Your boiler is one of your most crucial home fixtures that keep the whole house warm especially during the cold days, so it should always be in good running condition. If you do not perform maintenance checks on your boiler, you will soon experience troubles that will make it hard to resolve by yourself and you’ll need a professional boiler service provider to take care of your boiler for you. In order to avoid suffering from massive boiler trouble, you must know what to look out for to determine if it needs repairs or maintenance.
No hot water or heat
This is one of the first signs that your boiler is in trouble. Its primary function is to provide heat and hot water throughout the house, so if this function is absent then you need to get it checked by a professional plumber. You don’t want to have no heating or hot water during the winter, do you?
Leaks
There are several reasons why your boiler leaks and it depends on where the leak is coming from. Take note however, that no matter how small a leak is you should not attempt to resolve it by yourself; that is a job best left to a professional plumber. The most common cause of leaking is a broken component inside the boiler, but corrosion can also be the cause of the leaking.
The pilot light is off
The pilot light is the tiny blue flame that is always on to light a burner. If you notice that it is off, it may be due to a broken thermocouple that is blocking the gas supply.
Low pressure
A boiler has a pressure gauge that you can check once in a while to see if its pressure is steady or if it’s too high or too low. If you see that the needle is below 1, it means that there is not enough pressure on the boiler meaning that your furnace will not be able to supply heat and hot water as it should. There are three reasons that low pressure may happen: a leak, the pressure release valve is broken and needs replacing or bled radiators.
Weird noises
If you hear sounds that should not be there in the first place, such as a gurgling and whistling noise, chances are your boiler is having trouble functioning correctly. Air in the boiler system is the most common cause of these types of noises, and your plumber will know the kind of issue your boiler is having by the sound that it produces. A boiling kettle-like noise is most probably due to kittling or older boiler systems can experience pump failure.
It does not take long to check your boiler, so don’t wait until winter to get it checked. Before the winter arrives is the best time to call your trusted plumber to see if anything needs to be done to your unit, so it doesn’t break down on one of the coldest days of the year.
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