4 Common Boiler Problems

Is your boiler feeling under the weather? A boiler breakdown is an inconvenience and worry for many homeowners, due to not knowing how much time or money it could take to fix.

Making sure you have cover in place before your system develops these problems is crucial, so you know you’ll be covered in the event of an emergency and with the majority (15.6%) of breakdowns happening in January of each year, according to research conducted by boilerguide.co.uk*, now is an important time to make sure you have insurance in place.

Here are 4 of the most common boiler issues to look out for:

1. Loss of Heating or Hot Water

One of the most noticeable signs of something not being quite right is a loss of heat from radiators or hot water from taps. This has a variety of causes, including motorised valve failure, thermostat problems or damaged airlocks and diaphragms.

2. Low Boiler Pressure

Another common boiler problem is low boiler pressure. We would highly recommend always keeping an eye on your boiler’s pressure to ensure everything is operating smoothly. When the needle is showing the pressure is below 1, this indicates low boiler pressure. This means your central heating system will not operate as it should.

Low boiler pressure can be caused by factors such as a water leak, a broken pressure relief valve or radiators that have been bled recently.

3. Water Leakage

If your boiler is leaking water, it’s a sign that something isn’t quite right. The cause of this common boiler fault is usually a damaged pressure valve or pump seal, which will often need replacing. If the leakage is bad enough to cause a complete boiler breakdown, this can cause a huge amount of inconvenience if your boiler is not protected.

4. Frozen Condensate Pipe

A frozen condensate pipe is one of the most common boiler issues. Condensate pipes quite often freeze due to the cold weather conditions during the winter, either causing your boiler to display a warning light or resulting in complete heating loss. You can insulate your condensate pipe with waterproof lagging to prevent this from happening. You can also read our handy guide to thawing a frozen condensate pipe.