Our boiler flue slopes downwards, so most of the condensate runs out that way. This is the result:
(For Brian, it's a massive icicle hanging from our bin which is right under the flue.)
Yes seen this sort of thing before. They can also hang from street lamps and actually damage people or cars underneath when they drop off from a great height. Many years ago when we first moved in in the 1950s, we used to get icicles inside the house where the ceiling curved around at the eaves. We had a paraffin heater at the time so I'm assuming his is where the moisture came from. This cold snap has been strange at least here in that there have been very few iciccles according to other people. the humidity of the air has been incredibly low for some reason. Brian
My sister?s new boiler flue was like this. It?s a c*ck-up. You should get whoever fitted it back to do it properly (if possible).
Tim
Brian Gaff expressed precisely :
Hence the sublimation, rather than the more usual and messy - melting of the snow.
Apparently a rail line in Sussex (at Balcombe) had problems due to an 8ft icicle in a tunnel.
Before condensing boilers, wasn't that the right way to do it?
Generally yup.
Many condensors have the internal flue pipe set in the outer sleeve at an upward pointing angle - so that even if the flue is bored through the wall horizontally there is still an internal slope. Alas that will only correct for a certain amount of downward angle in the hole.
What the problem with having the drip going outwards?
In reducing order of importance; makes the fitter look stupid, breach of building regs, icicles, environmental pollution, damage to concrete, and possible erosion to the surface of passing small children by the acid effluent.
It could be quite hot too and you wouldn't want anyone looking up to see what has dropped on their head and getting it in the eye.
You spotted I put them in reverse order then! And I'd actually forgotten that some people have them quite high up. It must have been a small risk with pre-condenser flues, but I suppose that very little condensed out in those days.
What is that strange picture artefact just left of centre and dead straight from the curve of the tunnel above the wall to the nearside line? On checking again, there seem to be another two further away - one just below dead centre, and the other a bit longer to the right of it.
If there were only two, I'd put it down to some weird lens reflection, but the third one kills even that unlikely suggestion.
When we had a cold spell a few years ago (-17c here) several of the neighbours flues froze over with the condensate. They were all conventional boilers and they had to go out and chip the ice away. It could have been really dangerous if CO had got into the houses.
My balanced flu, non condensing boiler didn't ice up.
Its just falling snow leaving trails due to a fairly long exposure.
And then find that where the ice was close or had formed around the components of the overhead power lines attached to the tunnel roof you have knocked them out of alighment or even dragged them down creating really long delays while they get repaired.
Not a very practical suggestion.
G.Harman
Not applicable in the case of the Sussex one, though. They also re-grew.
Carefully like they are doing in the photo using hand tools and not using the brute force of your wagon idea, you would have to smack the ice quite hard and hope the ice breaks of the tunnel roof as the blade or brush or whatever you envisiage on your customised wagon being pushed against the ice like a bulldozer will not be able to be above the overhead lines. That means the ice may be broken at the height of the blade leaving bits that could still foul train collectors or ground the current, or if it has broken off higher may fall and get caught in the overhead equipment while being moved partially horizontally. The blokes can reach between and above the wires and supports and when knocked off the ice will drop almost vertically and in managable quantities.
But carry on choosing between starting to Troll or not having any common sense.
G.Harman
In the case of the Sussex tunnel there would be no overhead lines. It's all third rail.
I think a dripping tap caused this one (for Brian more ice)
Probably the drips blocked the fall pipe and then the rest is history after the sink was used.
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