Home HeatingHow to Maintain Your Boiler Year Round

June 18, 2019by oil4wales
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Besides having routine check ups by a professional, here are some tips on how to maintain your hot water heating system year round.

It can be incredibly frustrating if your hot water heating system suddenly fails you, especially when it’s cold outside, and it gets cold in Wales (even now, in Summer!)

You actually can avoid having your home’s boiler fail you. All you need to do is take some steps to maintain your boiler in addition to routine check-ups from our professional engineers at Oil 4 Wales. Keep reading to learn what you should do to maintain your boiler:

Examine the Vent and Chimney Of Your Hot Water Heating System

The chimney and vent connection of your boiler deteriorates over time. So you will want to make sure that neither of these pieces is suffering from a leak and that they are properly functioning.

Check for any holes or a broken connection on the chimney. Look closely at where the vent connects to the boiler and make sure it’s intact. Visually checking these systems over time will help you identify when problems arise over time and what work needs to be done.

If you notice there are holes, pools of water, or a broken connection and your system is failing you, then it might be time to call a professional.

Check the Heat Exchanger

If you have a boiler leak, most of the time it’s coming from your heat exchanger. Your exchanger is the most prone to leaking which is why you’ll want to inspect if visually whenever you can.

You’ll want to check all around the heat exchanger of your system and see if there are any leaks. You can also check for any small spots of water that might be around the exchanger during or after an operation.

If you see a small pool of water, you might need to replace your exchanger. Make sure to make this replacement before your leak gets bigger and you have water damage.

Flush out the Boiler

When your boiler regularly operates, rust and debris can build up in the boiler system of your home. Over time this debris can lower how efficient your system is, and it can even clog it up in some cases. Which is why it’s very important to flush our your boiler regularly.

To flush out your boiler, you’ll want to open the valves of the radiator to let air into the system. You’ll want to have buckets ready to catch any water that might come out. You’ll also want to turn off the power to your water supply and make sure that your system is ready to be flushed.

You can cut the power for the boiler from your breaker box. Make sure you do this as it’s dangerous to work on the system when your power is still on.

Next, connect your gardening hose to your boilers drain cock. Most boilers have a hose fitting, so you should be able to screw this tightly on to the system. You’ll want to run your hose into a large bathtub or bucket to drain out all the debris and water.

Now you will want to open up the radiator vents to let the air out of the pipes. This air allows water to bleed through your boiler’s system and drain your hose.

You’ll want to turn on the water supply through your home and flush it through the system. You’ll want to wait until the water stops draining to close your vents and drain cock.

The water will keep flowing into your boiler system until pressurised, but only if you have a pressure-regulating valve on your system. If you do not have a pressure-regulating valve, you’ll need to let the air out of every convector on your system until the boiler gets to its ideal pressure level. You’ll only need to do this if your system is old.

If you have any questions about how to do something like this, our friendly engineering team at Oil 4 Wales is just a call away.

Lubricate the Circulating Pump

Your boiler’s circulating pump is what moves all of the water around in your heating system. If this pump fails, then your home won’t be effectively heated. Which is why you want to make sure this pump continues to function and run properly.

The best way to do this is to lubricate your circulating pump at least once a year. You can do this by taking a 3-in-1 oil and pouring it into your system’s oil cup. This oil will then penetrate down into the pump, preventing it from sticking and grinding as it operates. Try to do this frequently, and your boiler should run more efficiently.

Adjust the Boiler to Operate Efficiently

Now that you know what to do to maintain your system, spend some time adjusting your boiler settings. This will not only improve your boiler’s efficiency, but it will also cut down ton the wear and tear of your system. These adjustments will limit the cycling of your boiler.

If your boiler is constantly kicking off and on, then it’s not being run efficiently. You are also likely creating uncomfortable hot and cold spots in your home. To fix this, set your burner to “on” with just a few PSI on the steam boiler or a few degrees Fahrenheit on the hydronic system, to the “Off” point.

This will stop the boiler from running at a full flame, and force it to run at half or three-fourths of the flame almost continuously. Instead of your system running at full blast until it hits a temperature wall and shuts back off again. This way the slightly fluctuating flame will maintain temperature without ever going out.

You want your system to run constantly. It is better for your boiler and more energy efficient this way.

Get Help from an Expert

Sometimes you just need to call an expert to help you with your hot water heating system. Boilers can be expensive and they are reliable when properly maintained. Which is why you want to call a pro to do the maintenance for you.

Especially if you aren’t comfortable with all the procedures, or you don’t want to do the work. If you need help with heating oil and commercial fuel in Wales, don’t wait. Contact us at Oil 4 Wales today!