The last thing you ever want to face is to find out your boiler has broken down (or so you think) in the middle of winter. Now, before you panic and phone up an engineer to fix the boiler, check it yourself. More often than not, it is a problem you can fix. 

With that said, here’s how to check if your boiler needs an engineer to be fixed, or you can do it yourself.

Check if it is On

The first thing you should do is to check if the fixture is on. Check the pilot light if it is lit. If it isn’t, either your boiler is switched off, or there isn’t any gas and electricity supply going to your home. With that said, check if the supply is still running, and then check again if the pilot light is on. If it is still off, then it is time to relight your boiler. Check your boiler’s manual on how to turn to relight or reset it.

Check the Radiators

Your radiators should be warm or hot all round. If you feel around and find that some patches of your radiators are cold, it may be experiencing a blockage in the system caused by air. You can easily fix this by switching off your boiler for a few hours to cool down the entire system. 

When that’s done, bleed the radiator by turning the bleed valve top until you hear a hiss. Leave it like this until water starts dripping out, then close it tight. If there are still any cold patches present, there might be something else clogging up your system, in which you’ll need the help of an engineer to do so.

Check for Frozen Pipes

If you have a condensing boiler, a frozen pipe can be one of the most common winter issues you can face. Look for your boiler’s condensation pipe and, if you believe that it is frozen, warm it back up with something warm, such as a bottle of hot water or a warm towel. Just don’t try to warm it back up with a live flame.

When you’ve sufficiently defrosted the pipe, reset the boiler. To prevent further freezing, you can buy pipe insulation, also known as lagging, to cover the pipes.

Look at the Pressure Gauge

Sometimes, a drop in pressure can be the cause of a broken boiler. If you’re using a combination boiler, look at the gauge and see if the pressure is low. If it is, check for leaks around the radiators and pipes. If there isn’t any leak, you can try and ramp up the pressure once more. 

Before you go ahead and add pressure, make sure to read the manual first and see what numbers you should be trying to achieve. When that’s done, switch off the boilers and turn the valve to add pressure into the boilers. Be very careful, as over-pressuring the boilers can be very dangerous.

By following our tips, you’ll be able to get your broken boiler back online without spending extra money or waiting for an engineer to show up and fix the problem for you. If you still aren’t able to fix your boiler issue or aren’t confident in doing it by yourself, you can always phone up a professional to have your boiler repaired.

If you’re looking for a temporary boiler for hire in London while you wait for your boiler to be repaired, get in touch with us to see how we can help.