Just been on my mate's garage roof, removing ice from his condensate
drain. Hopeless positioning, pipe run is about 12 feet with the last
foot inaccessible from inside because of overhanging eaves. I think what
happens is that a plug of ice forms on the outside, sometimes it slides
out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no scope to re-route over
the gutter), at which point it all freezes solid. It would be difficult
to get trace heating in there without removing tiles and felt, the pipe
runs in a 2 inch gap between a floor joist and the wall.

Boiler is on gable end wall over the garage roof, I reckon the best fix
would be to go out through that wall and live with it draining onto the
felted roof.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not draining
on to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or
plastic sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Cavity wall with polystyrene bead insulation. I'd drill from inside
through a suitable vertical joint in the blockwork (outside is brick). I
have long SDS drill bits of various diameters, obviously I would start
small.

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than
the usual stuff.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:01:31 UTC, newshound wrote:
Just been on my mate's garage roof, removing ice from his condensate
drain. Hopeless positioning, pipe run is about 12 feet with the last
foot inaccessible from inside because of overhanging eaves. I think what
happens is that a plug of ice forms on the outside, sometimes it slides
out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no scope to re-route over
the gutter), at which point it all freezes solid. It would be difficult
to get trace heating in there without removing tiles and felt, the pipe
runs in a 2 inch gap between a floor joist and the wall.

Boiler is on gable end wall over the garage roof, I reckon the best fix
would be to go out through that wall and live with it draining onto the
felted roof.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not draining
on to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or
plastic sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Cavity wall with polystyrene bead insulation. I'd drill from inside
through a suitable vertical joint in the blockwork (outside is brick). I
have long SDS drill bits of various diameters, obviously I would start
small.

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than
the usual stuff.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

go back to the beginning & start with a diagram

On 01/03/2018 12:11, wrote:
On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:01:31 UTC, newshound wrote:
Just been on my mate's garage roof, removing ice from his condensate
drain. Hopeless positioning, pipe run is about 12 feet with the last
foot inaccessible from inside because of overhanging eaves. I think what
happens is that a plug of ice forms on the outside, sometimes it slides
out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no scope to re-route over
the gutter), at which point it all freezes solid. It would be difficult
to get trace heating in there without removing tiles and felt, the pipe
runs in a 2 inch gap between a floor joist and the wall.

Boiler is on gable end wall over the garage roof, I reckon the best fix
would be to go out through that wall and live with it draining onto the
felted roof.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not draining
on to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or
plastic sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Cavity wall with polystyrene bead insulation. I'd drill from inside
through a suitable vertical joint in the blockwork (outside is brick). I
have long SDS drill bits of various diameters, obviously I would start
small.

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than
the usual stuff.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

go back to the beginning & start with a diagram

A 3d layout is better explained in words. The boiler is on the gable end
wall. The current drain runs parallel to the wall, sloping down at 10
degrees. I am proposing to cut it near the boiler and add an elbow to
take the final pipe out through the wall. I am thinking to slope this
one down at around 45 degrees to improve the drainage and reduce the
chance of gradual ice buildup in the cold, exposed bit. And maybe
increasing the diameter.

newshound wrote:

On 01/03/2018 12:11, wrote:
On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:01:31 UTC, newshound wrote:
Just been on my mate's garage roof, removing ice from his condensate
drain. Hopeless positioning, pipe run is about 12 feet with the last
foot inaccessible from inside because of overhanging eaves. I think what
happens is that a plug of ice forms on the outside, sometimes it slides
out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no scope to re-route over
the gutter), at which point it all freezes solid. It would be difficult
to get trace heating in there without removing tiles and felt, the pipe
runs in a 2 inch gap between a floor joist and the wall.

Boiler is on gable end wall over the garage roof, I reckon the best fix
would be to go out through that wall and live with it draining onto the
felted roof.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not draining
on to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or
plastic sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Cavity wall with polystyrene bead insulation. I'd drill from inside
through a suitable vertical joint in the blockwork (outside is brick). I
have long SDS drill bits of various diameters, obviously I would start
small.

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than
the usual stuff.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

go back to the beginning & start with a diagram

A 3d layout is better explained in words. The boiler is on the gable end
wall. The current drain runs parallel to the wall, sloping down at 10
degrees. I am proposing to cut it near the boiler and add an elbow to
take the final pipe out through the wall. I am thinking to slope this
one down at around 45 degrees to improve the drainage and reduce the
chance of gradual ice buildup in the cold, exposed bit. And maybe
increasing the diameter.

Use a condensate pump near the boiler and a flexible pipe indoors to a
reliable waste leading to the soil pipe.

--

Roger Hayter

"Roger Hayter" wrote in message
...
newshound wrote:

On 01/03/2018 12:11, wrote:
On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:01:31 UTC, newshound wrote:
Just been on my mate's garage roof, removing ice from his condensate
drain. Hopeless positioning, pipe run is about 12 feet with the last
foot inaccessible from inside because of overhanging eaves. I think
what
happens is that a plug of ice forms on the outside, sometimes it
slides
out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no scope to re-route over
the gutter), at which point it all freezes solid. It would be
difficult
to get trace heating in there without removing tiles and felt, the
pipe
runs in a 2 inch gap between a floor joist and the wall.

Boiler is on gable end wall over the garage roof, I reckon the best
fix
would be to go out through that wall and live with it draining onto
the
felted roof.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is
draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not
draining
on to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or
plastic sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Cavity wall with polystyrene bead insulation. I'd drill from inside
through a suitable vertical joint in the blockwork (outside is brick).
I
have long SDS drill bits of various diameters, obviously I would start
small.

