Boiler Maintenance Tips for Keeping Your Boiler in Top Condition

Our ultimate advice is not to wait until your boiler breaks down before you find out how it works. If you don’t have a manual for it, get one! It will be money well spent. The manufacturer is the ideal person to tell you the things you can do toward your own boiler maintenance, and how often to call in a boiler maintenance engineer to perform a routine boiler service (at least once a year, and preferably during the summer months).

Remember that you should never interfere with gas components, but there are still many useful things you can do to protect your home’s heating and hot water supply.

Check your radiators

Some domestic plumbing systems can easily suck air into the central heating pipes. If air pockets form in radiators they impair the heat they give out, and if they find their way to the pump that can stop the water circulating completely. Run a hand over your radiators and see if they warm up all over.

If not, it may be because of air. You can buy a radiator key at any hardware shop for about a pound. Use it to slowly loosen the nut at the top of each radiator to see if air hisses out. If so, let it empty until you start to get water then quickly tighten again. Air free radiators reduce the burden on your boiler.

Insulate your pipes

Some condenser boilers have an exposed external condensate pipe prone to freezing up. When it does, the boiler stops. Common solutions include connecting the outlet to a drain via an insulated pipe. Unfortunately, that insulation often perishes or blows away in high winds. You need to check all external pipes annually and re-insulate them if necessary.

It is much easier to get hot water to your radiators and hot water taps if you insulate those pipes too.

Check your pressure

Don’t wait until your annual boiler service to read your pressure gauges – once a week is better. Pressure fluctuations can often be corrected (read that manual!) but they are also a warning you may soon need a boiler maintenance engineer.

Free boiler grants in Liverpool and Merseyside

If you are worried about fuel prices or the cost of boiler repairs you should definitely see if you qualify for assistance. The government has recognised that fuel costs are out of control and there are a variety of schemes that may help you, including the Green Homes Grant voucher, the Home Heating Cost Reduction Obligation (HHCRO), and boiler grants in Liverpool and other cities under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO).

Watch the flame colour

When the boiler powers up, the flame colour should be almost completely blue. The same is true of the pilot if you have one. If you see a lot of red, yellow or purple you should call an engineer straight away.

At the very least it needs an internal clean. At worst, you could be leaking carbon monoxide into your home.