Condensing boilers "multi-billion-pound con-trick"

gas4you

The boilers that are causing the majority of problems are those that let the condensate trickle out all the time. The worst offenders for this are Worcester, which BG fit loads of, albeit under their own branding.

I have had a couple of the Broags I fit freeze up, even with using 32mm waste, which we were all told wont freeze!

Boilers that use a syphon trap are less likely to have freezing condensate problems, especially when fitted with 32mm waste.

mikey72

I still have one that freezes reguarly, that the last gas fitter put in an empty loft. It's now re-piped in 40mm, re-routed and re-insulated from last year, but didn't survive the -17 C. Pipe trace in the new year, when I can get hold of some.

edit- it's the syphon type as well.

wallbash

Well done to the Daily Mail ( yet again) highlighting a well known problem , as more people know the answers perhaps we will get better installation ,
Ps , In the last two days have heard about this from the owners.

ariba10

When our boiler was fitted we had the condensate pipe run to an internal waste.

No problem.

silvercar

We have a rented out property. It had a perfectly functional, if old, back boiler. Each year we would have to renew the gas safety certificate and were warned that every few years the regulations are tightened on things like ventilation etc and there will come a point where it would be virtually impossible to satisfy the regulations. The boiler was behind the fire back in the chimney on a terraced house - so no outside wall near the boiler. If it had been in our own home we would have kept it, but with a tenanted property we were stuck, either replace at a convenient planned time or wait for it to be no longer possible to pass regulations and be forced to change with tenant in situ.

So one summer we changed to a combi, positioned it on an outside wall. All fine til this winter. Outlet pipe feeds into the guttering down pipe as this is the only drain access on that side of the house. The outlet didn't freeze, but the main guttering did, causing the outlet water and the melting snow to back up into the boiler and flooding it. All installed according to manufacturers instructions, by an RGI and installation certificate issued. So emergency plumbers just before Xmas, part chasing etc etc. All hassle I could have avoided if I hadn't got a combi.

caveat_emptor

Norman_Castle wrote: »

If your condense pipe freezes surely thats due to the pipe being to narrow or being poorly sited. Isn't that the fault of the installer?

Precisely. It is up to the installer to ensure that the boiler is installed properly, if it isn't blame the installer not the boiler. Why are so many installers getting away with it? From my own experience of Corgimen I'm not surprised that this is such a big problem.
I have had a Worcester condensing combi boiler for 5 years and it has been totally reliable (tempting fate I know) and saved me loads compared with my previous non-condensing unreliable combi boiler.

rjm2k1

gas4you wrote: »

The boilers that are causing the majority of problems are those that ket the condensate trickle out all the time. The worst offenders for this are Worcester, which BG fit loads of, albeit under their own branding.

I have had a couple of the Broags I fit freeze up, even with using 32mm waste, which we were all told wont freeze!

Boilers that use a syphon trap are less likely to have freezing condensate problems, especially when fitted with 32mm waste.

My WB has a syphon, still froze over last year but that is due to the extremely shallow run on the condensate pipe on its way to the drain. Once I figured out the issue I simply disconnected the pipe from its run and allow it to drop onto the unused path beneath it. I know lots of people who have had the same issue, the plumbers must be making a fortune!

wallbash

pipe from its run and allow it to drop onto the unused path beneath it.

Thats the advice I gave someone boxing day , better a sheet of ice in the garden than no boiler.

modelreject

Great stuff talking about how boilers work as I was a total newby until my combi boiler stopped working a week ago (There is a thread on here somewhere). I freaked out a first due to there being cold weather and having no heat bu the issue was resolved in an hour after some rapid research- "Defrost the condensate pipe".

This was done with a couple of buckets of hot water. Over a week of temperatures below -10C I haven't had any problems. Simply put heat on at least once a day for a few minutes.

I still have faith in combi boilers. Ours is 4 years old and hasn't had any problems apart from this and that is due to the pipe being installed externally and the fact that it is narrow doesn't help. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong now that I have brought this up.

gas4you

rjm2k1 wrote: »

My WB has a syphon, still froze over last year but that is due to the extremely shallow run on the condensate pipe on its way to the drain. Once I figured out the issue I simply disconnected the pipe from its run and allow it to drop onto the unused path beneath it. I know lots of people who have had the same issue, the plumbers must be making a fortune!

Some may be, but not me. I always say to a customer 'do you want to boil a kettle of water and pour it over the condense pipe, or get a hair dryer out on to it, or pay me to come round and do the same, but with you watching me?'

This does not apply, obviously, if it happens to a boiler I've installed.

We've all been caught out this year I'm afraid.