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than
the usual stuff.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

go back to the beginning & start with a diagram

A 3d layout is better explained in words. The boiler is on the gable end
wall. The current drain runs parallel to the wall, sloping down at 10
degrees. I am proposing to cut it near the boiler and add an elbow to
take the final pipe out through the wall. I am thinking to slope this
one down at around 45 degrees to improve the drainage and reduce the
chance of gradual ice buildup in the cold, exposed bit. And maybe
increasing the diameter.

Use a condensate pump near the boiler and a flexible pipe indoors to a
reliable waste leading to the soil pipe.

mine goes from the boiler in the garage into an internal waste pipe from the
utility room so no problems with ice......

On 01/03/2018 12:46, Roger Hayter wrote:
newshound wrote:



A 3d layout is better explained in words. The boiler is on the gable end
wall. The current drain runs parallel to the wall, sloping down at 10
degrees. I am proposing to cut it near the boiler and add an elbow to
take the final pipe out through the wall. I am thinking to slope this
one down at around 45 degrees to improve the drainage and reduce the
chance of gradual ice buildup in the cold, exposed bit. And maybe
increasing the diameter.

Use a condensate pump near the boiler and a flexible pipe indoors to a
reliable waste leading to the soil pipe.

My own already runs indoors.

With the layout of this house, it's a long and awkward run to any waste
pipes, especially with a boarded loft full of stuff. And a condensate
pump is one more thing to go wrong.

But, thanks for the suggestion, it's worth considering. Does anyone
recommend any particular pumps?

On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 12:01:26 +0000, newshound wrote:

... sometimes it slides out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no
scope to re-route over the gutter) ...

Cut away the bit of gutter that stops the ice plug? The condensate
will still drip/trickle into the gutter and away (hopefully). With a
bit of luck you won't have to cut much away so there won't be any
affect on rainwater carrying unless it seriously ****es down.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not draining
on to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or
plastic sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Donno how much condesate a (presumably gas) boiler produces. It's
probably not as much as our oil burner which does IIRC up to a litre
for every 750 ml of oil burnt and it consumes oil at 3.5 l/hour...

Either way there is a possibilty of this just building up on the
roof, even if there is a decent fall. Weight? Place a bit of gutter
to guide the condensate to the main gutter?

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than
the usual stuff.

I think the regs have something to say about the size of exterior
condensate drain pipe work. Fairly sure 32 mm minimum.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Its been all over the media that numerous condensate pipes have frozen. OK
for those where its accessible easily but for everyone else its a nasty job
usually outside in a blizzard on a ladder.
I'd have thought a bit of forethought about this should be standard
practice for an installer.This issue comes up every time it gets a bit cold.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"newshound" wrote in message
o.uk...
Just been on my mate's garage roof, removing ice from his condensate
drain. Hopeless positioning, pipe run is about 12 feet with the last foot
inaccessible from inside because of overhanging eaves. I think what
happens is that a plug of ice forms on the outside, sometimes it slides
out until it hits the inside of the gutter (no scope to re-route over the
gutter), at which point it all freezes solid. It would be difficult to get
trace heating in there without removing tiles and felt, the pipe runs in a
2 inch gap between a floor joist and the wall.

Boiler is on gable end wall over the garage roof, I reckon the best fix
would be to go out through that wall and live with it draining onto the
felted roof.

My inclination is to drill the through-wall pipe so that it is draining
down at about 45 degrees (the internal pipe has the usual slope of 10
degrees or so), and extend it out far enough so that it is not draining on
to the felt to wall join. Might put in a bit of alloy plate or plastic
sheet at the drip site to help protect the felt.

Cavity wall with polystyrene bead insulation. I'd drill from inside
through a suitable vertical joint in the blockwork (outside is brick). I
have long SDS drill bits of various diameters, obviously I would start
small.

I'd wondered about using 32 mm waste pipe for this section rather than the
usual stuff.

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?

Local plumbers have been trying to outdo each other by offering helpful
'it's your condensate that's frozen' type posts on Farcebook.

One of them has included a photograph of what is, presumably, one of
their installations. With a sagging 500mm long near-horizontal section
of condensate pipe, it's almost guaranteed to be the first to freeze.

Not much of an advert for his services.

--
F

On 01/03/2018 17:12, Brian Gaff wrote:
Its been all over the media that numerous condensate pipes have frozen. OK
for those where its accessible easily but for everyone else its a nasty job
usually outside in a blizzard on a ladder.
I'd have thought a bit of forethought about this should be standard
practice for an installer.This issue comes up every time it gets a bit cold.
Brian

On Thu, 01 Mar 2018 17:12:05 +0000, Brian Gaff wrote:

Its been all over the media that numerous condensate pipes have frozen.
OK for those where its accessible easily but for everyone else its a
nasty job usually outside in a blizzard on a ladder.
I'd have thought a bit of forethought about this should be standard
practice for an installer.This issue comes up every time it gets a bit
cold.
Brian

Ours runs under the first floor (boiler in airing cupboard) and drains
into the internal soil pipe for the wet room. :-)

Serious other problems before that freezes!

Last house had the boiler in the loft but the condensate pipe was run down
into the toilet and Td into the soil pipe.

Lucky to be able to do that.


Cheers


Dave R



--
AMD FX-6300 in GA-990X-Gaming SLI-CF running Windows 7 Pro x64

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