Due to a cold snap hitting the UK in the past week, much disruption has been caused with snow having fallen, journeys being disrupted and schools being closed.
With temperatures having fallen below freezing, some would have also had to deal with frozen boiler pipes at this time.
Having the option of heating taken away at this time is obviously not ideal, but there is often a solution that doesn't require calling an engineer out.
It simply requires thawing out the condensate pipe that is sometimes found externally on a property.
❄A frozen condensate pipe can be a common problem when temperatures reach 0 Celsius and below.
— Sandwell Council (@sandwellcouncil) December 14, 2022
A condensate pipe is an external waste disposal pipe allowing your condensing boiler to expel small amounts of excess water into an outside drain.
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How to thaw out a frozen boiler pipe
According to Worcester-Bosch condensing boilers require an additional pipe to be fitted to carry away waste water that forms as a result of the normal condensing process.
This is the condensate pipe which "is normally plastic and runs from the boiler to a household drainage system or soakaway outside".
If it is connected to an external drain pipe, it will be found outside your property leading out from your boiler.
It can freeze in the event of prolonged cold weather, and you might hear a gurgling noise coming from the boiler if this happens.
The way to thaw out the pipe when it happens is to pour warm water along the pipe.
It is crucial that this water is not boiling as it could cause the pipe to crack as a result.
Once it is defrosted you should be able to reset your boiler and all should be working normally.
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