Keep Your Boiler in Tip Top Condition!

It may seem counter intuitive now summer is (hopefully) on its way to carry out maintenance on your gas central heating, but Summer is the perfect month, allowing you to get on with the job without fearing being without heating or hot water. And if you need to bring the professionals in to fix the more complicated issues, you’ll most likely find yourself able to book an appointment quickly, as summer time tends to be the quieter season for gas engineers.

If you want to give your hard working boiler a bit of TLC this season, find out how

With our gas central heating maintenance tips…

Arrange an annual boiler service

This may sound really obvious but many homeowners forget about arranging their annual gas boiler service. This is imperative in maintaining good working health for your boiler as well as safeguarding you against potentially harmful Carbon Monoxide emissions.

Check the boiler pressure

Check the pressure gauge, which is usually placed at the front of your boiler. The indicator should be between one and two bars of pressure for the boiler to be working effectively. If it isn’t, you can increase the pressure by refilling the boiler by opening the refill valve. Please refer to the boiler manufacturer’s manual for instructions.

Check the pilot light

The pilot light on your boiler should always be blue. If it’s orange or yellow, arrange an RGII gas engineer to come to your property as an emergency.

Bleed the radiators

If you turn your gas central heating on and find that the radiators are hot on the bottom but cold on the top, this is because air is trapped in the system, which can be a common problem if the radiators have been off for a while. You can rectify this by bleeding the radiators. Do this by:

Get a radiator key, some old cloths and towels.
Make sure the heating is off and the radiators cool.
Place the towels underneath the radiators on the floor/carpet to protect them from any water that might escape. This water is usually dirty, so you’ll want to ensure all flooring is properly protected. The cloth is to catch the water that comes from the valve.
Use the radiator key to turn the valve anti clockwise. Do this gently for about a quarter of a turn as you don’t want to open it up too much.
You will hear a hissing sound, which is the air escaping.
Once the hissing stops, water will start to come out of the radiator.
Use the cloths/towels to mop it up.
Close the valve with the radiator key.
Turn your boiler back on.
Check the radiators. They should all now be hot all the way to the top.

Some/all radiators are hot at the top but cold on the bottom.

This is most likely because of debris/sludge build up in your system and will require a system powerflush by a trained RGII gas engineer.

A painted over valve

A very common but annoying problem. If the valve is painted over, you may not be able to open it. Use some WD40 to manipulate it. If you’re unable to, call in a fully certified gas engineer to fix it for you.

The radiator(s) aren’t heating up at all.

This could be a faulty valve. Check that the valve is fully open. If it is and the radiator is failing to heat, the valve will need replacing.

Check ventilation

Around your boiler. If your boiler is in a cupboard, check there is nothing blocking it from being able to breathe, such as household belongings.

Listen

Does your boiler sound healthy? The normal creaks of pipes and radiators heating up are nothing to be worried about but a boiler that makes clunking or banging noises could be a boiler in trouble and will need a professional gas engineer to test it.

Always use an RGII Gas Engineer

As they are fully qualified to work safely and competently on a huge range of gas boilers. Never choose anyone to fix or service your boiler who doesn’t have the right credentials.