boiler drain - steam & smell

[Andrew L.]

Thanks to a couple of geniuses on this group - Ed Sirett & Heliotrope Smith - I now have an up-and-running boiler!

One small problem. The condensation drain is producing white steam and there is a chemical smell in the air. Is this normal? (it's a condensing boiler and the flue is also producing steam).

[Andrew Gabriel]

It sounds like you have an empty condensate trap, so the flue gasses including steam are being expelled through the condensate drain. This could be very dangerous if the boiler is producing any CO. Look at the commissioning instructions for how to fill the condensate trap. (On a Keston, and quite likely most other condensing boilers, you could simply pour a pint of water down the flue to do this.)

[Ed Sirett]

You could certainly do that on most models. However many model s the condensate trap is like a plastic beaker which can detach from under the boiler to be filled or cleaned.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Make sure none of the water gets into the air intake (which might be tricky with a concentric flue).