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[pscocoa]

Just spoke to a mate in Wargrave who had the same issue of condensate pipe frozen last night - and is his lagged!! So now we are onto "wrong type of lagging".

But the wall the pipe is on is north facing!!

Ah but, what size pipe, whats the fall and how long is it.....

you are right - it is a long run  with a 90 degree angle in it and apparently goes uphill!!

[feeutfo]

Just spoke to a mate in Wargrave who had the same issue of condensate pipe frozen last night - and is his lagged!! So now we are onto "wrong type of lagging".

But the wall the pipe is on is north facing!!

Ah but, what size pipe, whats the fall and how long is it.....

you are right - it is a long run  with a 90 degree angle in it and apparently goes uphill!!

Uphill? I haven't understood most of this, most interesting, but am I to understand a gravity drain away has an uphill section...?

[Andy B]

Just spoke to a mate in Wargrave who had the same issue of condensate pipe frozen last night - and is his lagged!! So now we are onto "wrong type of lagging".

But the wall the pipe is on is north facing!!

Ah but, what size pipe, whats the fall and how long is it.....

you are right - it is a long run  with a 90 degree angle in it and apparently goes uphill!!

Uphill? I haven't understood most of this, most interesting, but am I to understand a gravity drain away has an uphill section...?

This installation has but shouldn't have. 

In temps above freezing he's got away with it becaue it's acted like a U trap under the sink, but obviously not now the condensate in there has frozen. 

[feeutfo]

Just spoke to a mate in Wargrave who had the same issue of condensate pipe frozen last night - and is his lagged!! So now we are onto "wrong type of lagging".

But the wall the pipe is on is north facing!!

Ah but, what size pipe, whats the fall and how long is it.....

you are right - it is a long run  with a 90 degree angle in it and apparently goes uphill!!

Uphill? I haven't understood most of this, most interesting, but am I to understand a gravity drain away has an uphill section...?

This installation has but shouldn't have. 

In temps above freezing he's got away with it becaue it's acted like a U trap under the sink, but obviously not now the condensate in there has frozen. 

I find that quite incredible. Think the fitter has his chains on the wrong wheels. 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Yes, I have to agree that the former CORGI & now 'Gas Safe' (a bloody misnomer if ever there was one!) were/are a bloody joke, & as said earlier there are plenty of cowboys & otherwise useless individuals in the Trades who couldn't give a flying F for anything other than their paypacket, but that is still no reason to slag off everyone who works in that sector. Also as I said earlier, your opinion is just that, Yours! but if you choose to air it in Public in the manner you have here, it wont go unanswered

I will state what I see.

Three boiler installs in our close in the last two years by three different installers (note I dont use the term engineer because there not one) including one who was subcon to British Gas with the other two being localy recommended.

Not one of the installs meets the regs and two out of the three have had the condensate drains freeze and one of them has a down hill flue so some of the condensate pours all over the floor!

Its a sad state of affairs but the plumbing and heating trade is of a very low standard, when there are bodies to control it this should not happen.

I called Gas Safe regarding the neighbours installs and they didn't want to know.....thankfuly, building control did.

I for one, if I knew I was doing a good job and paying the so called professional body a not insignificant amount of cash every year, would be kicking up a right fuss.

[aaronjb]

[Shackeng]

http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1838395#1838395

Clearly in this cold weather, more thought is required to stop condensate pipes freezing. My neighbours 32mm external has frozen, and he hopes to solve it with boxed lagging. With continual temps below freezing, it will still freeze. I have sent him this link.

PS Mine is internal

[Andy B]

....
PS Mine is internal

Slight deviation of thread  but I've just tried to use my 'outside' tap which is on the house side of my attached garage ........ it's frozen!  :-? :-? My point being is that it's not going to easy to stop a condensate drain from freezing if it goes anywhere near outside.

[Shackeng]

....
PS Mine is internal

Slight deviation of thread  but I've just tried to use my 'outside' tap which is on the house side of my attached garage ........ it's frozen!  :-? :-? My point being is that it's not going to easy to stop a condensate drain from freezing if it goes anywhere near outside.

Not much use to you now, but I have an internal isolation valve, switch it off and leave the outside one open. 8-) 8-) 8-)

[Andy B]

....
PS Mine is internal

Slight deviation of thread  but I've just tried to use my 'outside' tap which is on the house side of my attached garage ........ it's frozen!  :-? :-? My point being is that it's not going to easy to stop a condensate drain from freezing if it goes anywhere near outside.

Not much use to you now, but I have an internal isolation valve, switch it off and leave the outside one open. 8-) 8-) 8-)

It's never normally a problem, as said, it's in my garage only a couple of feet from the main stop cock. It can only be the actual tap body that's frozen cos there's moving water just inches away. 

[TheBoy]

Went to work today, arrived into a discussion between colleagues that one of them is getting error F4 on his Glowarm.

I know thats the condensate pipe is blocked, so I quiz him on the install.

Done by Britisg Gas this time last year, 15mm pipe, uninsulated outside.


The huge majority of new boiler installs I see are a bloody disgrace. In fact, the only ones I've seen in the last 5 years that I say are acceptable are the ones I've done myself.


Its not difficult, so you have to ask, are a significant proportion of fitters lazy, or just stupid? Either way, its for CORGI Gas Safe to sort out - except that body is just purely to protect the incomes of the people who pay them several hundred pounds a year, and care little about the end customer.

[Kevin Wood]

The thing I can't understand is that every gas appliance I've ever owned has come with a totally comprehensive set of instructions covering all installation requirements.

I can't see how anyone who is capable of reading and carrying-out a set of simple instructions can fail to end up with a proper installation, experienced with gas, "competent", "registered" or not.

... Unless they can't be bothered to do a proper job, or think they know better than the engineers who designed the appliance.

I too have come across a good few people who have had frozen condensate drains in the past couple of weeks, so it's obviously widespread.

Kevin

[eddie]

Next door has had same 'vent pipe' problem. Drain was running slightly uphill on a Horizontal run before going through outside wall,build of watter at the elbow had frozen. Apparently inhibits correct operation of boiler.
Engineer was right P1553d off,he's had to do dozens in one week.

eddie

[Marks DTM Calib]

....
PS Mine is internal

Slight deviation of thread  but I've just tried to use my 'outside' tap which is on the house side of my attached garage ........ it's frozen!  :-? :-? My point being is that it's not going to easy to stop a condensate drain from freezing if it goes anywhere near outside.

Its simple Andy.

They specifiy a large bore pipe with a set fall and a maximum length as that will ensures that the water runs and cant freeze.

The water will exit the boiler at a 'reasonable' temp, it takes time for the condensate to lower in temp to the point it will freeze, hence the max length and fall specs

The insulation is there to give a safe guard.

The water in your outside tap freezes because it sits there slowly getting colder and colder..... 

Simples 

[Marks DTM Calib]

Next door has had same 'vent pipe' problem. Drain was running slightly uphill on a Horizontal run before going through outside wall,build of watter at the elbow had frozen. Apparently inhibits correct operation of boiler.
Engineer was right P1553d off,he's had to do dozens in one week.

eddie

THERE NOT ENGINEERS