Weather winter 2010/2011

[Martin Baxendale]

Good job the thaw has set in and it is now +1c during daylight hours as the heating system has just broken down. We can get an engineer on Thursday afternoon so we will just have to huddle together. Thank goodness it did not happen when it was cold!

Tony, if it's a condensing boiler, did you check the (usually plastic) outlet pipe through the wall to the drain outside that carries away the water from the flue condenser? If the water that normally drips out of the pipe has frozen then water from the condenser backs up into the boiler flue and the boiler will make a gurgling noise from the flue area at the top, flame out and refuse to light (usually a red fault light). Pouring hot water from a kettle over the pipe outside will thaw the ice. drain the backed-up water and allow the boiler to reset - just turn to the heat control to off then back on again. Of course, it may be something more complicated.

I'll post this here in case anyone else has a similar problem and also put it into a message to you.

[mark smyth]

Good tip Martin I never thought about our pipe.

Our local news told us to keep the heating on all day but at a low temperature, 18-20, to keep the water in pipes moving.

[Maggi Young]

low temperature, 18-20

Low? 18 to 20? good grief.... I must show this to Ian.... if  this room gets above 16  he tells me I'm lucky to be basking in such luxurious temperatures!  It's 15 degress C at the minute!

[ranunculus]

This happens to our daughter's system at least once a year ... the heating repairmen pay for their summer holidays from unsuspecting clients with condensing boilers!  

[Maggi Young]

Good job the thaw has set in and it is now +1c during daylight hours as the heating system has just broken down. We can get an engineer on Thursday afternoon so we will just have to huddle together. Thank goodness it did not happen when it was cold!

Tony, if it's a condensing boiler, did you check the (usually plastic) outlet pipe through the wall to the drain outside that carries away the water from the flue condenser? If the water that normally drips out of the pipe has frozen then water from the condenser backs up into the boiler flue and the boiler will make a gurgling noise from the flue area at the top, flame out and refuse to light (usually a red fault light). Pouring hot water from a kettle over the pipe outside will thaw the ice. drain the backed-up water and allow the boiler to reset - just turn to the heat control to off then back on again. Of course, it may be something more complicated.

I'll post this here in case anyone else has a similar problem and also put it into a message to you.

We had a problem a couple of weeks ago - tried Martin's tricks but it turned out it was the fan inside.... Ian got it going again. I'll ask him how, if it might help... this was for a condensing combination boiler.....

[mark smyth]

Maggi 15c outside in the summer we are in shorts and the beaches are packed. I'm with Ian. The radiator is always off in my room.

There is always an argument with me and my brother - on one side - trying to tell my mother to turn off radiators in unused rooms.

And what about this for something crazy. This morning the heat in on but she has the bathroom window and her bedroom window open for fresh air!

[Martin Baxendale]

Yes, a sticking fan in the flue is another common problem, and if you can free it up, lubricate it etc then that can save a costly call-out charge (if the boiler's sensor can't detect a draught in the flue from the fan then it won't fire up - this may also be a fauty sensor, which may be fixable by removing a little vaccum tube and blowing into it, this can be found by googling boiler faults and looking through various forums, website s etc). In very cold weather, the mostly likely problem though is a frozen outlet pipe from the flue condenser. A lot of engineers do indeed make a lot of easy money going around pouring kettles of hot water onto pipes and charging a call-out fee.

[Martin Baxendale]

You may also find that the ice in the outlet pipe doesn't melt straight away, and you may have to keep repeating the kettle trick until it does.

[Maggi Young]

You may also find that the ice in the outlet pipe doesn't melt straight away, and you may have to keep repeating the kettle trick until it does.

 My chum uses a hairdryer........ less messy than the kettle of hot water.....

[ArnoldT]

Here's what we were blessed with last night.

[Maggi Young]

I've seen on the news the 18 inches of snow that has fallen on the east of USA ..... looks horrible, Arnold. Keep safe!

[ArnoldT]

So far staying put.  Roads are not cleared as in past years.  Our budget woes have caused all Public Work crews to forgo overtime and play catch up today.

[johnw]

Pouring hot water from a kettle over the pipe outside will thaw the ice.

This is an absolute no-no in Canada. Some make the mistake of pouring hot water on frozen car locks and windscreen wipes only to find same frozen worse than ever.  My mother once tried it on her car door lock then resorted to lock de-icer. She couldn't understand why everyone was honking at her on the way to work. Seems she left the electric kettle on the roof of her car.

The way to thaw a frozen pipe is with a hair-dryer. However be careful the pipe is not ruptured otherwise you will have a frozen pipe and an eletrocuted partner. Note - Maggi did not mention that caveat - hmmmm  .

We got a skid of wet snow last night but followed by plenty of rain.

johnw

[Maggi Young]

However be careful the pipe is not ruptured otherwise you will have a frozen pipe and an eletrocuted partner. Note - Maggi did not mention that caveat - hmmmm  Shocked.

 Hmmmmmmm indeed, John...... when we tried that trick the other week I was the one out there with the hairdryer.......

[Casalima]

It's drizzly and cold here - 10 ºC daytime yesterday, down to -1 over night and now back up to 11. But with the damp, the temperature in my room has gone down to 5º C - brrrrrr