Loft insulation over the top of condensate pipe?

[Mac456]

Hi all,

I've not long moved into our current house and I have had the condensate pipe freeze during this recent weather so I am trying to help prevent it for next time. (It didn't freeze in the last sub zero spell of weather so I can only assume the wind didn't help)

Currently it is draining into a bucket but I plan on putting it back into action tonight/tomorrow.

The boiler is in the loft.
The pipe already has foam lagging (only 13mm though) and I assume the pipe exits into the guttering.

The plan is too:

Swap the old lagging for 25mm foam lagging and then put it under the loft insulation as much as I can.

Has anyone else got any ideas?

I thought about using these below as well under the foam but I am not sure the foam will fit around it once wrapped.

Thermawrap Spiral Foil Wrap 50mm x 7.5m | Wickes.co.uk

or

Wickes Felt Pipe Sleeving Pack 3 | Wickes.co.uk

Not sure if it will help?

Thanks for any help

 

[Murdoch]

If the condensate pipe froze in the loft I would be far more worried about the other water pipes first!

 

[Mac456]

If the condensate pipe froze in the loft I would be far more worried about the other water pipes first!

All the other pipes are fine but I am lagging everything I can see up there.

Also the section I could see was not frozen so I can only assume it was as it exits the roof.

 

[jtsplumbing]

if boiler is in loft, can you see if soil pipe is anywhere close by in the loft, if so it could be run into that

 

[Mac456]

Unfortunately it 100% doesn't go to the soil pipe

 

[jtsplumbing]

But can it be done ?? if so that would be the best thing to do

 

[Mac456]

Not easily because the pipe has been capped of with a aav on the floor below.

Maybe this is could be a plan going forward though..

 

[king of pipes]

It fails me why anyone would install a gas boiler to heat their home in a loft its the coldest and harshest of environments, you cant see it so have no idea what its doing , a enginner will need to come into your personal space to access the boiler with the possibility of damaging your cieling and decor , my advice make sure all the heating and hot and cold pipework is fully lagged up 19mm minium treat condense pipes the same and cover what pipes you can with loft insulaton. Cheers kop

 

[Darren Jackson]

The problem is with the way the pipe terminates into a shallow gutter and will always be prone to freezing up in adverse weather conditions. As long as it terminates in an exposed location like that of a gutter + add the wind chill factor and you've got a 100% recipe for trouble...No matter how much insulation you put on the pipe in the loft it will do diddley squat and will still freeze up in the guttering. The only real solution is to find a better way of terminating the condensate and in a loft location the best practice is via the vent stack. A project for the near future maybe. Or a permanent ladder to your gutter and kettle on the standby lol..

 

[Welder]

Two things to mention.
1 - the ONLY fit and forget condensate protection is trace heating. Why? Because trace heating puts back into the water the sensible heat lost therby keeping it flowing.
2 - If you are using the grey insulation to protect your pipes you are wasting every penny. Polyethylene can NEVER protect against frost. You need a nitrile based product, properly fitted which means glued and NO gaps ANYWHERE.
If you can, lift all loft insulation ABOVE pipework so the heat escaping fron below warms it a smidge

 

[AWheating]

Condense into guttering is a right bodge job. Reroute it.

 

[Jim Goodenough]

Or a permanent ladder to your gutter and kettle on the standby lol..