A boiler breakdown is an awful experience, especially during the winter! When your boiler breaks it is always sensible to have a professional gas safe registered engineer to come and carry out the repairs, with this said there are some issues that you may be able to resolve yourself without calling out a professional. Below you will find 5 common boiler issues and how to identify and fix them yourself.

5 Self Repair Boiler Issues

Low Pressure

The pressure in your boiler is low if:

• It switches itself off
• Central heating makes banging sounds
• Radiators furthest from the boiler stop heating up.

The fix to this is relatively simple, you just need to adjust the filling loop via the vale on your boiler until the pressure gauge reads between 1 and 1.5.

It is worth bearing in mind that if this problem persists and you need to keep adjusting the pressure of your boiler it could indicate a leak in the system, and for this you will need a gas safe registered engineer to come and take a look and carry out the necessary repairs.

Frozen Condensate Pipe

Signs the condensate pipe is frozen are as follows:

• Boiler wont fire up
• Freezing temperatures outside
• Boiler makes gurgling sounds when in use

Cold weather and boilers don’t work well together, a frozen condensate pipe is one of the leading causes of boiler breakdowns during the winter. You can attempt to thaw the condensate pipe yourself by using hot (but not boiling) water and a warm compress on the pipe directly.

Problems With Boiler Or Thermostat Settings

Signs of this are as follows:

• Boiler wont fire up
• Error codes on blank panel on thermostat
• Boiler doesn’t come on when it should or behaves erratically

There are a few things that could cause this, something as simple as a power cut or a slight knock could have changed the settings, so its always worth having a check and make any necessary adjustments, if you are not sure how to do this then check your boiler manual for instructions. It is also worth checking that the central heating dial on the boiler is turned up as well.

You should also check the thermostat settings, if the temperature is set to below 21°C then this could cause your boiler not to fire up so try increasing the temperature to see if that resolves the issue. If your thermostat has no display, then it is likely that the batteries need replacing.

Pilot Light Gone Out

Signs that show your pilot light has gone out include:

• Boiler wont fire up
• Can’t see the piolet light on your boiler

There are many reasons that can cause a pilot light to blow out, it should be fairly easy to reignite just follow the steps on your boiler. It is important to note that if you smell gas, notice a change in flame colour or sooty marks around the boiler then you should turn off your boiler and contact the emergency gas line on – 0800 111 999

If your pilot light continues to blow out, then it is worth contacting a gas safe registered engineer to come and have a look and carry out any necessary repairs.

Boiler Locks Out and Needs Resetting

Sings this is happening include:

• The red lock-out light keeps coming on your boiler
• Error code on control panel
• Boiler wont fire up

In this case often all that is needed is to rest your boiler. The boiler reset button should be located somewhere on the control panel, if you can’t find it then check your boiler manual and follow the instructions in there.

If this problem persists then it could be a sign of a larger problem so you should call out a gas safe registered engineer to come and have a look.

Although all these solutions mentioned above are perfectly safe to attempt yourself the majority of boiler problems should be left to the professionals.

If you need a boiler repair by a gas safe registered engineer, then contact JWC Plumbing & Heating today – 0151 345 4039