Can't find the end of the condensate pipe.

[ray99]

My daughters heating went off sometime during the week. Luckily she is in Australia visiting her sister. I checked her house today and the boiler blue light was flashing. I checked the control panel and got code EA 277. Tried reset but that didn't work. The pressure is ok according to the gauge.
I suspect due to the weather the condensate pipe has frozen but I cant see where it goes It is a Bosch Worcester boiler, about 3 years old and recently serviced. I can see the white plastic condensate pipe exiting under the boiler on the left and going down behind the tiles but where it goes then I have no idea.
It does not go outside the building as best I can see. The sink is further down the worktop and turn right so not very close.
Any advice on where to look please?
Thanks

 

[Wayners]

Take boiler cover off and look at the tank.
Its a clear plastic tank. See if it's full of water. If so you know it's blocked

 

[cross thread]

No idea but as it’s warming up if it’s frozen it should defrost tomorrow

 

[Jurassicspark]

How far is the boiler from a sink, washbasin, bath or any other fitting that has a wastepipe running to a drain?

It cannot just disappear, can you please send a picture?

 

[ray99]

I didn't know there was a tank. I'll go tomorrow and check that. Thanks
As said above it is suppose to be warmer tomorrow so might sort itself although a permanent fix is needed.

 

[CountryFan]

I didn't know there was a tank.

There isn't, it's a trap.

 

[ray99]

How far is the boiler from a sink, washbasin, bath or any other fitting that has a wastepipe running to a drain?

It cannot just disappear, can you please send a picture?

I can take some pictures tomorrow. Distance wise I will measure tomorrow but it will be about 8 feet horizontally I would think.

 

[CountryFan]

Did you have a look outside? Pipe could be white 21.5mm or black 36mm, could even be lagged.

 

[ray99]

Did you have a look outside? Pipe could be white 21.5mm or black 36mm, could even be lagged.

Yes, nothing outside other than a strange copper pipe about 15mm maybe which comes out through the wall, bends down 90 degrees for an inch or so and bends 90 degrees back in towards the wall again and terminates at the wall. The pipes comes out the boiler at the opposite end to the condensate pipe. I will take pictures tomorrow.

 

[CountryFan]

Yes, nothing outside other than a strange copper pipe about 15mm maybe which comes out through the wall, bends down 90 degrees for an inch or so and bends 90 degrees back in towards the wall again and terminates at the wall. The pipes comes out the boiler at the opposite end to the condensate pipe. I will take pictures tomorrow.

That's the safety discharge pipe for an expansion related issue/pressure relief valve operation

 

[ray99]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Forgot to take a picture as requested however. Finally got it working. I had a look at the condensate trap and there was some liquid in it so I removed that, but nowhere near full,emptied it, cleaned it and refitted with a little water in the right hand chamber as per the video i watched. Still not working and the same error code.
Had another look at the system pressure, the boiler booklet says minimum 1b with a max of 2b and an optimal pressure of 1.5 bar. Gauge was on 1.2b and in the green zone which yesterday I has assumed was ok. But, I wondered about the accuracy of the gauge so topped it up to 1.5 bar and everything is working now.
Still don't know where the condensate pipe drains into but can look at that another time and looks like that was not an issue anyway
Question though. How often should you have to top up the system pressure? This boiler was serviced just a few weeks ago.
Thanks.

 

[CountryFan]

How often should you have to top up the system pressure?

Not often, once a year maybe.

 

[Madrab]

Only other thing I would want to add is depending on the model of boiler, you shouldn't really be inside the case. WB's mostly have what's called a room sealed case and to get to the condensate trap the case needs to come off.

That isn't normally considered DIY territory, as it should really be tested once the case has been off and then put back on.

 

[ray99]

Only other thing I would want to add is depending on the model of boiler, you shouldn't really be inside the case. WB's mostly have what's called a room sealed case and to get to the condensate trap the case needs to come off.

That isn't normally considered DIY territory, as it should really be tested once the case has been off and then put back on.

I wasn't into the combustion area though was I? I wouldn't do that, especially as my daughter had it serviced recently
It is a Bosch Greenstar 32CDI Compact boiler.

 

[Madrab]

AH ok - one of the few CDI's that you can get into the wet area without opening the room sealed section above. The majority are room sealed where if the main case is removed then that's into the combustion space.