I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything about a
septic system.

DerbyDad03 wrote:
I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything about a
septic system.

It will eat the old cement tanks. I got mine going direct into floor drain,
but some day I will disconnect the pump and reservoir.

Greg

On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:20:40 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything about a
septic system.

I would think it matters if you have metal drain pipes as it will eat
them away over time from the carbonic acid. Local regulations may
also prohibit drain water with a pH that is out of normal bounds. but
in a sink drain it will be diluted quite a bit in most homes..

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:20:40 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything about a
septic system.

I would think it matters if you have metal drain pipes as it will eat
them away over time from the carbonic acid. Local regulations may
also prohibit drain water with a pH that is out of normal bounds. but
in a sink drain it will be diluted quite a bit in most homes..

I have cast iron pipes under the slab. Fiberglass sink and PVC drain from
sink to slab.

Should I be concerned about my cast iron pipes that the condensate has been
draining into for about 6 years?

On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 03:43:33 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:20:40 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything about a
septic system.

I would think it matters if you have metal drain pipes as it will eat
them away over time from the carbonic acid. Local regulations may
also prohibit drain water with a pH that is out of normal bounds. but
in a sink drain it will be diluted quite a bit in most homes..

I have cast iron pipes under the slab. Fiberglass sink and PVC drain from
sink to slab.

Should I be concerned about my cast iron pipes that the condensate has been
draining into for about 6 years?

Probably not. I don't know how much condensate goes down there, but
every time you run the sink, wash dishes, flush the toilet, it is
getting washed down and diluted. But I'm not an expert on drain
pipes.

At work the condensate lines do corrode out after some years of use,
but they get gallons of condensate about 16 hours a day.

On Nov 18, 2:20*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything *about a
septic system.

These boilers are very common in Europe.In fact the only sort you can
buy.
The reason is that some times when no drain is available they leave
the condensate just dribble out onto whatever is beneath.

If it happens to be concrete, it will corrode it away or mark it
badly.

On Nov 18, 3:43*am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On Sun, 18 Nov 2012 02:20:40 +0000 (UTC), DerbyDad03
wrote:

I was watching Ask This Old House this morning.

They installed a high efficiency combo boiler and WH, a neat little unit
that hung on the wall. Rich pointed out the condensate pump and the
Limestone Neutralizer cartridge stating that the condensate water can be
acidic. He noted that the pump sends the condensate to the sink.

Why do we have to be concerned about acidic condensate going down a sink
drain? Could it be septic tank related? They didn't say anything *about a
septic system.

I would think it matters if you have metal drain pipes as it will eat
them away over time from the carbonic acid. *Local regulations may
also prohibit drain water with a pH that is out of normal bounds. but
in a sink drain it will be diluted quite a bit in most homes..

I have cast iron pipes under the slab. Fiberglass sink and PVC drain from
sink to slab.

Should I be concerned about my cast iron pipes that the condensate has been
draining into for about 6 years?

It depends what else goes down the drain and how much. If the
condensate is sufficiently/washed away/diluted it's not a problem.
It is not a strong acid anyway.