Collecting Boiler Condensate in a Bucket!

[vonsworld]

I am doing some alterations on my kitchen. The boiler condensate pipe from the upstairs boiler passes behind some kitchen cupboards on it's way to the drain.

I need to reroute the pipe which is not a problem. For a short while, until the job is finished, is it OK to cut the pipe and collect the condensate in a bucket?

Would I get nasty gases or odours coming out of the pipe? I am pretty sure you're going to tell me it's a bad idea!

 

[terryplumb]

Define a short time.
Why can't you just relocate the pipework ?

 

[vonsworld]

Only a couple of days. It will be in the warm weather, so won't be using the boiler much.

I'm not just moving the pipework, also rewiring and plastering behind them, so it would be handy to have the pipes out of the way for a couple of days.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

The condensate is (I believe) mildly acidic so don't let the cat drink it from the bucket, other than that crack on.

 

[TeaAndBiscuits]

I did this when I moved the boiler to my utility room in the early stages of refurb - to eventually be plumbed into the sink/washing machine/tumble dryer/softener waste pipework which didn't exist yet. In the end it sat like that for a couple of months, just emptied it every few days.

There's no problem with gases etc - there's usually a siphonic trap in the boiler, you're allowed to plumb it to internal pipework and you're supposed to leave an air gap.

 

[ianmcd]

As already said no problem with gases, but condensate is nasty stuff, make sure pets and kids cant get to it

 

[jackthom]

I had to do this several years ago and it was fine except my Vaillant wasn’t happy if the water level in the bucket rose above the bottom of the pipe. Still can’t get my head around exactly why, but it resulted in a small amount of condensate flowing over from the trap into the boiler casing.