Troubleshooting guide to common boiler problems
Your boiler does a lot of hard graft meeting the heating and hot water needs of your property and it is no surprise that a bit of maintenance is needed every now and again to keep it running efficiently for years to come.
Some problems just can’t be avoided, no matter how well you look after your boiler, and it is easy to take your boiler for granted until it’s no longer working as it should.
One thing you can almost certainly guarantee is that if you don’t keep an eye out for minor issues you boiler will take it upon itself to break down at the least convenient time possible, probably in the heart of winter when Gas Safe engineers are at their busiest.
Instead, have a scroll through this article to find out more about some of the most common boiler issues faced by homeowners in the UK and some quick tricks you can try to fix them.
Lack of hot water
If your boiler isn’t producing any hot water or heating, it isn’t much use to you. This is, after all, its primary purpose. There are many different things that could be causing this to happen, from a lack of pressure to a power cut, some of which can easily be fixed at home whilst others will require the services of a trained Gas Safe Engineer. One quick fix to try is repressurising your boiler or checking in the manufacturers guide to see if there is an easy way to reset it.
If your boiler is completely dead and won’t fire at all, your best option is to call a professional straight away, especially if the breakdown occurs during the winter months. We provide our customers with emergency boiler replacement and repair all year round so get in touch today if you are experiencing major boiler issues.
Low Pressure
Low pressure is a pretty common issue with gas boilers and also one of the easiest to diagnose. Handily, boilers come with a gauge that monitors the boiler pressure for you and a check will let you know if that is indeed the reason you are not getting sufficient heat around the home.
There are many potential causes of low pressure in a boiler system from a broken seal to minor leak so if you attempt to repressurise your boiler with no success or the pressure swiftly falls again after doing do it is time to call in an expert.
Frozen pipes
During the winter, frozen pipes are an ever present concern, especially with the condensate pipe that runs outside your property to transport condensate into the outside drain.
If there is a blockage in this pipe, due to the cold temperatures or for any other reason, the condensate may be forced back into the boiler system with nowhere to escape to, leading to a breakdown.
You can try to defrost your condensate pipe by pouring warm, not boiling, water over it but the best thing to do in the future is to install insulation on the pipe so that the risk of a freeze is minimised.
Trapped air in the radiator
If your boiler is producing heat, but it is intermittent or only the bottom half of the boiler is heating up, it may be the result of trapped air within the radiator itself. This can almost always be resolved simply by bleeding the radiators to remove the excess air.
To do this, take the radiator key and turn it anti-clockwise in the bleed valve. It is a good idea to put a cloth or old towel underneath the value when you do this to capture any water that escapes alongside the trapped air.
As you turn the key you should hear a hissing sound. This is nothing to be worries about and is simply the sound of the trapped air escaping. As soon as water begins to leak from the valve, shut off the valve again and job done.
No heating but hot water working
Your boiler is responsible for both your hot water and for your heating. This means that, normally, when there is a problem with your boiler both of these things will stop working, but that isn’t always necessarily the case.
If your heating hasn’t come on but your taps are producing hot water with no issues it could be something as simply as the thermostat being set wrong, but if not there is likely to be a more serious underlying issue.
Low pressure is another reason why this may happen, especially if it is only the upper areas of the property that are not being heated properly but if there is no heat being produced whatsoever it could be a more serious issues such as a broken diaphragm or airlock. If this is the case, only a professional engineer will be able to restore operations safely.
