The Definitive Guide: Should You Find a Plumber If Your Boiler Stops Working?
Many folks take their central heating boilers for granted. These fixtures in our homes are largely ignored, until they stop functioning. Then they become a right royal pain. The purpose of a central heating boiler is to provide a regulated supply of hot water to the home. Unfortunately, there are many things that can go wrong inside these units, and their associated systems. It’s uncanny that the central heating boilers pick the worst possible time to stop working. It’s often a bitterly cold winters day, and there’s no heat coming out of the boiler.
Believe it or not, such occurrences are all too common in the London metropolis. Many homes have older boilers and whenever too much strain is placed on them, they may stop working. If it isn’t a simple problem that you can fix on your own, you will need to call a 24-hour boiler repair engineer to resolve the problem. One of the most common reasons for boiler problems is the build-up of corrosion within the unit. Corrosion – rust – creates a thick slimy substance that affects the functionality of your boiler. This is not something that a layperson can resolve on their own. You will need to find a boiler repair engineer in London on the double.
If the problem has been diagnosed as a build-up of sludge, your boiler may be a candidate for a power flush. Consider this a deep clean of the innards of your boiler. This power flush often saves the day and ensures that your radiators are heating up as they should. The last thing you want inside your central heating system are cold spots. Plus, a power flush can prolong the life span of your central heating boiler and reduce the risk of future failures, keep your heating costs as low as possible. Let’s quickly run through some of the most common boiler problems you are likely to encounter.
1. Frozen Condensate Piping
Boilers are rather complicated contraptions. There are condensing boilers with pipes which move acidic water away from the boiler. These typically drain outside, but in wintertime there is always the risk of these pipes freezing. If you look at your boiler, you will see entry and exit pipes. The plastic piping is usually the condensate pipe and it should drain the acidic water outside. UK boilers come equipped with fault codes for notification purposes. You may simply wish to pour warm water over the frozen pipe to unblock any frozen condensate, but if you don’t feel comfortable doing that you will want to find a professional technician for boiler repair in London to fix your frozen pipes for you.
2. No Hot Water or Heat
Perhaps the most common complaint that plumbers in Stratford hear is the following: ‘There is no hot water in my boiler!’ There is no quick answer to why this is the case. It may be any number of reasons, such as faulty valves, broken diaphragms, airlock problems, thermostat issues, or even sub-optimal water levels in the system. Most of the time, any broken components will need to be changed out by a professional plumber. Remember that any plumbing engineer you call upon must be 100% gas safe registered – this is non-negotiable.
3. The Radiators Are Not Heating up
The radiators in your home may not be heating up, or perhaps only certain parts of them are heating up. The cause of such an issue could be attributed to any number of factors. It may be the sludge in the system, which is resulting in unequal heat distribution. In this case, plumbers use the term bleeding the system to remove the sludge. You could pretty much complete that task on your own – it’s fairly straightforward. If you don’t feel comfortable you can just as easily find a plumber to get it done for you.
4.The Boiler Is Losing Pressure
Pressure issues are always a hot topic with broken central heating boilers. Fortunately, you can easily check the pressure in your boiler by looking at the gauge. Any boiler reading below 1.0 could indicate a problem. One of the most common culprits is leakage. Another culprit could be a faulty pressure gauge. If you have recently drained the radiators in the home, this could also contribute to the low pressure reading on the boiler.
5.There Are Strange Noises Emanating from the Boiler
Most of us have heard all sorts of noises coming from our boilers. There’s nothing spooky about it – it’s simply air, water, and moving components. Perhaps you’ve heard gurgling sounds from the boiler. Some of the problems associated with strange noises are attributed to mechanical failures in the unit. If you suspect as much, call a plumber in Stratford to assist you.
6.The Boiler Is Leaking
Leaking boilers could be caused by any number of reasons. It’s possible that there is a broken part inside the boiler, perhaps a pressure valve or a pump seal. As a rule, you should never try and attempt to fix a leaking boiler on your own. Look around for boiler repair engineers in London since they are gas safe registered to deal with these types of issues.
And there you have it, a quick guide to some of the most common causes of central heating problems. Some of these issues are rather straightforward to attend to, while others may require internal replacement parts or perhaps even an entirely new central heating system. Consult with plumbing professionals if you cannot resolve the problem on your own.
