Soakaway external distance ????

[tamz]

I've heard some people say this before but afaic it is a waste of time. Limestone chips don't lose their neutralising properties until they completely dissolve which won't happen for a long time.

 

[mutley racers]

so when you guys install these soak aways, do you chase them into the ground and cover? Am pretty sure no one would want a piece of 32mm waste pipe extending 00mm across the outside floor!!!

 

[Mike Jackson]

I always bury it enough so that the 32mm pipe is hidden.

 

[Halesowen1]

Dont forget your distance from neighbours boundary, may not matter to you but off my head it might be 600mm from boundary line.

 

[haarp]

Hi, all

This is my first post and, BTW, I don't know anything about plumbing. So hope you'll all bear with me in doutbless asking dumb questions! Here goes. I've recently had a new GCH system installed. The installer has put in a condensing boiler and has run the condensate pipe through the wall into a (i think) a 30 or 32 mil pipe. This then runs into a soakaway which is advised is 1500mm from the house. However, I'm thinking of asking him to install a condensate pump and then run this through the loft and into the soil vent pipe. This is because i've heard all sorts of things about boilers packing up in cold weather due to condensate pipes freezing. Also i'm not too happy about all that acidic water leaching into the soil only a few feet away from the house foundations. I don't mind spending some more to run the condensate pipe internally but I would like to ask this; am I simply being over cautious for no good reason or would you guys go down the route of a condensate pump and running the pipe internally into the soil vent too. BTW, money is an object but I would prefer to spend more and have total peace of mind and then worry about the money later on. Cheers, guys.

 

[Mike Jackson]

The soak away will contain limestone chippings that will neutralise the acid. Nothing wrong with running condense to a soak away. Less to go wrong than a pump.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

just do what they do in poland stuff the soakaway just leave it drip on the floor LOL

 

[Destroyer2813]

or do what they did in the picture in the gsi magazine put it into a bag of gravel on the top of the patio. It was insulated though

 

[haarp]

Hi, Mike. Thanks for the heads up; maybe I am just being over cautious. However, the condensate pipe which runs through the wall is definitely thinner (about 21 mil, I reckon) than the pipe attached to the outside wall (about 32 mil) into which the thinner pipe runs. Although the pipe which goes horizontally through the wall is basically only the length of the wall through which it goes before it joins the thicker pipe, I'm concerned that condensate might freeze in there in the winter. There is no insulation around these pipes. Do I need to be concerned about this or does the fact that the huge majority of the pipework is the thicker pipe negate this? Cheers

 

[tamz]

Depending where you are in the country there is always a chance of the pipe freezing, no matter what size it is. Insulating it with armaflex lagging would help or you could fit a trace heating element to it to stop this from happening.
As long as the soakaway has lime chips in, it will neutralise the acidity so don't worry about that.

 

[Kev the gas]

or do what they did in the picture in the gsi magazine put it into a bag of gravel on the top of the patio. It was insulated though

Are any plants partial to a bit of slightly acidic water? Could be a selling point :shades_smile:

 

[tamz]

Rhododendrons