We have all been there. It’s a bit chilly outside and we can’t wait to get home and warm up, only to arrive and discover there is no warmth to be found.
A boiler breakdown is frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be a disaster. A local gas safe engineer will have your system back up and running again in no time, but sometimes you won’t even need them.
Most boiler breakdowns are caused by the same few common issues and some of them can be resolved yourself.
These include:
Frozen Condensate Pipe
A frozen condensate pipe is responsible for a large percentage of winter boiler breakdowns. It is located on the exterior of your property and you can have a go at thawing it out yourself by pouring some hot but not boiling water onto the pipe.
Thermostat issues
Have you considered that you boiler might not be the thing that has actually broken down. Many people believe that they are dealing with a boiler breakdown, call out an engineer, and later discover that simply replacing the batteries in their thermostat or resetting it after a power cut would have resolved all their issues in an instant.
Display panel malfunction
Boilers are home to a number of control panels and systems, all of which can malfunction from time to time. Look up any error message that you are getting in the manufacturers handbook to see what the issue may be. If all else fails try turning your boiler off and on again. You would be amazed at just how often this fixes all the issues that our customers are having.
Cold Radiators
If your boiler seems to be working, but your radiators just won’t heat up properly, you might just need to bleed them to get rid of the trapped air that is preventing heat from circulating properly.
If you see no signs of improvement after you have done this, the entire system may well need to be flushed. If this is the case, a gas safe engineer will need to be called. This is not something that you want to be messing around with and if you have any doubts you should always call in a professional.
If you have tried all of the above with no success, there is probably a deeper lying issue with your boiler that only a professional will be able to resolve.
You should never try DIY gas boiler repair beyond the simply checks mentioned above as it can be incredibly dangerous and may well be illegal. If your boiler is showing no signs of life, the only course of action is to get in touch with a emergency boiler repair Scotland expert as soon as possible.
If you are struggling to know where to start in this search, look no further than the Gas Safe register where you will find a handy list of all the gas safe engineers qualified and trained to carry out boiler repairs in the UK.