Frozen Condensate Pipe - How To Avoid Boiler Breakdowns Due To Frost 

You were blessed with three termination options.Soil pipe .down spout.and drain.Yet you choose the longest route.

I really like your video and it answers questions I had about protecting condensate pipes from freezing and furnaces shutting down as a result. So much of that has been happening here around Portland, Oregon during the recent cold spell.

Brilliant. Sorted out my boiler in minutes. It’s very cold with a -8 wind chill, and my heating and hot water wouldn’t come on (ignition not working). A few jugs of warm water, then I’ve wrapped it with some towels as it’s nearly 1 am and I have no lagging. I was really panicking about not having heating. Thanks so much for putting this on RU-vid!

As the distributor of Condensate Pro we are delighted that more and more merchants are taking in stock, this product is really game changing, future proof your installations and give your customer a professional finished product, Advanced Water Company

Nice one Allen. Always on the lookout for new products. Lagging external pipes as always been a problem. The merchants usually only sell standard foam lag, which perishes very quickly.

Can't understand anyone developing a product you need to go back a week later to. Makes no sense. Great video as always

Thanks Alan another great video its great to see such detail in a video, shame your not in the south I need my boiler serving 🥶

Hello Allen. I remember a few years ago i had to go and sort out a frozen condensate, we used the one that slides over the pipe but it wasn't half awkward to get it to fit on. The tenant was a nice old chap and even he offered to help and he said "It's like trying to get a condom on an elephant"

I had a condensate pump installed with a combi boiler, which is located in a wardrobe in a bedroom on the second floor. The pipe runs from the condensate pump into the attic and then the pipe goes down from a hole in the ceiling into the bathroom and connects to an existing bathroom pipe. Is that normal?

Good product, will be using it in the future. 👍🏻

hi allen i wish this great little clip had been shown to me last year when i had a new worcester bosch boiler the pratt who installed it didnt know one end of a spanner from the other also the commissoning guy I even asked about lagging the condensate his answer?? no no pipe is BIG enough NOT TO FREEZE ha ha l should have known better from 8 years ago i had a GLOW WORM fitted that also froze so i lagged it with CLIMA insulation yes it was not the right stuff but it worked just had to replace it when it fell off it did last 3-4 years before replacement. My question to you is the pre treated insulation can it be cut down the lenth so i can use it like CLIMA thanks in advance

Thanks Alan Another great video thanks for sharing will use this product all the time

The main thing I see alot of is condensates not terminating below the gully. Having them above the gully allows the cold wind to blow up the pipe and regardless of how much lagging or the size of pipe used, it's going to freeze. Keep your external pipe runs to a minimum and terminate correctly and unless its exceptionally cold you'll never have an issue.

I appreciate your videos are aimed at gas professionals; but as a consumer I find them very interesting and educational. However, please can you explain what the condenser pipe actually does, is it an overflow of some type?

Hi Allen. I don't mind using Condensate Pro, but not many merchants have it as stock so you have to order it in. No good if they tell you its going to take 3 days or more. I want to do the job, get paid then move onto the next job. If they see its not complete, you don't get paid. I hate going back for nothing.

Allen, my condensate pipe comes out of my house almost two storeys up, runs horizontally for three metres, then drops down. Been an absolute nightmare this week. Any suggestions? Cheers

The armaflex / armacell solar pipe insulation is exterior rated without needing coating or painting, I feed over pipework pre assembled and pass through wall so protected through cavity but normally just use 11/2" if short run etc. not had any problems.

Hi Allen When a customer buys a baxi boiler plus flue kit does the boiler come with the condensate pipe included in box or is it a seperate purchase?

I would try to keep as much of the condensate internally and be routed to an internal drain pipe near where the washing machine drain pipe is by the kitchen sink (Not sure if this is correct though). With need to insulate the condensate pipe, its a shame you can't get pre-finished insulation in lighter colours (White / Cream etc) so that it can match the external drainage pipework if you have a light coloured render as opposed to having a 'black line' standing out against the wall. In my house I'm going to try and keep as much indoors both for external aesthetics and a cold temperature avoidance strategy- though will have to do some research on where and what you can connect the condensate pipe to.

Allan our boiler is losing pressure every day gotta top it up.once we do the pressure stays at like 3 bar when heatings on even though we only put it to 1.5 theres no leak im sure its somert in the boiler does it sound like anything you encounter Cheers

Good bit of kit but if it's cold enough for long enough it will still freeze I think internal is the only anwser at the moment or electric trace wire

I used condensate pro on my last few boilers , only two of them froze up , it was difficult to get them thawed out. Now I am running every thing internally when ever possible. Even using pumps where necessary

A number of comments here say that in parts of the country where it reaches quite low temperatures they have never had an outside condensate pipe freeze. It depends on the location of the pipe. If exposed to say north winds then problems. If on the south side and sheltered then _probably_ no problems.

Appreciate your videos mate they really helped me through my course. I've just completed my portfolio & I have my ACS booked soon, any advice for me?

Great video Allen! By the way; can you run the condensate pipe internally to the kitchen sink waste? Or does it have to run outside to a drain / soil stack?

Nice product...in some of those poorly installed condisate photos ,what more worrying is the apparent lack of an external airbreak. Seen it loads of times, no airbreak, downpipe blocked or overwhelmed and rain flows up condisate and into boiler soaking everything. Boiler right off .

Intergas had the condensate spray into the exhaust gasses being emitted via the flue terminal, so no condensate pipe. They had a small pump to do it. It was a retrofit. When it worked it worked well. But too many problems made them drop it. It is an idea that should still be worked on to perfect it.

