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Littleoldme

Boiler engineer said knocking noise and vibration was due to blocked condensate pipe due to boiler not being cleaned out regularly, cleaned it out but said he couldn't fix anything which was not inside the boiler. Company still charged me flat £240 fee for the privilege! Now skint. Second company's plumber said condensate pipe is partially blocked, he managed to clear it a bit, and I should try to blast it with an aerosol of some type, which he didn't have on him at the time. Where can I get one of the aerosols he was talikg about (in the UK?), what are they called, and what sort of gadget do I need to connect the aerosol to the white overflow pipe when I've unscrewed the condensate trap off the bottom of the boiler? Should I try buying a new condensate trap from the boiler manufacturer to see if that could be the problem, before I start trying to blast the pipe? I can't use a wet-and-dry vacuum to suck gunk from the bottom end because the condensate pipe is glued into the sink drain pipe with no unscrewable parts. Once the condensate pipe leaves the trap under the boiler, it disappears into the wall (through ceramic tiles) at 90 degrees, then presumably snakes down the inside of the wall with at least one or two further bends, before coming in through the back of the cupboard under the sink and going through 2 more 90 degree bends in an inaccessible place with a nearly horizontal final run to the sink waste pipe. There's not enough pipe for me to be able to cut and replace with unscrewable fittings down there, so I daren't try to tackle it from the bottom end. On the evidence of the second chap (who said the installation configuration was bound to cause problems) I called the builder's contractors in, but their man said there was enough drop in the condensate pipe from start to finish that all the 90 degree bends wouldn't matter, and refused to do anything to help. Any suggestions welcomed please...
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

you cnnot tart taking the boiler apart unless your gas safe
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

They are called a gallow gun, they are availiable from PTS.
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Is your boiler a Baxi 133? or 100? by any chance?
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

I think that tescos do a arosol type thing which has a domed rubber top which you place against plug holes then blast, that might work.
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

It's an ICOS HE15
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Hi and many thanks. I haven't found the aerosol on Tesco's website yet, maybe I'm using the wrong search terms, but I will keep looking.
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

[DLMURL]http://www.diversitech.com/literature%5CLIT-FLY-GG.pdf[/DLMURL]
 
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Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Wouldnt fancy using this tool, most condense pipes I come across fall apart or leak just knocking them.
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Wouldnt fancy using this tool, most condense pipes I come across fall apart or leak just knocking them.
alot of overflow isnt suitable for solvent weld glue and is pushfit, terrain solvent weld overflow, for the win
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Hmm, 800psi from the Gallo gun sounds like a lot of pressure to a non-tecchie like me, and as I can't see what's going on behind the tiles, causing it to fall apart and leak would be a worry.

Can anyone give me an idea whether the pipe is more likely to go down a chased-out channel in the plasterboard behind the tiles, or further back into the cavity between the rows of bricks in the wall? The house was built in 2004.

I'm wondering if I should resort to chipping the tiles off and cutting out the backs of the cupboard below so I can see what route the pipe takes, and maybe replace it with a less twisty & turny run? If I did replace it, do condensate pipes have to be permanently sealed all the way along, or could I insert some sort of unscrewable port at the bottom near where the condensate pipe joins the sink waste pipe so that I can get in there to clean it out regularly, like I do with the sink waste trap?
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Leave the old pipe dead in the wall, then surface mount a new one reconnecting at both ends. if your scared of the gallow gun try the hose pipe maybe?
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Or cut the pipe half way, try and find out which half the blockage is at.
Or you can keep doing that until you've pretty much found the blockage and then only replace that section of pipe.
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Sorry to ask another stupid question but I've noticed that the first section of the condensate pipe where it comes out of the trap on the boiler actually goes upwards slightly on its way into the wall. Is that how it's supposed to be - I mean, shouldn't it slope downwards away from the trap instead so that the water is encouraged to flow out of the trap and away down the pipe?
 
Re: How to clear partially blocked (not frozen) condensate pipe from top (boiler) end

Sorry to ask another stupid question but I've noticed that the first section of the condensate pipe where it comes out of the trap on the boiler actually goes upwards slightly on its way into the wall. Is that how it's supposed to be - I mean, shouldn't it slope downwards away from the trap instead so that the water is encouraged to flow out of the trap and away down the pipe?
That is correct,
 
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