Boiler's condensing pipe outlet - what can I do to 'tidy'?

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by SteveMJ, Jul 23, 2014.

  1. SteveMJ

    SteveMJ Active Member

    Just laid a patio at no. 1 son's house which looks good (thanks to those on here that advised me about retaining walls etc).

    There is a white plastic pipe that drains the water condensate for their boiler. this pipe runs all the way back down the side of his house and has foam insulation. Well, its looks rather unsightly. It did have a cylindrical thing at the bottom, that did not seem to do much and that has now disappeared.

    What can I do to tidy it up; what is permitted? And the cylindrical thingy - was that important?

    Thanks, as ever, for you advice.

    Steve
     
  2. Well, it needs to empty into a drain or some gravel or summat where the slight acidity won't cause a problem, and it also mustn't freeze - 'cos it it backs up with frozen water your boiler will stop working.

    So, taking that into account, you can do anything with it your like...

    The cylindrical thingy? I dunno - an insect screen?
     
  3. tom.plum

    tom.plum Screwfix Select

    howdy Steve, I'm guessing it was a soakaway drain, the water coming from the boiler is highly corrosive and if touched will melt your hand away,,,just joking Steve but the people who make regs say its gotta be 600mm from the building foundations, I'd be happy for it to drop on the floor, but many will augue that it will eat into your new patio :rolleyes:
     
  4. Sean_ork

    Sean_ork Screwfix Select

    is there not an internal mains drain you can connect into ? - if there's no gravity route you could use a condensate pump to move it

    that'll allow you to totally remove the external outlet
     
  5. Jitender

    Jitender Screwfix Select

    Is the condensate run in 22mm or 40mm pipe? i would look at using a condensate pump as has already been mentioned. Try and see if there's a route for this inside the house.
     
  6. tom.plum

    tom.plum Screwfix Select

    personally I would avoid complications like pumps, Its just summut else to go wrong, keep things simple, get a big plantpot fill it full of gravel and put some seeds in it, if the seeds grow, it can't be all that toxic, if they don't were all doomed, :oops:
     
  7. Steve, re-reading your OP it sound as tho' it might be coming down the wall a fair distance? Is the boiler upstairs or what?

    Are there any downpipes nearby? One you could take the pipe sideways to? Failing that, a bit like wot Mr Plum says - place a plant pot with an akshull plant in it in front to hide the pipe.

    The condensate is mildly acidic - presumably carbonic acid like wot you get in fizzy drinks... So whilst it may clean up old tarnished pennies, it ain't gonna do any serious damage. I don't think...

    Mind you, still best kept from concrete, bricks and masonry, 'cos that stuff is alkaline :confused:

    As above, I wouldn't go the 'pump' route - that's overkill, surely?

    Are there any waste pipes inside the house nearish the boiler it could be fed in to? Perhaps the plumber just took an easy route taking it outside and didn't bother with running it - say - under the kitchen units behind plinths, etc. As long as it has a fall, it should be fine - and no insulation required either; it can be a simple 22mm plastic pipe.
     
  8. Sean_ork

    Sean_ork Screwfix Select

    there's nothing at all complicated about a condensate pump, if plumbers weren't so quick to pick the easiest route out for them (rather than the householder) there'd be no seasonal problems with freezing pipework and you'd not have silly issues such as that which has prompted the OP to ask the question
     
  9. Dave does Gas

    Dave does Gas Screwfix Select

    That cylindrical thingy was the soakaway which should be full of lime chipping. These are there to counteract the acidity of the condensate waste and prevent a buildup of acidic product in the soil. You could do as Tom suggests let it run over the patio, it probably won't eat it away but it will defiantly stain it after prolonged use of the boiler. Look for an internal route if you can and yes a condensate pump IS a viable option, saying its something else to wrong is a bit like saying lets not fit a clutch to a car as it may go wrong. If its needed fit it.
     
  10. tom.plum

    tom.plum Screwfix Select

    So there we have it Steve, the plumber who fitted your son's boiler took the easy route, he did't try to break the rules of science and make water run uphill,he did't try to complicate things by fitting additional costs, his van probably had no clutch and everything was working fine, what he did is/was not wrong, its allowed in the MIs and its perfectly ok, lets not try and reinvent the wheel here, you can get another soak away drain or make one ,
     
  11. SteveMJ

    SteveMJ Active Member

    Thank you for the replies.

    Could I run the pipe horizontally (under an upstairs window) and into a rain downpipe, or failing that parallel with the rain down pipe?

    That would less be unsightly and also easy to do. Using gravity of course to drain the condensate :)

    Hope you are enjoying this lovely warm sunshine (well sunny here in Cambridge where I'm working for the moment).

    Steve
     
  12. Can't see any reason why not, Steve.

    Obviously make sure the pipe has a slight slope and remains insulated until it gets into the downpipe.
     
  13. Sean_ork

    Sean_ork Screwfix Select

    you'll upset the water folks and a picky BCO if they spot you having done that, needs to be a foul/waste drain
     
  14. tom.plum

    tom.plum Screwfix Select

    yes Steve you can put it into the rainwater absolutly no problem at all, its written in the MIs that 1. connection to wastes,2 connection to rainwater or 3 connection to soakaway, no need for futher explaination :)
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2014
  15. Jitender

    Jitender Screwfix Select

    When my parents neighbor had theirs done the plumber tapped the condensate into the rainwater downpipe. I seen him put his mapp torch flame on the downpipe then he just pushed the 22mm pipe into it.
     
  16. Sean_ork

    Sean_ork Screwfix Select

    are you going to explain the very specific circumstances which does allow you to connect the condensate overflow to the rainwater downpipe ?
     
  17. Sean_ork

    Sean_ork Screwfix Select

    that's still not quite correct Tom :rolleyes:
     
  18. ...but it'll work.

    Almost certainly.

    Forever. :)
     
  19. Sean_ork

    Sean_ork Screwfix Select

    it's your property so you can do whatever you want ......

    but there are right and wrong ways - it needs to go into a foul water drain, NOT a surface water drain, failing that a buried trap, filled with suitable chippings, placed well away from the footings - and don't forget to do a percolation test

    the only time it's allowed to go into a surface water drain is when you have combined drains, which will be very seldom - people do get prosecuted for contaminating surface drains

    as advised previously, you could just let it drip to ground, but there's plenty of recorded incidents of the damage it causes, at least one property required under pinning to correct the damage done

    you could also just allow it to drip onto your patio - it will cause very unsightly permanent staining

    the picture below is of a concrete garage floor, which has been eaten away by a condensate leak, exposing the aggregate

    there's plenty of evidence to support the above, here's just one linky - the fact that it's acidity to close to some digestible foodstuffs is rather misleading, it's the chemical content that does the damage

    but it's your property, so do whatever you think is bestest

    IMG_0714.jpg
     
  20. tom.plum

    tom.plum Screwfix Select

    As soon as the weather permits I need to do a greenhouse talk about whats the difference between people who walk the walk and people who talk the talk,
    basicly its like this, some people do a job with their hands and its iether a good job or bad, some people who never do anything but talk need to justify they're talking sence, it can be done by googling and finding other none doers with book writing skills and imagination,
    1. houses have been repinned since year dot, well before boilers produced concencating water,
    2. combined top water and sewage water is the norm.
    3. why am i answering to a troll????
    I thought you had her on ignore ? I do but before I log in i can se what she put. so log in sooner, yep that's the answer,

    got it thanks

    you;re welcome,
     

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