All Buoyed Up

With the past three winters getting progressively more severe Housing Associations across the country have seen serious issues with Frozen Boiler Condensate Pipes.

Condensing boiler produce around 2 to 4 litres of condensate per day and depending how this is drained, problems can occur when external pipes exist, and temperatures fall below zero for extended periods. With external termination, a common emergency solution over the past few years has been for heating engineers to cut the condensate pipe, in an attempt to keep heating systems working during sub zero temperatures.

The Boiler Buoy has been invented as a bypass valve which allows the boiler to continue to run when the external pipe is frozen and avoids the need to revisit cut pipes.  It can be installed on all boiler installations whether the condensate pipe runs straight down the wall or directly through the wall. The Boiler Buoy incorporates a red marker which allows the house occupier to identify when the external pipework is blocked and enables them to bypass the blocked frozen pipe and keep the heating on.

Boiler Buoy has now been installed up and down the country at various housing associations who have been looking for a solution. Especially properties with vulnerable tenants, if left with no heating during severe weather conditions the issue needs to be fixed as quickly as possible.

Broxtowe Borough Council

One Council in Nottinghamshire in the severe winter of 2010/11 had boiler lock outs on all 48 properties in a sheltered housing scheme due to external condensate pipes freezing.

Having considered the options and cost, Broxtowe Borough Council specified the Boiler Buoy as a solution to help maintain boiler operation during the prolonged and unseasonably early sub-zero temperatures.

Broxtowe have a contract with Carrillion Energy Service to undertake their service and maintenance requirements, who purchased the Boiler Buoy valve from Plumb Center and Parts Center, Nottingham.

Gary Kozimore of Broxtowe Borough Council said “Carrillion Energy Services have done an excellent job in sourcing and installing the Boiler Buoy. They were able to source the product to our specification from Plumb Center, which had the availability at the right cost. Plus, the flexibility of the Boiler Buoy has enabled installation in a variety of ways best suited to the boiler location.