What is it?
A condensing boiler makes acidic water that drains away through a plastic pipe, usually to the outside drain. If that pipe freezes, the water cannot drain and the boiler shuts down and may show a fault.
How to thaw it
- Find the pipe: it runs from the bottom of the boiler to a drain outside, usually plastic.
- Pour warm, not boiling, water over the frozen part, or hold a warm cloth or hot water bottle on it.
- Reset the boiler as the manual says.
Never use boiling water
Boiling water can crack the pipe. Warm water is safe.
When to call
If the pipe is not accessible, or it freezes again and again, a Gas Safe registered engineer can reroute or lag the pipe so it does not happen again.
Need an engineer?
If you are near Newcastle-under-Lyme, call or message and you speak to the engineer who does the work. A clear price is given before anything starts.
More guides
- Low boiler pressure: causes and how to fix it
- Boiler showing error code F1: what it means
- How often should a boiler be serviced?
- Landlord gas safety certificate (CP12): what you must do
- Combi, system or regular boiler: which is right?
- Signs you need a new boiler
- Why is my boiler making a noise?
- Radiators cold at the top or the bottom: what it means
- Carbon monoxide and gas safety at home