Replacing Condense Trap on GlowWorm 30 CXI

[sk391]

Hi all. Hopefully some can help me. I have notice water leaking from the condense trap on my boiler. I have unscrewed the cap at the base of the condense trap and water came pouring out along with alot of grit and sand! I have cleaned the cap and screwed it back on, but there is way still leaking out.

is the best plan of action now to...
1) replace the cap ( maybe the water tight seal is now broken)
2) attempt to take out the whole trap and clean it. Has anyone done this. I can see the screws to remove it but would have to take out a few other parts to get a screwdriver in.

There is a diagram of the part on page 51 at

http://www.glow-worm.co.uk/stepone/data/downloads_sd/51/00/00/cxi-range.pdf

Many Thanks

 

[Beerlover]

You only need replace the cap, The yellow( and some blue) only came with a cr** white foam washer.

The new blue ones have a nice thick rubber seal.

If noone replies first check back later and I get you the P/no

Cheer

 

[45yearsagasman]

Very easy to change either the cap or a modified trap assy.Easier to change cap but the whole trap is not a DIY job.

 

[sk391]

Thanks for the quick replies. I have order the condeser kit. part number: 0020013711

I hope that this includes the cap or have I made a mistake and can I order the new cap separately?

 

[Beerlover]

The P/no I have is 2000802153 - cap & sealing washer, if the supplier doesn't recognise this drop the 2000 and search again.

Found these guys but have never used them (so not advertising)
http://www.glowworm-boilerspares.co.uk/index.php?prodid=7818&pro=

Cheers

 

[sk391]

Thanks everyone. Excellent information! I will update once the part arrives and I have fitted it. Thanks again!!!

 

[Alfredo]

All the early caps were yellow and crap and split and leaked. Early blue the same. Later blue caps better. Do not overtighten. GW did away with the caps altogether eventually and had a sealed base. I always found removing and cleaning these condensate traps a nasty little job as the retaining self tappers can be a pig to access. Also leaks can rot the boiler casing PDQ on these if you are not careful.

Alfredo

 

[sk391]

Hi
I have replaced the cap, and that seems to have solved the problem. The cap that was sent to me was a blue one, but it still have the foam type washer. Its does seem to have stopped the leak though. When I removed the old yellow cap, I still noticed that there was a little grit in the bottom of the cap. Can anyone tell me where is grit is coming from? also what is the purpose of the tank. Where does the water come from? I am trying to understand what the condense trap does and it purpose so that I can troubleshoot any potential future issues.

Many Thanks

 

[Alfredo]

The grit is just products of combustion and water and bits and bobs from inside heat exchanger. Nothing to worry about. As I said, on later models it was sealed anyway. On boilers with easily removable siphons ( e.g.Worcester 24i Juniors) its often like a gritty paste when you clean them out.

The products of complete combustion are Co2..which goes out of the flue and h2o (water) which goes down the condensate pipe. In precondensing boilers the water went out of the flue as water vapour so you never saw it. The energy saving effect of a condensing boiler is to extract the latent heat from the flue gas. The flue gasses now exit at a much lower temp=less waste=lower bills and the water condenses out of the flue gas and has to be disposed of safely as it is mildly acidic (think vinegar).

The purpose of the siphon is to a) ensure there is a seal between the condensate outlet and products of combustion which could possibly also come down an open tube from the combustion chamber 2) The siphon only empties when it is full, thus reducing the chances of freezing by a trickling flow of condensate (they still freeze if not terminated properly and insulated).

Thats what I was told on training courses anyway.

Alfredo

 

[dingy45]

Hi Everyone,

Just reading this forum and i found it so interesting in connection to my problem with Glow worm Condense trap.
I just recently discovered that the condensed water that supposedly going straight to drain is not happening at all but instead after reaching a 75°C to 80°C (as it showed in the digital panel), the water starts flowing out of the siphon adapter (instead of the drain or outlet) connected to the trap.

What i did so far:

I cut the drain pipe to see if water is coming out of if when boiler is on (but discovered that no water is spilling out when boiler is on)
While i turned off the system, I removed the trap cap and found debris/grits and cleaned it up, and replaced.
I didn't remove the trap assembly since all base screws are now stuck up with metal.
I removed the drain connection downstream of the condense trap so i can remove the Siphon adapter and the float to clean. All O-rings are ok.

Since i can't remove the trap itself, i decided to connect a separate tube (bended) to the cut drain pipe and start blowing it to pushed all debris to the hole with the cap (by the way i covered the hole for Siphon adaptor by small towel when blowing the pipe to absorb or collect the water inside of it) - By doing this i managed to remove some more grits/debris. I filled the trap with water from the Siphon adapter hole and repeatedly blowing it again to push remaining grits at the base of the trap.

In my assumption, the trap is now better since i assuming that i managed to clean the trap without removing it from the base.
Assuming everything was fine, i replaced all parts aside from connecting the cut drain pipe (instead i put a bucket to collect any water) and start the boiler as normal.

HOWEVER!!

The same problem was still there when the Temperature at the panel reached 75° or more (Pressure is about 2.3). Water still spilling out of the condense trap!

Can anybody advise what other possible cause on why the water doesn't goes straight to the drain? Why it is flowing out of the top condense trap where siphon adapter where located?
Can anybody direct me to show the internal design of the condense trap? The manual shows only the parts but internal design was not (of course!). A simple sketch will be better
Any advise is totally appreciated.

Thanks guys!

 

[CombustionGuy]

Blocked drain / condense pipe?

 

[dingy45]

Blocked drain / condense pipe?

Hi, Thanks but the drain/condense Pipe was not blocked. I actually blew this and can hear that water is bubbling inside the trap. I think back flow is happening but i am not sure on why it is back flowing.

I removed the cap again last night and not found any grits this time.. I am thinking the the float is not working properly? I think i need to understand what's inside the trap..

 

[Martin LOGAN]

Very easy to change either the cap or a modified trap assy.Easier to change cap but the whole trap is not a DIY job.

Why is this not a DIY job? I've just ordered a new condensate trap. Mines dripping nicely!

 

[flameport]

Why is this not a DIY job?

Condensate trap is part of the flue, meaning it's gas work.

 

[Martin LOGAN]

Really? It looks like I can release it by undoing a couple of screws and disconnecting the various hoses. It's definitely the cause of the dripping from the bottom of the boiler. Water is accumulating on the top of the trap assembly.