External condensate pipe freezing

[Arese]

Gah! The condensate pipe from my boiler runs outside, down the wall and into the drains. By a process of elimation I've worked out that it has frozen, and now the boiler isn't working

I'm going to go outside and try and defrost it with kettles of hot water and a hairdryer, but does anyone else have any tips? Particularly how to prevent it freezing again? Should I lag it for this cold snap? I went to B&Q last night but they didn't have any of the insulation stuff in the right size, the external pipework is 32mm I believe.

I think what I need is something like this, but like I say B&Q didn't have the correct size.



Cheers Guys

[Arese]

FrankHovis said:

I've just spent the last 2 hours freezing my bks off outside thawing out my condensate pipe . The pipe drains into the garage gutter and rather than draining away, has filled the gutter up with ice and then backed up the pipe. All done now though and bolier back to normal. Those radiators feel soooo good now

Git! What method did you use? Kettle of water? I've tried a couple of full kettles, but I still think it's frozen. I'm considering drilling a hole at the top of the pipe, and using a funnel to pour boiling water in. What do you reckon? I'll lag the pipe afterwards so not too worried about the hole.

Fatboy, that stuff looks good. I'll venture out to B&Q/Homebase to see if they have any once I've defrosted this pipe.

Edited by Arese on Friday 8th January 10:32

[Arese]

lewes said:

Arese said:

the external pipework is 32mm I believe.

I doubt its 32mm. I cant remember but I think Copper tube is measured by the ID and not the OD.


Copper tube comes in 15mm, 22, 28, 35, 42, 54 and 76mm.

Overflow is either 19mm or 21.5mm depending on the manufacturer.

It's black plastic. I assumed it was 32mm because that was one of the sizes they had at B&Q, but to be honest it might be 35mm.

Edited by Arese on Friday 8th January 11:07

[Arese]

Dr_Rick said:

Had the same issue rear its head a couple of days ago, then thawed a bit and the problem went away. Now last night when it dropped to about -15C it came back. In the interim I lagged the pipe with that foam stuff from B&Q but I think there come a point where it will just freeze. Incicentally, the boiler is working just fine despite the frozen pipe; it seems to drip from a push fit joint just beneath the boiler and I simply collect the water and pour away as necessary.

Dr Rick

Hmm, be careful. If the condensate can't get out then I think it will back up the pipe, hence your dripping joint. Mine is doing the same now.

BUT, I've just drilled a 10mm hole at the very top of the external pipe and it was full of ice. I've just poured a full kettle of boiling water down there and it's starting to come through the other end. I could actually see the pipe changing shape as the ice melted! There's still a bit of ice in the pipe that goes back to the boiler but I should be able to get at that easy enough.

Then I'll just bung the 10mm hole I drilled, then lag the pipe.

[Arese]

lewes said:

Arese said:

lewes said:

Arese said:

the external pipework is 32mm I believe.

I doubt its 32mm. I cant remember but I think Copper tube is measured by the ID and not the OD.


Copper tube comes in 15mm, 22, 28, 35, 42, 54 and 76mm.

Overflow is either 19mm or 21.5mm depending on the manufacturer.

It's black plastic. I assumed it was 32mm because that was one of the sizes they had at B&Q, but to be honest it might be 35mm.

Edited by Arese on Friday 8th January 11:07

Its more likely to be 32mm (or 1.1/4") Waste Pipe then.

You may need to go to a plumbers merchant and get some 35mm pipe insulation and cable tie it or go to a Sheffield Insulation (SIG) and see what they can offer.

Cheers Lewes. I've just been to Homebase, Wickes, & B&Q and none of them stock the right size stuff, or have any of that Thermawrap.

So, I've wrapped the pipe in a sleeping bag and tie-wrapped it

[Arese]

Ferg said:

To be honest, in theory ANY condensate pipe that freezes is also illegal since it's the responsibility of the installer to make sure it doesn't freeze!

Interesting

So if my boiler was installed in March 2007, and the condensate pipe has frozen, do I have recourse if anything bad happens to my boiler?

[Mazdarese]

willquick said:

Lastly can any one tell me why this is an actual problem in the first place ?? There are countries much colder than the UK and they dont have these problems >? Do they just divert it internally?

Funny you should bump this, as mine has just frozen up again. I knew I should have had the pipe re-routed in the summer!

I think this is only an issue because of poor installation. The condensate pipe should run internally.

[Mazdarese]

I woke up this morning to a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. The condensate pipe has frozen again and backed up.

Merry Christmas! I'm off outside with the kettle!