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

screwedagain

WestonDave wrote: »

Just to buck the trend I can report that our 3 year old Worcester condensing combi hasn't had a single problem with the condensate drain freezing - but that might be something to do with have a savvy installer who piped it into the back of the soil pipe in the toilet (the boiler is situated in the downstairs cloakroom).

Same here with the condensate terminating in the soil pipe. Our installer also used a 40mm pipe - most other installations I've seen seem to stick with the minimum recommended 22mm.

Chipesh

My year old boiler outlet froze up like this. I think the basic problem is that the actual amount of condensate isn't high so putting it through a long length of 32mm pipe is asking for trouble.

I broke mine where it goes from 22 to 32 and it has kept itself clear.

They are freezing from the extremity back to the boiler.

Some form of dish arrangement with a break on the exterior of the property would seem the answer as said earlier.

If the main 32mm freezes then it would run to floor and you would have a visual indicator of the problem.

Time to solve the problem and the boiler is still working without dripping water internally on to its own electrical bits.

Lagging the outer pipes will help but if the pipes are long then with a small flow it will still freeze.

Lagging doesn't warm pipes up if there no heat source and in this case its just a few drops of lukewarm water.

Bob

leveller2911

wallbash wrote: »

Easy answer , SOD! the targets,

I 2nd that............. China builds 20 new cities a month and they have around 65,000,000,000 empty houses built within the last 10yrs(mostly constructed from concrete), this together with thousands more cars on the roads of Bejing each month makes a complete mockery of our Governments policies.....

Its like p*ssing in the wind ........... I wonder how many MP,s and Lords have a vested interest in re-newable energies?

aboard_epsilon

The words "nothing is built like it used to be" are unacceptable ..in my dictionary .

That phrase only applies to stuff built in the 1850's compared to today

The boilers that lasted 30 years ..are still prevalent ..and only stopped being made some two- three years ago.

What's made it so expensive is the plumbers hourly rate ..with hourly rates of plus £60....no wonder people are moaning and trying to get cheaper boilers ...that hourly rate to fit a boiler ..will be maybe three times what the boiler cost .

I'll agree one thing ....if a person (the boiler consumer) was on a wage of plus £50,000 a year ...then a boiler installation every 6 years would be small change to them...and wouldn't bother them one bit..

I think the people here who are defending the condensing boilers are those people are on at least £40,000..and have a let them eat cake attitude .

if hourly rate was realistic ..then no one would moan .

and if they are made like washing machines ..then they should be able to be swapped out in ten mins ..like a washing machine.

all the best.markj

olly300

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

The words "nothing is built like it used to be" are unacceptable ..in my dictionary .

That phrase only applies to stuff built in the 1850's compared to today

The boilers that lasted 30 years ..are still prevalent ..and only stopped being made some two- three years ago.

What's made it so expensive is the plumbers hourly rate ..with hourly rates of plus £60....no wonder people are moaning and trying to get cheaper boilers ...that hourly rate to fit a boiler ..will be maybe three times what the boiler cost .


I'll agree one thing ....if a person (the boiler consumer) was on a wage of plus £50,000 a year ...then a boiler installation every 6 years would be small change to them...and wouldn't bother them one bit..

You must be joking.

Lots of couples in the SE are on combined wages of more than that and they can't afford their boiler to be replaced that often.

aboard_epsilon wrote: »

I think the people here who are defending the condensing boilers are those people are on at least £40,000..and have a let them eat cake attitude .

My condensing boiler (valliant) is over 6 years old. The only issue with it is that the timer has gone twice. However the cost of replacing the timer with labour plus cost of gas used yearly, is cheaper than the cost of gas the old boiler used yearly.

However I believe if it ain't broke don't fix it.

lola34

We had our condensing boiler fit less than 3 months ago, the old bolier was 30 yr plus and had packed up, parts could be replaced but there was noises coming from places other than that, hence we paid £3000 for our shiny new boiler, it uses a lot less gas but sadly the condenser pipe which runs around the side of the house which is at the end of the street and so exposed is blocked, but the boiler works thanks to the condenser pipe in the airing cupboard which now drips intoa bucket and has to be emptied every other day:o not ideal but at least we have heat, wiating tosee what the gas bills are like to make my final decision, from Aug to Nov we had onlt used £70 of gas compared to the £65 we were paying monthly

DavidHayton

silvercar wrote: »

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.

We had the same problem. New boiler last summer. The gas fitter installed a well-lagged condensate pipe that runs less than six inches outside into a guttering funnel eight feet off the ground. When the main downpipe froze solid the boiler packed up. My gripe was that there was absolutely nothing in the troubleshooting guide to tell us what to do. Full of helpful hints to tell you what to do if the heating comes on at the wrong time (apparantly you adjust the timer;)) but nothing on condensate pipes.

I phoned the fitter and had the thing working in an hour after battling with hairdryer, salt and screwdriver. Rerouted the condensate down the outside of the downpipe and all was well. Something tells me, though, that this is dubious progress.

David

aboard_epsilon

olly300 wrote: »

You must be joking.

Lots of couples in the SE are on combined wages of more than that and they can't afford their boiler to be replaced that often.



My condensing boiler (valliant) is over 6 years old. The only issue with it is that the timer has gone twice. However the cost of replacing the timer with labour plus cost of gas used yearly, is cheaper than the cost of gas the old boiler used yearly.

However I believe if it ain't broke don't fix it.

6 years ..not much life left in it then ..dont count your chickens..find this thread in another 2 years time ..if all is well ..tell me .

all the best.markj

vaio

andrew-b wrote: »

..... you actually need to service these boilers just like you do a car. A car won't run if you don't give it basic maintenance now and again. If the boiler isn't maintained you really only have yourself to blame when they die! I lose count of the number of issues in this forum with boilers that would never have happened if the boiler was actually serviced. Don't wait for them to break as by then it's too late! ......

"serviced like a car" implies there are parts that get changed on time or hours use basis and adjustments to be made.

Is this indeed the case? or is it a quick run round with hoover, check the gas pressure, stick the flue gas analyser on and collect £100 for passing Go?

aboard_epsilon

Ive given you a thanks on that Andrew ..

Ive not gone out to argue with you ..just stating a few of my thoughts ..some of your comments were the slingshot for them

because I'm basically speaking my mind ..and what i think everyone else "should" be thinking ...only everyone is jumping on the chuck away bandwagon these days ..so its a hopeless fight.

My biggest pet hate is something that isn't built to last ..and something you are not aloud to fix yourself ..or need specialist equipment to do so ..
I've always rebelled against this ....my income does not allow me to take this road either .

All the best.markj