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Frozen condensate pipes 1.33/5 (3)
1.33/53

by admin on November 1, 2014 , No comments

Over the last few years, the UK has experienced some prolonged spells of cold and icy weather. This has resulted in a rise in the number of calls to heating engineers from householders with condensing (high efficiency) boilers, where the condensate drainage pipe has frozen and become blocked with ice. If this happens, the boiler will shut down and display a fault code. In the vast majority of cases, such problems occur where some of the condensate drainage pipe is located externally to the building.

There are various products on the market, ranging quite substantially in price. Some are fitted in place permanently, measuring the ambient temperature and delivering heat when needed to keep the pipe from freezing. Or you can simply use good quality foam lagging to cover the exposed pipe and secure it with zip ties.

  • Locate the frozen section by feeling with your hands for the coldest part.
  • Slowly poor warm water from the kettle over the pipe. Do not use boiling water, as this can crack the pipe – and/or scald you.
  • Once the frozen section has cleared, check the manual and restart the boiler. If it does not re start correctly, you will need to call out a gas safe registered boiler engineer.

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