Tundish overflowing

[gillykms]

Hello,

Hoping for some help!

We noticed a couple of weeks ago that there was a leak in the cupboard beneath the boiler. Upon further investigation and a little Googling I can confirm that the 'tundish' is completely full of water which doesn't seem to be draining away, or if it is then only very slowly. I have used a couple of hard wires and a hose to push down into it to see if any blockages but they only got down to the bottom and wouldn't go round the bend.

We had the boiler serviced 3 months ago and since then it does seem to be making funny noises when a hot bath is being filled. I took a look and the amount of water dripping out from the tundish is quite a lot when the bath is running. Even if it was a lot of water surely gravity would say it should be draining away regardless?

Now something else, which I'm wondering could it be connected somehow? My partner said yesterday he thought that our clothes from the washing machine smelled like onions. I had a look today and took the u-bend off the kitchen sink and it absolutely stinks....like onions!

Could these 2 things be connected? We are not having any issues with the sink itself, and the washing machine is working fine. Looking at the pipes today the sink and the one that connects into the tundish both seem to meet up somewhere behind the kitchen cupboards where I assume they go outside.

To confirm a few more details I live in a 7th floor flat, 6 years old and the boiler is an Atmos InterCombi HE32. (Not a Sentinel X100 which I put in my original post which was just what I read on the sticker on the front of it!)

Any advice appreciated!

Gilly

 

[Riley]

Sentinel X100 will be the inhibitor in the system. To be honest you will probably need agas Safe engineer out to re-pipe it and ensure that it is installed to manufacturers instructions.

 

[gillykms]

Hi Riley,

Thanks for your reply.

Having read up on this Sentinel X100 Inhibitor I can see that is now not the brand of my boiler, I just read that on a sticker! It's an Atmos InterCombi HE32.

Does my problem sound to you like there is a blockage somewhere?

Thanks
Gilly

 

[gillykms]

Hi Riley,

Thanks for your reply.

Having read up on this Sentinel X100 Inhibitor I can see that is now not the brand of my boiler, I just read that on a sticker! It's an Atmos InterCombi HE32.

Does my problem sound to you like there is a blockage somewhere?

Thanks
Gilly

 

[Scott_D]

Can you post some pictures to help us understand?

 

[gillykms]

Hi,

Below is a photo of the pipework that comes from below the boiler. The tundish is full to the brim with water.



Then in the cupboard to the right of that is the sink and this is the pipework there.



That's about all I can take photos of as everything else is behind the cupboards.

Gilly

 

[gillykms]

Hi,

Below is a photo of the pipework that comes from below the boiler. The tundish is full to the brim with water.

View attachment 28693

Then in the cupboard to the right of that is the sink and this is the pipework there.

View attachment 28694

That's about all I can take photos of as everything else is behind the cupboards.

Gilly

 

[joni os]

The tundish takes the condensate from boiler and will join with other waste pipes in property. At some point there will be a U bend or trap to prevent smells coming from tundish. This trap needs clearing so condensate will flow away.
Just seen photo. Need to take plinth off below kitchen unit to trace pipework where it disappears from view. Temporary fix: Cut out pipework below tundish either side of U bend and catch condensate in large plastic bucket,empty daily. Cut square and 100mm clear of joints so 32mm pipework can be reconnected using two straight compression couplings. Also allows for checking blockage in bend but I suspect problem is further downstream.

 

[Riley]

I'd be saying blockage.

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

Your boiler should have its own condense trap, it looks like a clear trap hanging down from the bottom left of the boiler.

have you got a photo of this?

 

[gillykms]

Thanks very much for the advice so far. We have cut off the bottom of the pipe under the tundish so at least it is now running into a bucket.

By the looks of things we will need to take out the whole kitchen unit and the one next to it in order to get the bottom of the cupboard up!

Ch4 - below is a photo of the bottom of my boiler, taken from below looking up. I hope this makes sense. There isn't anything hanging down from what I can see.



Looks like I will need to call the professionals in!

Gilly

 

[joni os]

Cut out U bend 75mm up from where pipe disappears through bottom of cupboard and use spring drain rod,(Similar to net curtain spring), to attempt clearance of any down stream blockage. Remove plinth under cupboard and trace pipe run before removal of cupboards. Often pipe can be accessed from a more convenient point.