Boiler flue - slightly upwards

[matthew.larkin]

I've just had a new WB greenstar 30CDi fitted, which I'm pleased with in terms of operation.

There's just one part of the installation which I've noticed looks a little odd to me - the flue on the outside appears to be ever so slightly inclined upwards - probably no more than 5 degrees off horizontal in truth.

Should I be concerned? Or is this the way it should be? I'm imagining that some rainwater could come through there, but I also imagine that the flue is designed to handle some condensation in there so water ingress ought not to be a problem.

I will obviously get the bloke back if it isn't right, but he could just tell me that's the way its supposed to be, and I'd not be able to contradict him. So I'd like some guidance first if possible.

Many thanks!

Matt

[John]

Googling gives

confirms:

The concentric flue system must be inclined at 3º (50mm per metre) from the appliance, to allow condensate to drain back into the boiler.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Think they're all like that - to prevent condensate dripping out of the flue.

[Ian]

Read the instructions/installation guides left for you. It is correct. Why do complete idiots always ask such questions. What would you do if loads of people said it was wrong? Call the man back and say it was because people you don't know on the internet said so? Please use common sense.

[Kevin]

t

why flame someone for asking a question, that's what the newsgroups are about, its only obvious if you know the answer

[Lobster]

Oh come on, it's a reasonable question if you don't know anything about boiler installations. It's not exactly among the daftest of questions asked here, now is it?

And in any case, if it had been me and "loads of people" in uk.d-i-y said something was wrong, then that would be good enough for me to raise concern... it may have escaped your notice but the (sensible) replies received were accurate.

David

[matthew.larkin]

I could print the entire instruction leaflet left for me which would show you that there is nothing about the flue in there, but I doubt you'd be bothered to read it.

I asked a simple question which no-one was under any obligation to answer. I asked it because I didn't know, and none of the information left for me contained the answer. I hadn't tracked it down on the internet either, and as I have never installed a boiler in my life, and the previous flue appeared horizontal I thought I'd ask a group of generally knowledgeable people (politely), and if I got an answer I'd consider what was said.

I don't have to "know" the people that post to uk.d-i-y to know that a) they are knowledgeable and b) they are usually friendly and helpful. For example, see Dave P's response - all that I needed to know so that I could rest assured that what looked like something wasn't fitted properly was actually the job being done properly.

So, insofar as I'm being referred to as an "idiot" by you, get stuffed

- if you have nothing useful to say, why bother typing.

To others who have been helpful, many thanks.

Matt

[Andrew Gabriel]

It will be in the installation/servicing instructions. It is a legal requirement that these are handed to you by the installer. You should keep them and pass them on to any new owner of the boiler in the future.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Pay no attention to Mr 'Beale'. He's just a troll. Check Google for his other posts.

[Bill]

Normally, I wouldn't post a "me too" like this, but we have just been through the same process and are still recovering from the by-products of CH replacement, with the whole house still in chaos after moving stuff to give access to pipework, radiators etc.

I have all the boiler paperwork, and have only had time to glance through it, but could well have posted here to ask the original question. As a long-term news-group junkie (although only recently here), it's usually easy to sift the helpful and sensible answers from the others, as it was in this case.

There is, of course the ancillary question about why, if it's a condensing boiler, we see so much 'steam' from it. If it were condensing fully, surely we should see no visible exhaust. Are we losing huge amounts of latent heat here? Is a second stage condensing process worth looking into?

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's water vapour - not steam.

[Andrew Gabriel]

You can't see any steam from it - steam is invisible. You see the water droplets as a result of condensing the steam.

[Bill]

In message , Andrew Gabriel writes

That's why I put 'steam' in single quotes. What I was thinking was that there might be more real steam in the output than there should be, and that this steam was condensing into what I see after it left the flue.

What comes out does feel quite hot, so I'd have thought that a further heat exchanger stage might be worthwhile. If the condensing boiler were not condensing every bit of steam, this could also capture the residual latent heat. Are there such things as add-on heat exchangers or would this have to be a bodge it and see winter project?

[tony sayer]

In article , Dave Plowman (News) scribeth thus

Woss the difference then?...

[matthew.larkin]

You're right, of course, that the installation details etc were handed over. But I am a humble consumer, so I haven't read the installation instructions - taking the view that I don't need to know the details or wiring diagrams, though possibly Ian was slightly correct in that there would be reference to the flue fitting in there.

In fact, the consumer's usage instructions are very sparse in this particular boiler - it doesn't even tell you what the digital temperature read out is actually measuring, or what to look out for (apart from error codes, obviously).

Anyway, I'm resting assured now that the fitting is right (as I suspected) and I shall steer clear of young Ian in future.

Matt

[John]

Some boilers have optional kist to manage the plume

"Easy to fit solution for the problem of plume providing increased siting flexibility during installation Plume is a vapour trail that is seen coming from the front, back or sides of a house when the flue gas temperature drops below dew point. Plume is not harmful but can be viewed as unsightly and a potential nuisance if it drifts across neighbours properties or public areas. This is why Glow-worm provides the Plume Management Kit. "

[Chewbacca]

Steam is a gas and invisible. You can sometimes not see it - as it is invisible - a mm or 2 above the kettle spout when boiling hard. Above this you see the foggy stuff we all call steam. Actually this is tiny particles of liquid water - the steam has condensed as water droplets - that are so small they float about in the air. Being hot water they tend to evaporate and disappear.

[Rod]

I (along with, I assume, many of the people here) have been using that approach since I was knee-high to something or other. But is it a tenable approach? If, as you say, it is what "we all call steam", then perhaps it is the definition of steam that requires revision to accord with real language use?

I get the feeling that the clouds of water droplets emitted by most steam vehicles have at least made that a reasonably sensible meaning.

[tony sayer]

You tell that to anyone who drives a kettle;)>>

[tony sayer]

In article , John scribeth thus

Why is it a potential nuisance?..

Just how much of a plume do some of these old boilers make?..