Tareq's Tips #3
If your heating isn't working properly, try our troubleshooting ideas.
1. Re-pressurise your boiler
If you have a combi or system boiler, both sealed systems, there’s likely a water pressure gauge on the front. This should read around 1 bar whilst the heating is off.
When the boiler is operating, the gauge will usually rise to 1.5 bar or more, and when the system cools down again it should return to around 1 bar.
If the gauge has dropped below 1 bar, the water pressure will need topping up with mains cold water. You’ll only need to do this if you have a sealed system boiler.
You’ll need to find the boiler’s filling loop, probably at the bottom of the unit – basically a loop of pipe with a valve at each end, like a silver hosepipe, though sometimes it’s integrated into the underside of the boiler.
Make sure the boiler is turned off and the ends of the hose are attached to the valves. Open the valves and you should hear water filling the system. Watch the pressure indicator until it reaches 1 bar, then close the valves and switch the boiler back on.
If your pressure won’t come up, or keeps dropping again shortly after, that’s usually a sign of a leak somewhere in the system rather than something to keep topping up yourself – get in touch and we’ll take a look.
For filling Worcester Bosch boilers with an integrated filling loop, see their official system filling guide.
2. Reset your boiler
3. Bleed your radiators
With the heating on, check the radiators to see which ones aren’t warm. Once you’ve identified them, turn off the central heating. Once cool, use a radiator key and attach it to the radiator’s valve.
With a cloth in hand to catch water once the air is out, slowly turn the key anti-clockwise – a hissing sound means air is escaping. Once all the air has gone, close the valve again. If you have a sealed system, you may need to top up the pressure afterwards.
4. Change thermostat batteries
If you have a digital thermostat, flat batteries can cause heating to fail. Remove the thermostat housing from the wall mount and turn it over to find the battery slots. Take out the old batteries and replace them with new ones – most thermostats take 2× AA or 2× AAA. Fix the housing back onto the wall mount; it may take a few days for the low battery warning to disappear from the display.
If you need further advice about your boiler or heating system, or want to book a boiler service, replacement or emergency repair, just give us a call.