Boiler flue letting water in with driving rain?

liam548 · 25 Feb 2020

Hello all

During bad wind and rain out boiler flue lets a lot of water in which eventually drips out of the bottom of the boiler and into the washing basket sitting underneath.

It is a decent condensing type boiler which was signed off as very effiicent on its last check.

My question is can I buy any kind of hood etc to place over the flue to prevent at least some of the water returning into the boiler and leaking all over the place?

photo attached.

Thanks

KenGMac · 25 Feb 2020

liam548, good evening.

OK Not really my area [Gas boilers, that is] but? the collar surrounding the flue is not hard up against the external wall especially on the left hand side? there is a large gap?

The flue itself on the image posted does not appear to be square through the wall, is it an an angle? or is is a quirk of the image?

Observation? there are a lot of various sized gaps in the mortar on that wall??

The recessed pointing may assist rain water running down the wall to get "behind" the collar??

As I recall, the gap between the flue terminal and the surrounding brick "should" be sealed with a mortar, do tou know if yours is sealed??

Ken.

liam548 · 25 Feb 2020

thanks for the reply Ken.

You are correct in that the flue seal isnt flush on the left, the actual recess is filled with the yellow expanding foam type. The flue also slopes slightly upwards to make the problem worse although having read online that condensing boiler flues are supposed to be like this to stop the acidic water escaping and hence it can run back inside and into the condensate pipe.

"As I recall, the gap between the flue terminal and the surrounding brick "should" be sealed with a mortar, do you know if yours is sealed??"

Ive just been outside (in yet more rain!) to get a few more photos to show you..

CBW · 25 Feb 2020

The end of that flue looks like it’s rusty from condensation from the products of the combustion process. I went to one the other day (similar to yours) and I have ordered a plume kit for my one. Not sure if that’s going to resolve the issue, but it’s not my money (I work in social housing).

martyndc88 · 25 Feb 2020

Fit a terminal guard/flue basket over the flue

liam548 · 26 Feb 2020

martyndc88 said:
Fit a terminal guard/flue basket over the flue

One of the mesh ones? Thats all I can find but cant see a mesh guard doing anything with regards water and wind

martyndc88 · 26 Feb 2020

Rain hits the mesh guard before it hits your flue then drips off.

SafetyBoots · 22 Mar 2020

Hi Liam

Did you manage to resolve this issue? I have a customer with sort of similar problems, the flue basket didnt work for them and the rain is blowing straight into the flue intake and causing the boiler to trip..every time its raining, which has been a lot. Theyve given up on another company trying to resolve it, reason I got involved. Their boiler is about 5 years old, flue is well sealed on outside, Worcester advised me on Friday to install a rain guard, which is due to be done on Tuesday, but they also said, this is a common problem for people living by the coast, so there must be a solution, because the angle of the wind blowing in between their house and the next property is obviously causing a problem here. Fitting a plumb kit wont work, as it wont affect anything to do with the air intake and as mentioned earlier, the other company already tried a basket, with no success. Just wanted to ask around if anyone has any other advice.

Thanks in advance.

bernardgreen · 22 Mar 2020

Would it be possible and allowed to fit a plume kit that went downs instead of the normal upwards direction ?

If it was possible then rain would have to be blown upwards to get into the air intake and flue. This would reduce the amount of rain able to get into the boiler,

denso13 · 22 Mar 2020

bernardgreen said:
If it was possible then rain would have to be blown upwards to get into the air intake and flue.

Plume kit doesn't cover the air intake, that will still be open as existing.

MartaK · 29 Jul 2021

@liam548, @SafetyBoots, I was wondering whether you have sorted out the problem. I have got the same issue now and I am at my wits end trying to find a solution. The water gets to the boiler electrics causing the boiler to trip.I live in an apartment and would need to hire a company to access the flue from the outside, which I expect to be costly. Would appreciate any advise or info whether this is even fixable.

ianmcd · 29 Jul 2021

MartaK said:
@liam548, @SafetyBoots, I was wondering whether you have sorted out the problem. I have got the same issue now and I am at my wits end trying to find a solution. The water gets to the boiler electrics causing the boiler to trip.I live in an apartment and would need to hire a company to access the flue from the outside, which I expect to be costly. Would appreciate any advise or info whether this is even fixable.

You are Hi-jacking an 18 month old post, against site rules, start your own post and state what make and model boiler you have , that way you will get the correct advice

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

Boiler flue letting water in with driving rain?

liam548

Attachments

KenGMac

liam548

Attachments

CBW

martyndc88

liam548

martyndc88

SafetyBoots

bernardgreen

denso13

MartaK

ianmcd

DIYnot Local

Similar threads