Thanks to Superstorm Sandy, we just had a new condensing boiler installed. The condensate pipe goes into our dirt/sand crawlspace where it drips onto the ground. Is this the normal installation? We don’t store anything down there but the area smells bad enough as it is when it gets wet with the occasional very heavy rain without adding additional moisture. I thought I read somewhere the the condensate is acidic or something. Would that be enough to prevent growth of mold etc.?
Normally the condensate is run into a drain line of some type. Sounds like someone took a shortcut or not other alternative was available.
The condensing boiler will only run in the winter so it’s unlikely to be warm enough in the crawl space to foster mold growth.
Mold will need relative warmth (IANAE), moisture and a food source. You probably don’t have the requisite warmth or food source.
But…it’s not a good idea to run into the crawl space. (although I’ve seen it done many times) But running it to the perimeter is worse. The crawl space is likely warm enough that the water won’t freeze. Running it to the exterior means the condensate will freeze, perhaps even in the drain pipe. (stopping the boiler) And in that area the boiler will makes lots of condensate.
The better solution was to drain the condensate into a small ‘condensate pump’, and pump the condensate to an interior drain.
As a short term fix, use bleach in the condensate area. But as others have said, it needs to be directed in a proper way. The small condensate pump sounds like the proper way.