10 Most Common Boiler Problems

A broken boiler can throw a house into chaos, especially if a problem occurs during the cold winter months. A boiler problem is an expensive inconvenience and while some boiler issues can be addressed without the need to call a professional, sometimes an experienced heating engineer will be required. Even if you do take care of your boiler, problems can occur despite your efforts. We’ve listed some of the most common boiler problems:
1. No heat or hot water. This could be caused by a variety of things including broken airlocks, failure of motorised valves or low water levels.
2. Pilot light going out. This could be due to a broken thermocouple, a deposit build up in the pilot light or a draught blowing the pilot light out.
3. Condensate pipe freezing During extremely cold weather the condensation in this pipe may freeze and cause a blockage this in turn causes a blockage which makes the condensate ‘back up’ into the boiler and cause a shutdown.
4. Kettling. When lime scale builds up on your boilers heat exchange you can get kettling. For more information see our blog on kettling. 5. Losing pressure. A water leak in the system is the most common reason for a loss of pressure.
6. Boilers which keep switching off. This can be caused by low water pressure, problems with the thermostat and air in the system.
7. Thermostat issues. The older the thermostat the more likely it is to become less accurate, misreading temperature settings or turning the heating on/off by itself.
8. Leaking and dripping. Several issues could cause your boiler to leak water. The location of the leak would need to be found in order to identify the problem.
9. Strange banging noises. Air in the system is a common cause, this makes your central heating system emit some strange noises such as banging, whistling or gurgling sounds.
10. Radiators not getting hot. If your radiator is warm at the bottom, but not at the top, there may be air in the radiator which can be fixed by bleeding the radiator. If this is not the case, it may need a power flush to clear the pipes.

 A boiler is one of the most important appliances in the home which is why you should keep an eye out for any of these common boiler problems. If you do notice any problems with your boiler give Plumbcare.com a call, we will be able to diagnose and fix your boiler quickly and efficiently.