DANGER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Bad – Boiler Installers

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We’ve been working really hard this week to complete a house refurbishment so the owners can get in moved in by months end. So this weeks Cowboy Award is a group of pictures from other jobs we’ve been on in the past. At the time these pics were taken they weren’t voted the most dangerous or damaging thing we had seen that particular week.  So this weeks award is going to all of the lazy installers who, against the building regulations and the manufacturers installation manual install boiler  condensate waste pipes  in any matter they choose.

In most cases that means pipe work with an inside diameter that is too small and is likely to allow the water to freeze thus plugging the pipe.  I’ve heard lots of installers snort and chuckle because ‘it never gets that cold here mate!” Well it does and it did last year. All of the manufacturers I’ve spoken with have commented on the freezing temperatures last year in December. The temperatures dropped, the condensate pipes froze and the boilers stopped working.

I’ll be the first person to agree that when condensing boilers were first made mandatory installers had extra work to do and the general public didn’t know, care or want to pay for. When a non-condensing boiler was installed it could be sited almost anywhere in the house and providing the flue was safe it was easy(ish). When condensing boiler came in the first thing that had to be added to the site survey was where was the waste water from the condensate going to discharge to? In other words now an installer has to find a spot that is safe for the boiler and withing reach of a ‘waste water’ connection. Condensate discharge cannot be hooked up to rain water only gullies or downpipes.

The manufacturers installation manual and the building regulations call for the condensate pipe to be hooked up in one of several methods. They even give pictures examples for those who cannot read! Yet day after day I see situations like the ones pictured above. Incidentally these pics are all jobs that have been undertaken by local councils in the Greater Manchester area. So it would seem that even the councils don’t follow the building regulations when installing condensate pipes. So what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that condensing boilers have lots of sensors built into them. Unlike older boilers which were mainly just a big flame heating up a big hunk of cast iron newer boilers are computer controlled and have lots more that can go wrong. One big problem is that if the condensate cannot drain away it backs up into the boiler. It will literally try and  drown the boiler. When the water starts to back up a sensor turns the boiler off and in general terms a code or light will flash an error code. Once that happens the only way to sort it out is toi clear the blockage. Not too difficult is some cases but if it’s in the second floor flat as pictured above there is a lot of pipe work to pull apart, check, thaw and put back together.

What would be easier for the end client would be using the proper diameter pipe in the first place. The pipe work I have snapped is 22.5mm overflow pipe as used on a connection like the cistern of a toilet. What should be used for external connections is 32mm waste pipe such as that used for a bathroom basin for example. Even the clever installers who go through the wall in 22.5mm and then convert to 32mm later are still breaking the rules and can cause ice to form. It ain’t rocket science!

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