Frozen condensate pipe

first78

societys_child wrote: »

Not a problem.

Because the water has nowhere to go and there is now a small puddle in the bottom of your boiler . . maybe?

Is it possible to fix this myself if this is causing the problem?

matty17r

We had a new boiler last April never had frozen pipes with our 34 year old boiler. Used hairdryer and fan heater not ideal but did the job. Bought 28mm pipe lagging from screwfix just under a fiver so at least a cheap diy job for a change. Had to put a small join in as did not fit around entire pipe - did this with cable ties.

Ectophile

I've been popping out every few hours with a kettle of hot water to keep my condensate pipe flowing.

I've cable-tied lagging around most of it, but left the bottom end free for the hot water treatment. It always seems to be the end of the pipe that freezes first, blocking the flow.

If the entire pipe's frozen, then it may require lots of hot water. Or wait until Saturday when it should thaw out.

MoneySavingMole

flashg67 said: "A gas engineer told me on one bad winter, they were cutting through the pipes inside the property and allowing it to drain into a bucket. Of course, you then have the problem of replacing/repairing the pipe once the frost has gone"

As a registered gas engineer, I can only advise you do not do this unless you are competent to do so.

There are several guidelines to follow, such as your boiler having a 'trap' for the condensate and positioning a carbon monoxide alarm in the vicinity of the boiler. All this information is available as a Gas Safe technical bulletin for registered engineers.

Please try the other methods of thawing the pipe, lagging it and placing a drain cover over any drain the pipe terminates in to.

I'd advise consulting your boiler installation manual and seeing what other options you have regarding terminating your condensate, such as re-routing internally to a trap, or using larger/insulated pipes externally.

There are also products available to prevent this, such as Traceheater or Condensulate Xtreme. However, the last time we experienced this crazy weather was 2010, so it may not be the most 'money saving' way to tackle it.

I appreciate it's cold, but it's a lot colder 6 feet under.

Stay safe, money savers...

FreeBear

MoneySavingMole wrote: »

I appreciate it's cold, but it's a lot colder 6 feet under.

Actually, it will be several degrees warmer otherwise your cold water would freeze before it got inside the house. In most areas of England, the soil temperature at 2m depth will be around 8°C give or take. Without this slightly warmer ground temperature, Ground Source Heat Pumps wouldn't work as well as they do.

That said, available oxygen levels in an enclosed space at any depth would render any discussion on temperatures pointless.

MoneySavingMole

FreeBear wrote: »

Actually, it will be several degrees warmer otherwise your cold water would freeze before it got inside the house. In most areas of England, the soil temperature at 2m depth will be around 8°C give or take. Without this slightly warmer ground temperature, Ground Source Heat Pumps wouldn't work as well as they do.

That said, available oxygen levels in an enclosed space at any depth would render any discussion on temperatures pointless.

I worked in a basement earlier today that would suggest otherwise :rotfl: