Combi boiler condensate pipe moved outside - is this wrong?

[OnTheBall]

Hello all,

Last week we took on a guy to do some work in our bathroom. He came via ratedpeople.com where he was, well, highly rated. We wanted a stud wall and new shower mixer/diverter fitted in place of our old electric shower, as well as a new suite fitted.

Three days in and everything looks great and seems fine. However, while he was moving/removing some ancient pipework he said that the little condensate pipe coming from the two-year-old boiler shouldn't be running into the sink waste and should be running outside. He did this, "free of charge". I mentioned it to my parents who used the same boiler bloke, which got me thinking. I've now done some research and have obviously found that this isn't ideal and that the sink waste method is best.

What I need to know is whether this is a problem. The boiler is upstairs in a cupboard, one cupboard from the exterior wall. The new white plastic pipe runs through the adjacent cupboard and outside. There are no more than a couple of inches of pipe outside so currently any water will just drip from upstairs to the ground. It's a Vaillant boiler, if that helps.

I'm posting using my phone, so apologies for any mistakes.

Thanks all for any help you can offer.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Tell the prat to put it back and that unless he is gas safe registered he shouldn't have touched it.

Assuming it was installed as per the boiler manual then it was better off where it was.

 

[OnTheBall]

Thanks Dan.

Just so I understand (and can make my point clear) - why is it a problem? From what I've read, it's the least desirable way to do it, but not technically wrong.

Would much water come out? Could it damage the boiler? Could it cause other problems further down the line? Is there anything else I should know?

Thanks again.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Inside is almost always preferable to outside due to the risks of the pipe freezing. You would have to be pretty dim to relocate it outside when/if it was correctly fitted to an internal drain.

The condensate is also considered by some manufacturers to be part of the boiler flue hence you should be gas safe registered to mess about with it.

If it is outside it needs to terminate properly in a drain or gulley. Not just dribbling outside over pavement.

You can get a good couple of gallons out on a cold day.

The water that comes out of there is acidic.

 

[mickyg]

Sounds like he has confused the prv pipe for the condense outlet
Who rated him? His mates probably, just goes to show you can't trust those sites

 

[gigz]

Maybe he had to move it to accommodate the new wall/shower cubicle ? If he did, as said he should have got an RGI to do it for you who would have at least terminated it properly.

 

[OnTheBall]

Thanks guys. Before I steam in, I thought it'd be a good idea to show you pictures. The white pipe coming from the boiler is the pipe he's routed outside. It's a Vaillant Ecotec Plus 824.

Thanks again for all of your advice.

Untitled

• OnTheBall
• 6 Aug 2013
• 1

 

[Dan Robinson]

You need to show us the other end of it.

 

[OnTheBall]

It's poking about two inches out of my exterior wall, half way up the house. There's already a small copper pipe coming from the boiler above it.

 

[45yearsagasman]

That's so wrong. The (slightly)acidic water should be disposed of down a drain or into a properly constructed soakaway. Terminate it back to inside, where it was originally.

 

[Dan Robinson]

So it doesn't even connect to a drain or point into a gulley?


If so tell the idiot to stop and get someone else in. Make sure they are Gas Safe Registered.

Also tell him he'l;l be paying for the remedial works as he shouldn't have touched it in the first place.

No Registered Gas man would have done that.


If it goes into the drain or gulley it should go up to 32mm waste pipe and/or be insulated.

 

[sooey]

How old is that boiler because that condensate trap has never been cleaned.
The prv pipe needs repositioning, but that's not this bathroom fella's fault.

 

[Dan Robinson]

How old is that boiler because that condensate trap has never been cleaned.
The prv pipe needs repositioning, but that's not this bathroom fella's fault.

Not the neatest soldering either

 

[sooey]

It's better than mine.

 

[Dan Robinson]

You should see my underling's.