Ah it’s that time of year. It seems that Winter has suddenly arrived. Rain and more rain and a sudden drop in temperature means you are probably thinking about turning your heating on sooner rather than later. That’s why October is #BoilerSwitchOnMonth.
When this happens problems can occur and it’s hard to know what to do. We hope that this provides you with a quick checklist outlining the common problems you might experience when you turn your boiler back on.
Please remember, do not attempt to fix anything without expert help. If you are in doubt, give the Gregor Heating service team a call on 0117 935 2400 to book your boiler service or repair.
Is it turned on?
If you have no heating or hot water the first and most obvious place to start is to make sure that the boiler is switched on at the mains (you’d be surprised how many times this happens to people).
If your boiler is still not responding, this can be for a number of reasons but first it’s worth trying to follow instructions for re-setting it. This usually works.
Check the fault code
If you’ve tried resetting your boiler and it still isn’t working, it may be showing a fault code on the display. This will give a good clue as to what’s wrong with it, so refer to your manufacturers handbook or call a registered Gas Safe engineer who may be able to help.
Check the boiler pressure
A boiler won’t function if the boiler pressure is low. If your boiler pressure is low then you can take simple steps to reset it.
Checking the pressure of your boiler is easy. Look at the built-in pressure gauge and if you find that the needle is below 1 and going into the red, then this indicates an issue with low boiler pressure, which means your central heating system won’t work.
There are a number of reasons why this may be happening – a couple of areas you could check include a water leak in the system, around the filter or radiator valves, or perhaps you have recently bled the radiators causing the pressure to drop.
You can try re-pressurising the system yourself by checking instructions via your heating systems’ manual or looking online for some help. A useful guide here.
Check the thermostat
If the thermostat is turning the heating on or off when it’s not supposed to its worth looking at what might be causing this.
A few checks to make that can be easily overlooked include checking the batteries are working and that it is in the on position and set to the correct settings i.e. time and schedule – it’s always possible that it could have been knocked or changed if there’s been a power cut.
One other consideration to make is that your home might be warmer than you think and a thermostat won’t allow the boiler to heat your home higher than the temperature it has been set at. If its set lower than 21degrees it might not work, if this is the case then try increasing it in very small increments until you find the temperature that’s right for you.
If none of the above apply it’s possible that your thermostat may have malfunctioned or lost accuracy over time, in which case it is probably time to consider a replacement.
Check if the boiler is leaking or dripping
If your boiler is leaking water, it could be down to a number of things. The most common cause is a broken internal component, such as a pump seal or pressure valve.
You may also find your boiler is leaking around the pipes or tank – this can be a result of corrosion or in some cases where the system has not been fitted properly.
In any case, we recommend calling out an engineer who will be able to diagnose and fix the issue for you – do not try to fix it yourself.
And remember, at any point if you smell gas don’t attempt to reignite the boiler – contact the Gas Emergency Line on 0800 111 999.
If you didn’t manage to get your boiler serviced before the busy months, then get in touch with our team today to arrange a service, which we recommend is done annually. Call us on 0117 935 2400.