Intergas says ‘no’ to Class O insulation and ‘yes’ to Condensate Pro
Intergas says ‘no’ to Class O insulation and ‘yes’ to Condensate Pro
When condensate pipework is external, insulating it is not only the responsible thing to do, it’s a requirement of BS 6798:2014. This critical installation helps to prevent the misery and frustration of a boiler shutdown when families need heat and hot water the most, while protecting the boiler from unnecessary wear and tear. Surprisingly, research conducted in 2019 revealed that 60% of installers don’t insulate external pipework. Why? It could be because it’s a tricky operation, impossible to achieve a neat finish or hard to price. Or is it that installers know that insulation isn’t 100% effective, or the finish can look messy, improvised? As the world began experiencing more weather extremes, the British Standard Institution revised its guidance on gas boiler installation and insulation; it recommended that the condensate pipe diameter should be increased to 30mm ID (typically 32mm OD) before it exits the property and Class O insulation used, to reduce the likelihood of the condensate freezing.
When it comes to the insulation, this is where we depart from British Standard recommendations. Class O insulation is not reliable when exposed to prolonged extremes of temperature, it cannot be made weathertight and allows water ingress, which freezes during adverse weather conditions; it’s not UV resistant either, so degrades over time drastically reducing its performance. Up until last year, there wasn’t an alternative, but now there’s Condensate Pro, a unique range of insulation kits, tools and accessories, developed by heating engineer Dave Smith, to provide maximum protection against frozen condensate. All materials are weather-resistant and UV-resistant and designed to deliver a neat, professional finish.
By using the PipeSnug wall seal included in the kit, you won’t need to increase the 19mm (typically 21.5mm OD) solvent weld pipework before it exits the property, so the existing condensate pipework can be upgraded without disturbing the interior décor. Condensate Pro will fit most condensate pipe installations and the kits provide a complete solution for every external termination – gully waste, soakaways, rainwater. The drift kit, for example, increases the existing core hole in the wall to allow the PipeSnug seal to fit correctly, and the 76mm grinder head will grind a three-inch flat face against uneven masonry, creating a perfect surface for the connection kit.
In the past insulating the external pipework could be intrusive and time-consuming, but Condensate Pro overcomes all these issues, making the entire process incredibly simple and straightforward; in fact, installation only takes 30-45 minutes to complete. You don’t have to take our word for it, you can find an extensive range of product and ‘how to’ videos on our website so you can see exactly how it’s done: (https://www.intergasheating.co.uk/installer/products/condensate-pro). We were so impressed by the effectiveness and simplicity of Condensate Pro, we became a main distributor last year.
Michael King of Michael King Plumbing & Heating has just used Condensate Pro for the first time to insulate the external condensate pipework of his customer’s boiler. He found out about Condensate Pro on LinkedIn and, because he installs a lot of Intergas boilers and saw that we are a distributor, he thought he’d give it a try. “I used the connection kit and the termination kit which were quick and easy to install, the finish looked really neat and my customer was happy; it’s given me peace of mind too.”
Condensate Pro will eliminate the nightmare of frozen condensate pipes forever and it’s ready to use out of the box. For details of stockists, please visit: https://www.intergasheating.co.uk/installer/support/merchant-locater/
