need to insulate it if the pipework runs outaside the house, but if you use a 32mm pipe you don't need to.

I am in the same boat guys/gals and I work in the fireplace industry. I have had to take off my condesate pipe and put a bucket underneath to catch the drains as my boiler is upstairs in an old toilet room on the landing( Victorian house, Gable end, bloody big trees close by, so cant get a kettle up there !). I have a worcester boiler and it was easy to do, don't know how easy it will be to get it on again though( should be ok) My mate the engineer is going around fitting heater elements to pipes for people this week. Think he is charging similar to BG , will ask and let you know if BG is excessive

Therefore as BG would say it was fitted to manufacturers instructions, I dont hold much hope for you all. with the weather we have had ( -17 last night for me) I don't even think lagging would work.

It is that cold my cold water pipes for the downstairs bathroom have frozen too and they run internally through the extensions loft space. Hot water ones run same way, but are ok.

neilmcl

Hooloovoo wrote: »

My boiler is in the downstairs toilet. The condensate drain goes into the sink drain pipe which is 32mm. It then increases up to 40mm before it goes through the wall and into an external foul drain.

It still froze up yesterday! So using a bigger pipe is not always the solution.

My personal solution is to remember to run some hot water down the little-used sink everyday from now on!

It depends on how it's used. A 32mm condensate pipe shoule be used for the entire external run, or at the very least the standard 22mm pipe should be cut higher up and drain into the 32/40mm, and it should also be a straight drop.

http://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/homeowner/customer-service/common-winter-boiler-enquiries