Frozen Condensate Pipe
Gas Safe Reg. 980201• Same-day across Bradford, Leeds & Yorkshire
In freezing weather, the condensate pipe — the white plastic pipe that carries waste water from your boiler to the drain — can freeze solid. This blocks the boiler, triggers a fault code (often F1, F28, F29 or EA), and leaves you without heating on the coldest day of the year. It's one of the most common winter call-outs we attend across Bradford and Leeds.
Most likely causes
- 1External condensate pipe exposed to sub-zero temperatures
- 2Pipe run too long or with insufficient fall (water sits and freezes)
- 3Pipe termination in a cold area (north-facing wall, shaded corner)
- 4No insulation on outdoor section of pipe
- 5Blocked or partially restricted drain causing back-up and freeze
What you can safely check first
Find the 21mm or 32mm white plastic pipe leaving the boiler and running to a drain or soakaway. It's usually on a wall near the boiler.
Pour warm (NOT boiling) water along the pipe, or use a warm hot-water bottle. Boiling water can crack the plastic. Start from the boiler end and work towards the drain.
Once thawed, reset the boiler using the reset button. If it fires and runs normally, the pipe was frozen. If the fault returns within minutes, call us — there may be a deeper blockage.
- You can't safely reach the external pipe (high up, icy ground, unsafe ladder)
- Boiler re-locks out immediately after thawing and reset
- The pipe has frozen repeatedly this winter — it needs insulating or re-routing
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