Condensate pipe

midflight

The water that drips out of the condensate pipe (from a condensing combi boiler)... what's in it? Is it just water?

alanobrien

Yes its just water...but slightly more acidic than the water from your taps most likely.

midflight

Great, thanks. How come more acidic?

Not safe to drink, obviously, but how about for watering plants with?

Just seems to shame to have it all draining away, so I was thinking of collecting it. How much would I get? A few inches a day? (after all, we could all do with a few extra inches a day...)

alanobrien

Slightly more acidic due to the reaction of the water within the heat exchanger.....how much will depend on the heat exchanger material ( Aluminium or stainless steel typically) and the acidity level of the water to start with.

Ours drips into a wooden planted container and doesnt seem to bother the plants.

midflight

Brilliant, thanks!

Ours drips into a wooden planted container and doesnt seem to bother the plants.

Shouldn't it be dripping into a drain? Or did you re-route it? (as I'm planning to do)

alanobrien

midflight wrote: »

Shouldn't it be dripping into a drain? Or did you re-route it? (as I'm planning to do)

Just to clarify ;
There are 2 kinds of "drips" with a condensing boiler.
The "true" kind where in my case the condensate drain goes to a soakaway and the second kind where you get odd drips from the flue outlet. This is basically where the condensate changes phase back from a gas to a liquid.
The latter is what drips into our planter - so not very large amounts of fluid. I hope that is clear.

midflight

I hope that is clear...

Oops, no, sorry - you've lost me!

I have a flue, which produces gas (never really noticed anything dripping from this) and I have a white condensate pipe, which produces liquid, as is transported to a nearby drain via a black plastic tube. It is this pipe I am considering re-routing.

Ta.