Hi do u know what could cause a gas leak code in a boiler and carbon monoxide to fill up the boiler cabinet

As I understand it, a modern boiler condenses when the return water temperature is 55 C or less. I've set my BAXI EcoBlue to heat my radiators to 57 C (tap water on the other zone to 61 C to avoid bacteria). Since I did this, I've noticed less "steam" coming from the flue. I also made a frame with 9 cheap low power/noise 12V DC computer fans to blow air up through the rad in my living room. My condensing outlet pipe has a foam cladding with a silver surface. I'm going to try putting a glass there to see how well it works. Current outside temp 2 C - inside varies between 18.5 C and 19.2 C. I have been a little obsessed with my gas usage - a previous tenant had interfered with the meter and I had so much grief about it. Horrible intimating letters from the network and supplier - got shafted basically. Warm now no perm harm.

It’s all in TB 155 to be fair, guidance is quite detailed actually. I lag pipes externally, ensure that pipe is below fully but not below water level. I use the black lagging from my merchant which is quite expensive, it is UV resistant and is self adhesive with a strip on the lagging. McAlpine sell a good non return valve for fitting onto runs that terminate to rainwater also. It looks a good product in any case. I know Allen you aren’t friends of Worcester😂 but our Condensure is a great little invention that can be used if you have room, plus you can fit it to any boiler. I think there is too many variables to have an ideal solution for them all, but TB 155 tells you the correct way👍🏻

We use condensulate slides inside inch and a quarter pipe and have been using it for years and never had one freeze up and looks a lot neater then that stuff

I'm just in the process of getting quotes for new boiler and pipework. Every contractor who has been I have asked about how they protect the condensate pipe and I honestly get funny looks when I ask how they protect the condensate from freezing. It's not even an afterthought. I mentioned to one that the insulation would need painting he responded straight back with, "Yes,You can paint it" 🤔

As it goes, any general advice on how to check that your supply and/or boiler is in order when you move into a rented property - might make a good video, let's face it renting is the way the property market's going.

So condensate pro is for 1 1/4”. Boiler man’s state frost protection @ 1 1/4” but at what size do we not need protection? 1.5”? 2”? 4”? I always run 1.5” personally, and in the south we are lucky to not get the weather that further north seems to endure.

Why not use a larger overflow pipe than 32 mm?

Great product.

Are you going to tool fair Manchester

Live in Devon always use inch and 1/2 outside of the property never had one freeze up.

That condensate pro stuff looks good... Have they got a website..

Why not keep the condensation pipe inside the heated space?

Out the wall in 4” soil pipe 😂 on a serious note have used 2” pipe just because I had it. Also use a condense pump where available that will allow to route it internally.

3 x 1m might mean lots of spare bits from each job but looks neater

Love this product 👍 life saver

If condensate _drips_ from the boiler, ice forms. If the boiler discharges condensate in one go, like a condensate pump, then no problems.

We've just had 36mm condensate pipe freeze despite we were told it wouldn't happen with this dimension of pipe. Thick rods of ice came out! I had NO idea how much condensate is actually produced. Water backed up into the boiler which, obviously, shut down for safety reasons. Our Baxi was fitted last year and has 7 year warranty but *frozen condensate pipe problems are not covered under warranty*. Our pipe runs along side of house and into a crystal-filled mini soak-away so we will be having this pipe modified away from the wall so it can be lagged properly with condensate pro (thanks for the heads-up @allenhart999). Wish our 20 year old boiler was still with us, we never had these problems pre condensate pipe days.

my main 30 has has overflow from boiler straight to outside and that is it, doesnt go to anything just acts like a overflow pipe from wc/etc never froze in last 10 years of being fitted.

on my new boiler install thye connected the condensate pipe internally to the sink waste pipe...

All lagging looks crap ,and the customer just looks at it and says what the f**k is that 😂

Mine has fully backed up into the boiler, its a valiant and now its wet inside. So it wont ignite.

Allen mate, let's see you testing and explaining safety devices please

The biggest problem other that a sh##e install , merchants don't hold stock products to do the job correctly! Hopefully the guys at condensate pro , can make this product readily available .

Simple, cheap fix. Cut white, plastic condensate pipe below boiler level. Fit T piece to join it again. Fit short length of white, plastic pipe to spare outlet on T. Fit 90 degree bend to end of pipe then fit into it another length of pipe that rises above the condensation trap in the boiler by maybe 1 foot. Condensate pipe comes from boiler to the T piece it then looks like a U shape with one leg a lot longer.If condensate pipe freezes then swing down the long leg of the U into a bucket. Condensate trap will empty and boiler will start up. The bucket doesn't fill up very quickly even when boiler is on all day. When normal condensate line unfreezes then just swing your improvised drain pipe up out of the way. As long as the end of that bit is above the boilers condensate trap then nothing will come out untill you want to use it again. A bit of pipe a T and a 90 degree fitting and that's it. I have been using it for years.

Mate I’m having a nightmare with a old Worcester 28i everyone is baffled fancy sorting it pls

Nothing wrong with pouring warm water to unfreeze the pipe, 2 minutes job.

Painting the Lagging??? Are you for real ??? LMAO

You have to marvel at the idiots who decided we could only have condensing boilers in the UK. I mean, who could have foreseen in an average UK winter, a pipe trickling a small amount of water via an outside pipe wouldnt freeze causing the boiler to stop working at the time of year you need it most?

2:58 yes, the Bristish Standards are BS indeed!

A complete joke and a crap design boilers with condensate pipes... I have just dealt with my father(96) in laws £3.5k recently install boiler by British Gas ... why did they not even bother to lag it GGGGGRRRRR . My old Potterton Suprema works greats in all weather :)

£200 for starter kit. Far to pricey for lagging. Boiler trace is only £30

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Can u do this video any longer..ffs

Why get rid of frozen condense pipes ? It’s the easiest £75 + vat you’ll ever earn 🤣