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A broken boiler can lead to a lack of warm water for cooking, showering, and cleaning dishes or laundry. To solve this plumbing problem as quickly as possible, Warner Service compiled a list of boiler problems to be on the lookout for:

  1. You don’t have heat or hot water. This could be caused by a variety of things, including broken airlocks, failure of motorized valves, and low water levels.

  2. The pilot light keeps going out. This could be due to a broken thermocouple, a deposit build-up in the pilot light, or a drafty draught that’s blowing the pilot light out.

  3. The condensate pipe froze. During extremely cold weather, the natural condensation in the condensate pipe may freeze and cause a blockage. This can cause a blockage, which makes the condensate back up into the boiler and cause a shutdown.

  4. You hear kettling. Limescale is calcium carbonate that leaves behind a residue due to hard water. It leaves a chalky off-white crust that can build up on your boiler’s heat exchange.

    This can restrict the flow of water, and the salt from hard water settles at the bottom of your boiler. When it becomes too hot, this salt begins to steam, expand the boiler, and cause a stovetop kettle sound.

    If you hear this sound coming from your boiler, call a plumbing professional immediately.

    Other causes for kettling included an inappropriately installed boiler or incorrect settings. A faulty boiler thermostat also causes the boiler to overheat and expand, the only way to deal with this is to replace the boiler thermostat. 

  5. The boiler is losing pressure. A water leak in the plumbing system is the most common reason for a loss of pressure. Another reason is if a recent plumbing maintenance visit included bleeding your radiators.

    Check your pressure gauge on the front of your boiler. Check the user manual for details about how to repressurise your boiler or if you need to call a professional technician.

  6. The boiler keeps switching off. This can be caused by low water pressure, problems with the thermostat, closed valves, a broken pump, or air in the system. If you’re unsure which problem is causing the boiler to turn off, call a pro.

  7. You’re having thermostat issues. The older your thermostat the more likely it is to become less accurate, misread temperature settings, and turn the HVAC system on and off by itself. Check out Warner Service’s Troubleshooting Your Thermostat 101 for information on how to fix this issue.

  8. Your boiler is leaking and/or dripping. Several issues could cause your boiler to leak water. In order to identify the plumbing problem you need to locate the source of the leak.
  • If it’s from the pressure valve, the pressure is too high. It should be between 18 and 21 PSI, or one bar. When the pressure exceeds this value, the pressure relief valve should leak water to prevent the appliance from blowing up or rupturing.
  • If it’s coming from the temperature valve, the temperature of the boiler is too high due to a fault with the temperature probe.
  • If the leak is coming from the pipes or tanks, it’s corrosion, which weakens the boiler and allows water to escape. If the corrosion is isolated to a single component, such as a valve, then you’ll need to have the part replaced.
  • If it’s around the pipe fittings, the leak is from a bad installation job.
  • If the leak is coming from the seals of the pump, replace or reseal the pump.
  1. You hear banging. Air in the system, a stuck or broken pump, or a boiler that’s too large for the system are common causes of odd sounds, including banging, whistling, and gurgling.

  2. The radiator isn’t getting hot. If your radiator is warm at the bottom but not at the top, air in the radiator is present. This can be fixed by bleeding the radiator or power flushing to clear the pipes.

In order to prevent these problems from happening, download Warner Service’s Boiler Maintenance Checklist:

Download the Boiler Maintenance Checklist Today