Reactive Blog #15 - Cold Weather Boiler Fixes

Cold Weather Boiler Fixes

So it's probably been a while since you’ve used your boiler now. We had a great summer but it's now time for the cold winter. You may experience boiler issues if you haven’t used it in a while, so here are some tips that may help you fix it before you call someone out to help.

Double check the basics

First things first: check the basics. If you have a prepayment meter system or a top-up key, check that you’ve got enough credit on it for it to work.

If this is not the case, then you should next test whether your other gas appliances, such as the cooking hob, are working properly. The switches in your fuse box may have tripped and may need resetting.

Think back to if you’ve had a power cut recently

Have you had a power cut recently? Your boiler’s timer might have reset itself. Fixing it and getting it working back to normal again should be as simple as putting in the correct time settings again. If you do not know how to do this, take a look at the instruction manual and there should be an easy-to-follow guide.

Check your boiler’s pressure gauge

If the boiler is showing a reading of one bar or less, then it is probably to do with the pressure being too low, as this can prevent the boiler from working. Topping up the pressure yourself is usually straightforward - follow the steps in your boiler’s manual.

Turn your room thermostat to 21 degrees or higher

Reset your boiler, or check that it's pilot light is on

Having the thermostat set lower than 19-21 degrees can stop your heating from coming on, so turn it higher to see if your boiler starts working again.

               

Still having troubles?

If you are still experiencing issues you can contact us at: http://www.reactiveinsurance.co.uk/about/#contactus

Reactive Blog #11 - How to Bleed a Radiator in 4 Easy Steps

How to Bleed a Radiator in 4 Easy Steps

It’s getting colder outside unfortunately so its now time to start turning on the radiators, as they haven’t been on in many months due to this summers heatwave they may experience some issues, which means that they may need bleeding. So we have put together an easy 4 step guide on how to do this.

Turn Your Heating On

The first step of bleeding your radiators is to turn on the heating so that all radiators in your home come on. You should remember to wait until your radiators are fully heated before moving on to step two as you will need to build up the pressure inside the radiator to be able to get all the air out of them.

Check the Radiators Temperature 

Once your radiators are hot, you should go and check each radiator and see if every part of them is warming up properly. Be careful though, radiators can obviously get very hot and you could burn/injure yourself when touching them. If there are cold spots on the radiator, (usually toward the top of the radiator) then there could be air or gas trapped, this means you’ll need to bleed that radiator.

Time to Bleed the Radiators

Next, you need to switch off your central heating. You need to do this so you can safely handle the radiators without burning yourself or getting the floor wet when bleeding them.

When bleeding a radiator, you will need a radiator key. If you do not have one, you can buy one to hand you can purchase one at most local hardware stores, or you could use a large flat-blade screwdriver.

At the top of the radiator at one end, there will be a valve. You can attach the radiator key to the centre or put the end of the screwdriver into the groove. Hold the key or screwdriver with a cloth, and have another cloth ready to catch any drips, then slowly turn the radiator key or screwdriver anti-clockwise. If the gas is escaping, you will hear a hissing sound. Once there is no more gas, a liquid will come out and the valve will need to be closed quickly.

Check The Pressure

Finally, you should check the pressure of the radiators. You can do this by having a look at the gauge on your boiler. If the pressure is too low, you’ll need to top it up. You can do this using the lever or tap on your boiler, known as the filling loop.

Afterwards, you may want to run another ‘hot test’ to check that the radiator is heating evenly and properly. Simply turn your heating on, wait for all the radiators to heat up and check for any cool spots.

Still Having Troubles?

If you are still experiencing issues you can contact us at: http://www.reactiveinsurance.co.uk/about/#contactus