Condansate plastic pipe

[mitchie04]

Having lived through the frosts and snows last year had new condensate heating element fitted into condensate pipe, from local plumber who has contact with company Condensate Solutions Ltd.

Does any one else have this item fitted as he has said it will work when cold weather hits?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Or change it to 32mm when it goes outside.

Andy

 

[bhm1712]

or just lag it properly and save electricity.....

 

[PlumbGas]

Or change it to 32mm when it goes outside.

Andy

Always

 

[durhamplumber]

i have had plenty frozen 32mm pipes,

 

[PlumbGas]

i have had plenty frozen 32mm pipes,

must have been a near horizontal fall then

 

[Corgigrouch]

Last Winter I was defrosting 32mm pipes that were vertical.

OP Yep, trace heating works well... I make my own kit with an RCB, themostat and wire cut to length fed down the middle of the pipe... Far neater than the off the shelf kit fitted by BG

 

[bhm1712]

makes me think that condensate pipes should be on the inside and drain into an interior drain......if your having to spend money on trace heating and other stuff because the pipes freeze and stop the boiler working - well its a major flaw with the concept of condensing boilers.

 

[Corgigrouch]

makes me think that condensate pipes should be on the inside and drain into an interior drain......if your having to spend money on trace heating and other stuff because the pipes freeze and stop the boiler working - well its a major flaw with the concept of condensing boilers.

Or more likey a mixture of lazy installers who can't be botherd to run the pipe internally, tught customers who won't pay for the pipe to be run internally, DIY installers who didn't think that water would freeze and house design where drains traditionally are external...

Only one of my own installs have needed to be heated as I have run the condensate internally to a waste that is regularly used and so regulary de iced... The one that needed heating was in a garage and I was forbidden to disturm the brand new kitchen to run the pipe internally...

 

[bernardgreen]

Last Winter I was defrosting 32mm pipes that were vertical

I had to thaw out a neighbours qone metre vertical 32 mm drop. The flow rate of the condensate is so small that in sub zero air temperature it will cool to freezing point no matter what size the pipe is. An open ended 32 mm pipe might make the situation worse as it allows more chilled air to flow in and out of the pipe. An 8 mm or smaller lagged pipe may be better outside the house as there would be far less contact between condensate and the sub zero air and therefore less cooling of the condensate before it drips clear of the pipe end. But the regs will not permit that even though an 8 mm can easily cope with the amount of condensate from the average domestic boiler provided there is a small head of pressure to push the condensate through the 8 mm..