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Your boiler is a piece of important heating equipment in your home, and it can make life difficult for you when it breaks down. Depending on the type of boiler you use, there are a host of problems that can arise with them, including gas leaks and gas supply cut-off for gas heaters, and bad heater elements for electric heaters.
Your instinct will be to find out what the problem with your heater is, and that’s right. However, there are numerous services for boiler repair in London that can help you detect the problems and fix them as soon as possible.
After reading through this article, you’ll know what to do if your boiler breaks down. You’ll know the common boiler problems and simple fixes for them. Ultimately, you’ll have direct contact with one of the best boiler and gas-safe registered engineers in London.
Solutions to Boiler Breakdowns
When the weather gets cold and you can’t stand bathing in cold water, your boiler is there to your rescue. However, there are chances that your boiler may break down when you need them, and you have to fix them as soon as you can.
There are many ways to go about fixing your boiler problems, but you’ll most likely follow this route:
Trace the boiler’s fault
Ranging from frozen pipes to gas leaks, inadequate boiler pressure, gas supply problem, and power cut, there can be one or more problems with your boiler. The earlier you can trace the fault, the quicker you can fix them.
While older boilers are easier to repair, the problem with a new boiler can also be easy to locate with the aid of its pilot light. Troubleshooting your boiler’s problem may require simple listening to the sounds of your boiler’s ignition if you’re familiar with its operation. However, you can also trace the fault from the boiler installation manual as it’s described on Gasboilerandheatingrepair.co.uk, as it contains an interpretation of error codes and flashes your boiler may present.
Attempt to fix the fault
Once you know what’s wrong with your boiler, you can attempt to fix it, provided it’s an easy problem. Problems such as condensate pipe blockage and gas supply problems are relatively easy to locate and fix if you’ve had a similar experience before. You’ll have to open your heater to reach the problem in most cases.
However, if the problem is more than you think you can handle, the next step is what you should do.
Call a professional
Generally, all problems with boilers can appear simple but there may be underlying causes that only a home heating engineer can trace and fix.
Insufficient boiler pressure, ignition and thermostat problems, and any gas emergency are better handled by heater engineers and gas safe registered engineers, respectively. When you perceive the odour of gas, it doesn’t matter which of your gas appliances it’s coming from, give a gas safe engineer a call, immediately.
Common boiler problems and simple fixes for them
Many things can go wrong with your boiler. However, you can easily diagnose and fix these problems if they’re not complicated. Here are some of the common boiler problems and their solutions
Hot water but a cold atmosphere
Modern boilers are combi heaters. That is, they heat water for your home and function as the central heating for your home’s atmosphere. They are usually responsible for warming your home during the cold months; however, they may not function as the central heating system but still provide hot water, which points to a problem.
It may happen because you’ve switched the central heating system mode to exclude the radiator during the summers, and failed to switch it back on when winter comes. It is also possible that the radiator has air trapped in it, causing it to fail in heating your home.
Solution
- Switch the central heating programmer or mode back to include the radiator. That way, you’ll have hot water and a warm home.
- Bleed the radiator to remove the air trapped in it.
If this doesn’t solve the issue, your radiator or boiler may have a more serious problem. Contact a heating system engineer.
Frozen condensate pipes
This problem is common during the winter months. The condensate pipe is the part of your boiler system that leads waste water away from the system, and out of the house. When the weather temperature drops, the water in the condensate pipe is liable to get frozen, especially if it’s outside the house.
Another problem that you can encounter with a condensate pipe is its blockage, and it’s usually caused by solid materials in the pipe. Gum that was rubbed in the pipes to hold them together can solidify over time to cause such blockage.
Solution
- Pour some hot water into the condensate pipe to thaw the ice.
- Unscrew the condensate pipe and remove the solid blockage in it.
Leaking boiler
Leaking boilers are one of the most common boiler problems and they can be due to many reasons ranging from excessive boiler pressure, damaged seals, extensive corrosion in pipes and tanks, and a faulty component. They are considered serious problems because they can lead to other problems, such as electrical malfunction due to water contact, which may lead to damage to the entire electrical system in your home.
Leaks from your boiler can be from its tank or pipes, and the solution is to seal them. However, that can be tricky as opening the boiler cover may expose you to electrical hazards.
Solution
- Call a heating engineer to solve the issue
Thermostat problem
Thermostat issues with boilers will cause the boiler to respond to commands on it. Usually, when the temperature display on a thermostat is higher than the room temperature, there’s a problem with it. If on the other hand, the temperature display on the thermostat is lower than the room temperature, it may malfunction due to a bad battery.
However, a thermostat problem is confirmed when your boiler doesn’t act according to what’s displayed on your thermostat.
Solution
- Replace the bad batteries with new ones.
- You may also have to repair or replace the thermostat if it’s faulty. For this, call a heating system technician.
Frequently Asked Questions About What To Do If Boiler Breaks Down
Here are answers to some of the questions you may have about what to do if your boiler breaks down.
Is a broken-down broiler an emergency?
A broken boiler isn’t necessarily an emergency. However, that depends on what type of fault the boiler has and the time the fault happens. Generally, boiler problems such as tank leaks, electrical faults, and gas leaks can be considered emergency boiler conditions. Other faults such as hot water but a cold atmosphere can be categorised as non-emergency boiler breakdown conditions.
Also, if your boiler breaks down during the winter, you’ll need to fix it as soon as possible to give yourself and your home some heat.
What do you do if your boiler breaks in the winter?
If your boiler breaks down in the winter, get it fixed as fast as possible. However, you can use your fireplace to provide some heat to your home for the time being. Hot water bottles are also good to provide you with heat during this time.
Final Thought
Your boiler will develop a problem at one point of its use. While you can try to detect what the problem is, you should contact a locally licensed heater engineer or a gas safe registered engineer for boiler repair in London.