Most boilers fail from time to time. It is quite a common thing. So, if your boiler has stopped working no need to panic. Try the following 5 fixes before calling an engineer:
- Make sure you did not accidentally shut off the power switch. This is the number one reason that most gas engineers find upon inspection. Sometimes people shut the power switch off without paying attention and it shuts the boiler down. So, the first thing you need to do is to make sure the power is not turned off.
- Have you paid your gas bill? This is another common problem for service calls. People do not realize that they have to pay separately for gas or if they do, they forget to make payments, their credits have expired, or their payment did not go through. The next step is to make sure you have paid your gas bill and you have enough gas credits available.
- The next common thing is that the boiler has lost pressure or has a high pressure which has shut the boiler off. In this case, re-pressurize the boiler if the pressure has fallen below. Check your company manual for instructions on how to re-pressurize your boiler. And if the pressure is too high bleed some air out of the radiator. Then restart your boiler and it should work.
- See if the pilot light is working. Often the pilot light gets shut off because of weather or dust. A pilot light is needed to turn the heat on and boil the water. See your company manual on how to restart the pilot light or call a gas engineer.
- The thermostat has stopped working. Many modern boilers are controlled by a thermostat. If your thermostat is not functioning because of batteries or the timer is off, then the boiler won’t turn on. In this case replace the batteries or reset the timer.