andsome Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 We had a few days in Shrewsbury to take our youngest granddaughter to school while her parents went to Venice. I set the heating to be on for Thursday, but when we got home the temperature in the house was 7.5 Celsius, about 43 F. The boiler was flashing F21. Luckily we have a gas fire in the lounge, and I put an electric convector heater in the bathroom to warm it up for a shower. ( Bugger the law). The heating engineer found that the combustion chamber contained a lot of water. The pipe that carries away the condensate to the drain had frozen solid. After a good clean out and the use of an air dryer we soon got up and running again. The lesson is to pour boiling water on the pipe run to the drain regularly when there is a freeze up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 This is a regular and well advertised problem with condensing boilers. Especially in the long cold spell 2 winters ago when thousands of people were affected and it was all over the newspapers and TV news. I had it happen too. Our boiler is in the kitchen so I was able to re-route the condensate drain pipe to the sink waste under the cupboards.It is no longer outside and no further problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 I've insulated the condensate pipe on the outside of our house and over at No.1 Daughter's. You mentioned the freeze of 2 years back Alan, when I went over to No.1 I found that she had just avoided the shutdown problem.. the condensate problem on her outside pipe was sever, not only was the inside of the pipe solid but because of poor installation the 90 degree elbow where the pipe took a sharp downturn had pulled out of the pipe coming through the wall - bad or no glue? So the condensate had been running down the outside of the pipe to produce a ~3 in dia sleeve.of ice. So be advised to check folks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belatucadrus Posted January 19, 2013 Report Share Posted January 19, 2013 We had this problem a few years ago when the condensing boiler was new, I've since double lagged it with aluminised bubble wrap and the thickest foam pipe insulation I could find. It's not pretty but so far we've not had a repeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I wonder why these things aren't accommodated at the design stage or, if not then, after the first complaint (there must have been some).I am often puzzled by things to do with gas - just shows how stupid people (consumers) can be. I remember when the bayonet gas connector for cookers was introduced to permit the user to do their own installation safely. Now, if you buy a gas cooker as I did recently it it completely useless unless you pay extra for fitting - which involves some youth coming round to your house, connecting a pipe to the cooker and thence to the bayonet gas pipe in the wall. What is wrong with pre-attaching the connector pipe before delivery so I can do the bayonet part myself - that was perfectly OK when I moved here and I am still able to disconnect the pipe if I wish to.There is also the thing of requiring your cooker to be chained to the wall. Apparently, all new free standing gas cookers must be firmly attached to the wall by a chain. The reason behind this is, so I'm led to understand, is that some person was standing on top of a cooker giving access to clean the ceiling. The cooker moved under the strain, the person fell off and broke some part of themself. Why does everyone now have to suffer this example of gross stupidity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted January 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I am intending to replace the boiler in the spring. I understand that the latest Worcester Bosch boilers have done away with this problem. I will investigate further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I am intending to replace the boiler in the spring. I understand that the latest Worcester Bosch boilers have done away with this problem. I will investigate further.My Worcester Bosch Greenstar 30 KW combi condensing boiler is 18 months old and has a condensate pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 I've got a brand new combine harvester and she's got a 9 acre field! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belatucadrus Posted January 20, 2013 Report Share Posted January 20, 2013 Check this fix available to retrofit existing Worcester Bosch gas boilers, ours is oil fired so no use to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanHo Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 http://www.ebay.co.u...g-/121021093852Plus the cost of fitting it.My fix was less expensive - less than a fiver in plastic waste fittings and the job took me about 45 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted January 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Check this fix available to retrofit existing Worcester Bosch gas boilers, ours is oil fired so no use to me.Thanks for that. Downloaded and saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 21, 2013 Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Freezing conditions on the Russian front helped bring about the downfall of the Bosch in the 40's. One cannot imagine why one should buy equipment for home heating that bears the name "Bosch" and not expect trouble in cold weather.Andsome. I think the cheapest way out for you would be to invite Alan over for a cup of tea and a hot crumpet along with his bag of plastic fittings. (His crumpet must be hot and crispy. - Lukewarm will not do.)Extra clothing from Oxfam. Bed down for the night with the cattle. Daytime - flit from shop to shop, spending as much time as possible in McDonalds with a nourishing Mule-burger and a plastic cup of tea. Evening cuddle up on the sofa with a warm pussy on your lap.Condenser boilers have a life expectancy of between 3-7 years. The condensed water vapour produced in the newer boilers is slightly acidic (as it contains dissolved nitrogen and sulphur oxides), which inevitably causes corrosion of the delicate boiler components and also leads to breakdowns. The old boilers had a life expectancy of 20 years !Regulations say that the discharge shall not be allowed to drain into anything other than a soakaway, although British Gas are now allowing their fitters to do exactly as Alan has done !Thanks go to John Prescott and "The Bosch" for this technological step forwards. "If you’re worried about your carbon footprint, just remember that the touted efficiency savings are theoretical figures and might not reflect reality. In a well-designed, well-insulated new home that incorporates the latest heating technology, a condensing boiler might be more efficient. But most of us do not live in such homes - we have poor insulation and ageing pipes and radiators. Remember, also, that manufacturing each new boiler has a ‘carbon cost’ in itself that must be ‘paid back’ by the new boiler." "Trace Heating" is used in the US to solve the freezing problem. A low voltage electrical cable with frost thermostat which is wrapped around the drain pipe and prevents the waste water from freezing."I have still got my old "Portway" oil fired burner in use.Fitted in 1969 and still going strong. 44 years isn't too bad eah ? :)John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted January 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2013 Ours is now about 17 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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