Has anyone had the same experience as me with their condensing boiler? We had no choice but to purchase one of these wretched things when our old boiler died 3 years ago. In 2010 when we had the severe wintry weather conditions our boiler started gurgling, flashing and stopped working. Called the plumber who installed it and the only thing he could come up with was to collect the water from the boiler in a bucket and empty it each day! Various other plumbers advised heating our outdoor pipe with a hairdryer! and the manufactureres didn't want to know as the year's warranty had expired. We have tried several different things since such as lagging the outdoor condensate pipe, digging a hole and filling it with lime chippings and rerouting the pipe straight down into the ground but nothing seems to work. I know there are still other options but it just seems ridiculous that we should have to try every option at great expense each time only to find that nothing works! I'm thinking of writing to my MP to see if the law can be changed so that we can go back to installing the type of boilers we used to have and also for the people who are stuck with these to get compensated. I dread winter because we never know if we're going to be without heat & hot water for days on end and there seems to be no solution to this nightmare!
Condensing Boilers!
Started by
misspiggy
, Feb 06 2012 06:07 PM
9 replies to this topic
#2
Fran
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Posted 06 February 2012 - 07:54 PM
I can't help you, I'm afraid, but it's stories like yours that make us cling to our old boiler as long as we can (despite the protestations of heating engineers that we should replace it).
#3
misspiggy
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Posted 06 February 2012 - 08:44 PM
Yes, Fran, hang on to your boiler for as long as you can!
#4
PaulEden
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Posted 06 February 2012 - 09:37 PM
Hmm. Our condensing boiler is excellent. Like you, we were forced into a change after the old one broke down, but this one has run almost faultlessly. It's silent, cheap to run and compact.
You don't say what's wrong with the condensate pipe? I'm assuming that it's freezing and blocking up, because that's the only problem we've had with ours.
You don't say what's wrong with the condensate pipe? I'm assuming that it's freezing and blocking up, because that's the only problem we've had with ours.
#5
David P
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Posted 06 February 2012 - 11:32 PM
We've just had the annual service on our 20-odd year old boiler and the engineer advised us to hang on to it for as long as it works. The new ones will never pay for themselves (in greater efficiency) before they break down and have to be replaced.
David P
#6
misspiggy
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Posted 06 February 2012 - 11:43 PM
Paul, yes, freezing & blocking up & it is far from silent in the cold weather making loud gurgling noises as if its about to get blocked again! You say yours also freezes, what do you do to remedy this?
#7
PaulEden
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Posted 06 February 2012 - 11:56 PM
Paul, yes, freezing & blocking up & it is far from silent in the cold weather making loud gurgling noises as if its about to get blocked again! You say yours also freezes, what do you do to remedy this?
We put the outlet pipe at a steeper angle, but even then it still blocked once or twice, so I just disconnected the hose from under the boiler where it leads to into the drain pipe and routed it into the kitchen sink that's nearby. I realise this may not be an option for everyone, though.
#8
timo_w2s
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Posted 07 February 2012 - 09:05 AM
Ours has the annoying habbit of randomly "crashing". You then need to use a pencil to poke a small reset switch to activate it again. This happens a few times a year and no one seems to know why. It usually does this when we're away...
#9
Rayhoop
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Posted 07 February 2012 - 02:20 PM
Ours has been fine to date - been running for almost 3 years. Lets hope I have not just jinxed it...
We had to replace the plumbing system in the house when we purchased the house and renovated - so we had no option. Although I guess we could have looked into other heating solutions.
We had to replace the plumbing system in the house when we purchased the house and renovated - so we had no option. Although I guess we could have looked into other heating solutions.
#10
Danny Boy
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Posted 07 February 2012 - 03:09 PM
Condensing boilers recycle the hot vapours to make the boiler more efficient. The process creates residue liquid which is drained via a pipe. Unfortunately, they were designed to comply with legislation at a time when global warming zealots believed cold winters where a thing of the past, so the drain pipe often freezes, shutting down the system. I think the most recent models have been redesigned. As the State has removed choice the manufacturers are not inclined to offer value for money. Hence, now you pay £2.5k for a new boiler and fitting, compared to £1k,10 years ago.
