How to defrost a frozen condensate pipe: a step-by-step guide
In the middle of a cold snap, the last thing anyone wants is for their heating to stop working. But on the chilliest of days, even the healthiest boiler can struggle.
Often, this can be the result of
common boiler problems that you can fix yourself at home. One such problem is a frozen condensate pipe, which can easily happen on icy winter days.
Here’s our guide to how to spot and thaw a frozen condensate pipe – and how to prevent it from happening again!
What is a condensate pipe?
If you have a condensing boiler, then it will have a condensate pipe. Unless you have a really old boiler, it’s likely that you do – it’s been law in the UK since 2005 that all new boilers must be condensing.
So whatever brand of boiler you have – Worcester, Bosch, Vaillant, Viessman or any other – it probably has a condensate pipe somewhere.
What does the condensate pipe do?
Well, just as the name suggests, condensing boilers create condensation – and the condensate pipe gets rid of the excess.
Finding your condensate pipe
There’s a simple way to spot which pipe is your condensate pipe: it will be made of plastic, while the other pipes coming from your boiler are more likely to be made of copper or steel.
Condensate pipes are always made of plastic because the water (or condensate) that the pipe disposes of is mildly acidic. The acid would corrode a metal pipe, so plastic is used to keep it intact.
Condensate pipes often run outside the house and into an external drain, or sometimes into an unheated room of the house (such as a garage).
Why do condensate pipes freeze?
The condensate pipe usually runs outside of the house, and into a drain. Why does it freeze? Because of the temperature! It’s at extra risk of icing over because it’s braving the elements outdoors.
How to know if your condensate pipe is frozen
There are three main tell tale signs of a frozen condensate pipe.
The heating isn’t working.
Your boiler’s making a gurgling or slurping sound.
There’s an error code on your boiler display that indicates a problem with the condensate pipe. (See the bottom of this article for more on common condensing pipe error codes.)
If your boiler had been working pretty well up until you were hit with wintry weather, that’s usually a sign your condensate pipe is frozen.
Recognising the signs above?
Read on to find out how to thaw your condensate pipe.
A quick guide to how to defrost your frozen condensate pipe
Once you’ve identified the problem, you’ll want to know how to unfreeze a frozen condensate pipe. Here’s our step-by-step guide.
Figure out which part of the pipe is frozen. If your pipe goes outside, it’s most likely to be the part that’s exposed. To find the blockage, run your fingers along the pipe – the part that feels coldest is probably frozen.
Boil your kettle. Once you’ve done this, wait for 10-15 minutes to let the water cool down.
Pour the kettle water onto your pipe. You can do this along the whole length of the exposed pipe, or if you’ve located the blockage, you could just do it on that spot.
The warmth of the water should melt that troublesome ice. You could also try using a hot water bottle on the blockage, to see if that does the trick.
Once you’ve done this, reset your boiler to see if the problem’s been solved. If it has, your heating should start up. If not, it may be worth trying again. After a few attempts, if the heating is still not working, you should try these
steps also..