Drainless condensing boiler

Hi there,

I'm looking to replace my 12 year old vokera boiler. The boiler has a problem with its pressure regulation and goes up to 4 on the dial after about half an hour. I've had a British Gas Home Care guy round, but he says that because of the boxing around the boiler he can't reach the pressure regulation gizmo to pump air into it. I'm still getting hot water, but the central heating is basically kaput.

I've found a recommended local company here in Glasgow (Gas Line on Crow Road) and they came to do a survey. The problem with the site (other than too much boxing) is that there is no access whatever to a drain, so it's difficult to install a condensing boiler. It seems a bit of a wasted opportunity to install a less efficient combi-boiler. However, one alternative is to use a drainless condensing boiler, which expels the extra water through the flue.

According to Gas Line, at the moment there is only one company that produce such a device, Atmos Heating Systems:

formatting link

The problem is that apparently they're currently making some modifications to this boiler and it won't be ready until September, and probably late September at that. My general experience of delays is that if they're predicted to slide from a long way in advance, they're probably going to slide a lot, and I can imagine not getting my boiler until late October. This might be a bit uncomfortable in Glasgow.

Can anybody provide any advice on this? Are Gas Line telling the truth about the availability of drainless condensing boilers? Is it possible the servicing engineer is wrong about my existing boiler? I only need it to work for another month!

Peter

Reply to
psaffrey
Loading thread data ...

We had our new condensing boiler installed in the loft with no access to a drain, so the CORGI guy poked the condensate drain pipe out through the slates so that the condensate runs down the slates and into the guttering. May be a solution for you?

John

Reply to
John

In cases like yours it's usually fine to leave the existing failed expansion vessel in place and tee another one in somewhere else in the system.

Reply to
Tony Bryer

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:36:05 +0100, "John" mused:

Technically an incorrect installation then, AKA a bodge. Shouldn`t have been signed off.

Reply to
Lurch

on the outside wall where your boiler is going to be sited could you put a soak away in which looks like a small plastic bucket with holes in it you put it in the ground pipe your condensate to it then any boiler will then do the trick

Reply to
david.ips.yorks

Thank you all for your suggestions.

My current boiler was installed 12 years ago, more than 11 years before I moved in. You may be right that it should not have been signed off, but there's not much I can do about that now.

I'm pretty sure that any draining option is impossible. I live in a basement flat and the wall on the other side of the boiler is a communal corridor leading to the garden. The flue currently runs inside the wall between this corridor and a bathroom, which is sealed in with expensive tiles (also not fitted by me). The engineer said he could run a pipe down the communal corridor, but it would be a difficult and messy job. Obviously I would strongly prefer an option that does not include drilling a drain-pipe sized hole in an exterior wall in a communal area.

Does anybody know anything about these drainless boilers?

Peter

Reply to
psaffrey

On Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:38:30 -0700, " snipped-for-privacy@googlemail.com" mused:

Condensate drain pump it is then.

Nope. One thing to bear in mind though is that the drain will still be draining so the flue wants to be well clear of anything remotely communal. Also the flue sounds like it's going to be a decentish run, so I'd be a little concerned about condensation in and around the flue and where this might end up.

Reply to
Lurch

Why's that then? He's a proper CORGI guy with loads of qualifications and experience, his work is first-class, precise, neat, tidy and I really can't see him being of the Bodgit & Scarper mentality. In fact, he's been doing work for our family and friends for the last 30 years with no complaints or problems whatsoever.

Perhaps you're thinking that it should have been put into some drain somewhere? Problem is, we have no external drains, gulleys or manholes whatsoever on our property (average 3-bed semi, dormer bungalow, on average estate). All waste from everything goes down inside a "boxing" in one corner of the house then goes underground across the driveway and into next door's manhole. The rainwater guttering goes from our house, along next door (the other side) and down their downspout to their drain.

John

Reply to
John

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 16:57:13 +0100, "John" mused:

What boiler is it? I doubt the manual says 'just stick the condensate into the gutter'. If it's not fitted as per the instructions then it is an incorrect installation, regardless of how tidily it is incorrectly fitted or for what price.

And?

Reply to
Lurch

It's an Alpha CD32C, and no, the manual doesn't say 'just stick the condensate into the gutter' - but neither does it say that it shouldn't be done. Doesn't mean it's wrong to do so.

And so, with no external drain or gully to take the condensate to, it seemed like a good solution to the problem to let the condensate run down three slates and into the gutter. I'm not a heating engineer, nor am I CORGI registered, so I have to put my faith and trust in the man who is. You may not think it's a "standard" way of draining condensate but unless you can specifically quote the rules and regs that specifically prohibit it, I'm happy to live with it and trust the expert.

John.

Reply to
John

Until you get a prolonged period of freezing weather

Reply to
Tony Bryer

Nah, don't see that being a problem here.

John

Reply to
John

Well said John - I bet it's still working OK 15years later! It's not bodge, it's a pragmatic approach to basic engineering.

Reply to
RidleysFold

No, it is a bodge - at least it would be in most places in the UK.

If you bring a 21mm waste pipe out onto the tiles, there is a fair chance it will freeze up, and that will lock out the boiler at a particularly unwelcome time.

If you must bring a drain out at roof level, then transition to a larger diameter pipe before it is exposed to potentially freezing conditions. You can protect the run from the boiler with a heating tape.

Reply to
John Rumm

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.