Gas boilers are essential for warming your house when it’s cold while ensuring hot water runs through your system for bathing or cleaning your utensils. For such reasons, it’s not prudent to wait until your boiler is damaged before you do repairs. It could be too late, and you may have to sit through the cold winters without hot water.
Thus, it’s helpful to do gas boiler maintenance to ensure optimal functioning. Doing so guarantees your central heating system stays in excellent condition. Additionally, considering gas boilers are a worthwhile investment, maintaining them ensures you save money on buying a new one or spending on expensive repairs.
Moreover, it can help extend your boiler’s lifespan because most problems will be identified early and fixed on time. With that in mind, below are tips for gas boiler maintenance:
- Service Your Boiler Yearly
Regularly servicing gas boilers lengthens their life. It’d be good to employ the services of an experienced technician, as quacks can damage your gas boiler. Experts like those from Air Makers have a profound knowledge of how these systems work and know how to handle all the operating parts. So, contract with a local servicing firm for regular inspection.
Professional technicians can also identify potential problems with the boiler. For instance, they can check for rust, wrecks, and debris in the boiler and remove them. They can remove carbon monoxide build-up, wipe the gas burners, and assess the controls. Should they notice any spoilt parts, they can substitute them with new, highly efficient ones. After completing a maintenance round, the technicians will label the boiler to inform you of the next schedule for the other one.
On the same note, the engineers should do servicing at least yearly. Your gas boiler probably overworks during the cold season and needs to be checked for faults. Additionally, having your boiler serviced annually helps validate your warranty and insurance should anything happen to your boiler. The maintenance fee usually varies with companies. So, pick a boiler maintenance company you can work with for the long term at affordable rates.
- Turn On Your Heating Frequently
It’s advisable not to leave the boiler idle for extended periods. Turn on your heating regularly, even when it’s not cold, to help you quickly identify and fix any budding issues. Doing so will help you avoid shocks when you turn on the boiler at the onset of winter and it fails to function. You can switch it on for a few minutes weekly or monthly to test the boiler.
- Check The Pressure Gauge
You should check your boiler’s pressure gauge regularly. Ideally, the indicator should be between 1 and 1.5 to ensure it’s working optimally. If yours is below one, there could be an issue with the boiler. You can fix the problem by pouring water into the system. But ensure it’s balanced because a higher-than-average pressure can cause the water to seep, and a lower-than-average pressure may render the appliance non-functional.
- Inspect For Leaks
Carbon monoxide is one of the deadliest killers. The reason is that carbon monoxide doesn’t smell, making it difficult to detect. For this reason, you’d want to put up a smoke detector to help you check for gas leaks in your house.
Also, physically inspect the boiler for any rotten egg scent because it could indicate a gas leak from your boiler. If so, ensure your house is ventilated by opening windows and doors. Also, avoid igniting a fire and leave your property immediately. Call experts to come in and assess the problem and advise accordingly.
- Constantly Check Your Boiler
Despite the annual servicing, it’s advisable to check your boiler constantly. It’ll help you identify the possible damages and fix them. You need to look into the following things:
- Error Codes Displayed On The Boiler Control Panel: You can compare them to the ones in the manual to see their meanings. Then, call the experts to fix them if the errors require professional attention.
- Inspect The Floor Around The Boiler For Water: It might indicate the condensation drain in the boiler is obstructed. You can remove the congestion by sucking it from the exterior with a vacuum. On the other hand, water could signal that the pressure relief valve is leaking.
- Be Attentive To Any Unusual Sounds: Weird sounds like knocking shouldn’t be in your boiler, and you need to have it checked by experts because it could be a problem with the circulation pump.
- Examine The Flames Within The Combustion Chamber: You can run the boiler to see if there are any strange flame colors like green, red, yellow, or orange because it shows the boiler’s heat exchanger is broken. The normal flame color should be blue.
- Adjust Your Boiler’s Controls: It’ll help you save money because you’ll know it’s working optimally.
Being on the lookout for minor problems helps you fix them early and ensure your boiler is functioning efficiently.
- Check Your Radiators
Radiators are essential components in the boiler; maintaining them helps ensure it isn’t overworking. For one, you can bleed your radiators to eliminate any extra air. You know it’s time to bleed your radiator when you notice a cold patch on it.
Additionally, the radiator valves need to be assessed to ensure they’re open and functioning optimally and ensure you’re getting hot water. Sometimes, painting over the valves could obstruct pressure and make it difficult for your radiator to heat up.
You can fix your boiler problems by putting a shielding fabric on the floor and starting the radiator valve with a radiator key. There’ll be a hissing sound from the radiator, and if it stops and water begins to pour out from the radiator, seal the valve.
- Check If The Boiler Is Well Ventilated
The boiler is usually stored in a closed area to ensure its safety. However, debris could quickly accumulate on your boiler, making it difficult to function. Also, placing various household items around the boiler can obstruct it entirely, yet it requires adequate ventilation to function.
The vents can also be obstructed, making it difficult for optimum oxygen flow in the boiler. It can also lead to fires. So, ensure you properly ventilate the boiler to ensure its works.
Conclusion
Gas boilers are essential in the home because they ensure you get warm water during the autumn or winter. However, they’re machines and can wear out with time. For this reason, you must conduct regular maintenance on your gas boilers. It’ll help you save money on repairs and replacement, prolong your boiler’s life and fix the problems earlier. You can enlist help from experts who can help you do annual maintenance.