Are you having problems with your boiler not heating water? The boiler may be turned on and apparently seems fine, but in actual fact is not heating water. Some issues are easy to fix, while others require careful inspection and resolution.
When it is freezing outside, you want to ensure that nothing is wrong with the boiler. However, before trying to fix it yourself, it is better to call a professional service for inspection and resolution instead of doing it yourself, like the experts at https://hurlimanheating.com.
What are the most common causes for a boiler not heating water?
If your boiler is not heating water, you can inspect the following points to try to figure out what the problem is. Then, hopefully, you can fix the problem by yourself without too much trouble.
Here are some of the most common reasons for you boiler not eating water and what to do about it:
1. Frozen pipes
If it is too cold outside, the pipes might freeze. The boiler gets water from the pipes coming from outside the house. If they are frozen, the water will not flow and will not reach the boiler, which will stop working.
The solution to this problem is to flow warm water over the ducts to melt the ice. In addition, the boiler will shut down for safety reasons, so once the pipes are not frozen any longer, the boiler needs to be restarted.
2. The pilot light is not working
It can happen that the pilot light is not lit; when that happens, the boiler will not work. However, you can see if the pilot light is lit by looking through the frame of the boiler. If you see the light, then there is no problem.
If the light is not there, then there is a problem. For example, the pilot light is found on boilers that run with gas and oil, and to function, they need the pilot light to be on so that it can serve to turn on the boiler to heat the water when necessary.
In modern boilers, it is hard to see the pilot light; usually, there is a digital screen where it is possible to see an error code. This makes it easier to isolate the problem with your boiler since you have to read the code and figure out what corresponds to it.
The boiler manual has the instruction to lit the pilot light. If you follow the instructions and still do not manage to get the light to show up, it could be necessary to call a technician to resolve the problem.
3. Problems with the diverter valve
Every boiler has a diverter valve responsible for directing the water flow to all the appliances. It means that when the valve is malfunctioning, no hot water is coming out, and if you want to heat the house, the radiators will not function.
If this is the situation, you need a trained technician to come and replace the valve. Once the valve is returned, the boiler will start to work correctly and provide hot water again.
The diverter valve can stop functioning because of corrosion or metallic build-up that occurs with the regular usage and age of the component.
4. Problems with the thermostat
Thermostat issues are very common in boiler malfunctions. The thermostat sends directions to the boiler, telling it to warm the water to a specific temperature. If the thermostat has the wrong settings, the boiler will get the wrong directions resulting in no hot water.
It is possible that the wrong settings were selected or the thermostat is broken. In some cases, the thermostat act as a timer, deciding when to shut off the boiler; if you don’t know that is the case, you might think that boiler is broken, but in actual fact, the thermostat is the problem.
5. Pressure problems
The boiler will not produce hot water if the pressure is too high or even too low. You must inspect the gauge to verify that the pressure is where it should be. Every boiler has instructions that will tell you how to regulate the pressure so that the boiler can function correctly.
A way to reduce the pressure is to let water out from the radiators. When you do it, it also reduces the pressure. Another possible cause for pressure problems is water leaks which create a low-pressure situation.
If you follow the manual directions and have released pressure from the radiators, and it doesn’t work in establishing the correct pressure, then you might need to have the boiler serviced.
Actions to take when the boiler is not heating the water
If you do not get hot water any longer, you can inspect your system to locate the action problem and resolve it. But, from where should you start?
Here are a series of steps you can do:
1. Figure out if the electricity is working
When the boiler stop working, it can be because of a lack of electricity. It is possible you might now realize that the power went off, but it is worth checking. If your boiler works with gas, you can check if the gas supply works.
You can easily see that there is a power problem if the boiler has a digital screen and if you see nothing on display.
2. What out for error codes
With modern boilers, you have display screens that show when there is something wrong. In addition, they usually have a series of programmed code that shows up to tell you what is not working. Typically, the boiler has a legend with the error codes and what they mean.
Based on the code and its meaning, you can determine the action to take to remedy the situation. .
3. Check the controls
It is always worth checking the controls to determine if they are positioned to send the wrong directions to the boiler. In addition, settings can be accidentally changed and might be responsible for the water not turning hot.
Conclusion
It is possible to resolve boiler issues with simple actions most of the time, but sometimes when it is not possible to find what is wrong with the boiler or all the remedies you tried have not worked, it is time to call a technician.
