Our final case study for Gas Safety Week 2021 really epitomises the false economy, as well as the potential danger, of skipping boiler servicing.
Heat protection panels provide insulation in the combustion chamber of your boiler and play an important part in controlling the temperature within the unit and preventing other parts becoming damaged. However, these heat protection panels, also known as heat pads, can incur damage themselves over time and if they fail it can have wider implications for the boiler.
In this case study we take a look at a customer’s boiler with damaged heat protection panels.
This boiler had suffered a breakdown and we were called to attend. On removal of the case, it was very evident what the issue was as the majority of the heat pads had burned away completely (see photo 1). These white panels should extend around the section on all 4 sides. You can see where the heat has even started to burn through the steel at the back. This is what has caused the boiler to stop working as its safety features have forced it to shut down.
Photo 1 - Heat panels (white sections) completely burned away round most of the area
The Insulation retaining pins have warped over time due to the heat inside the combustion chamber. This allows the panels to fall away and no longer protect the steel from becoming damaged. If this boiler had been serviced annually these pins would have been replaced along with the damaged pads.
Unfortunately, in this case there was no remedial options available to us that could save this boiler and it had to be condemned, meaning the customer had to have a complete replacement installed.
As this part is within the inner workings of the boiler, you can’t see any damage until you look inside. Obviously, this is not something that you should do unless you are a Gas Safe registered engineer, so you wouldn’t know, though there may be some red flags, such as the chassis becoming excessively hot.
The best way to avoid this and get a heads up that there is an issue before it gets to this stage is to have your boiler serviced annually. You can see from this photo (photo 2) that the heat protection panels are starting to deteriorate and warp, though they are still intact around the chamber. This is an example of the same issue that has been identified early, via a boiler service. In this case, the fix was a £50 replacement part – many times cheaper than a new boiler.
Photo 2 - Damaged heat protection pads identified much earlier through servicing
This demonstrates how skipping services really is a false economy because spotting issues like this is exactly why they are recommended.
This is the final case study for Gas Safety Week 2021. You can read them all, as well as all the content we've created for previous Gas Safety Week events here. You can also read more about the national Gas Safety Week campaign on the Gas Safe Register website. We hope that these examples (and there are many others that we could share) really bring the importance of boiler servicing into sharp focus as these are all issues that could have been avoided. Over a quarter (27%) of UK homeowners don't service their boilers annually, as is recommended, so that's a lot of boilers that may have all sorts of issues brewing that they know nothing about. Is yours one of them?
For our 15 year anniversary in business this year we're offering customers a 15% discount on the cost of their boiler service, but you'll have to be quick as the offer ends on 30th September 2021. Have yours serviced before this date and you'll pay just £67.15 instead of the usual price of £79.00. See here for more details.
To book your boiler service call 0333 577 0151.
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