Heating Help Please!!

[Smowball]

We’ve had no heating or hot water since yesterday and it’s -5 with snow too. Have rang and rang and rang our heating engineer guys but on constant hold. I’ve checked online and a common problem at the moment is the condensate pipe being frozen(??) and everyone’s days to go outside and pour hot water on it. Well that would be fine - but our boiler is in the loft!! I’ve reset it, turned it 9m and off, it’s sparked up a couple of times for about 2;mins and then straight off again. We are frozen solid - any brightnideas guys??

[Smowball]

Pipe is frozen solid from kitchen extension roof, up side of bathroom wall and up to loft. No way can I get to it to even attempt to defrost it. Omg grrrrrrr

[ummmm]

How can this be prevented? I've seen loads of posts about the same problem.

[melv16]

Insulate the pipe, ummm. Or run the pipe through the house, under floors etc.

[ummmm]

Is it a more specific problem with condenser boilers?

[Smowball]

Never ever had this before - it’s just so unusually cold! I left a bottle of water in the car overnight. Went to get it out and the entire bottle was frozen solid!

[melv16]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condensing_boiler
This will give you some idea how they work.
BTW, these are the only boilers you can get now, ummm.

[Baldric]

///Do you know a builder or a neighbour who would go up a ladder? Don't ask Baldric, though:-) ///

Thanks Pal, I'm gonna get you for that!!! ;o))

[zebo]

We had a new boiler fitted and because of its location, an airing cupboard on the landing, the condensate pipe was run up into the loft and then into the down pipe. The alternative, when they thought that they may not be able to do that would have been to run it through the loft and into the corner of the bathroom, joining the waste pipe under the wash basin. This year's awful experiences might encourage heating engineers to avoid an outside pipe if possible.
Good luck with solving your problem and all the others suffering similarly.

[Eleena]

Found this Smow,
I'm trying warming up from inside by wrapping a best pad round the relevant pipe.
https://www.worcester-bosch.co.uk/about/news/frozen-condensate-useful-information

[Eleena]

best pad should read .. heat pad!!

[meglet]

I had this yesterday but my condensate pipe runs from the boiler on the first floor all way down to ground level and then bends for another metre. So no way could I find and defrost the blockage. The easiest thing is to go look under the boiler and locate the plastic pipe coming out from the bottom (will be the only one). Put a bucket under it and just pull it out, it should just pop in and out. A bit of water will come out. So basically you’re rerouting the condensate and you can reattach when the weather warms in a day or so. Then reset the boiler.

[derekpara]

Meglet has given you the best and easiest remedy.

We called out our plumber today for an unrelated issue and he said he had just dealt with the identical problem you describe. The homeowner was an elderly lady so Chris ( the plumber) bought a large plastic tub and put it in the loft, disconnected the drain and fitted a short length of garden hose running into the tub. He is going back tomorrow morning to empty the tub.

There is only a very small trickle from the condensing pipe which freezes in long external runs. A very common failing in this type of boiler.

Good luck.