7 reasons why you should have your gas boiler serviced

If you heat your home and hot water using a gas boiler, it is very important that you do annual maintenance on the boiler. I have listed 7 reasons why below.

1 Number one and most important of all is SAFETY. All gas boilers produce combustion products that are dispersed through a flue connected to the boiler. When the annual boiler service is carried out, the smoke duct is inspected and checked for product spills.

We all know how dangerous carbon monoxide is, you can’t smell or see it, but it could be life threatening, so the boiler chimney is a very important part of boiler service.

two When the annual service of the boiler is carried out, the engineer performs a combustion test with a gas analyzer, this will give a reading of how the boiler is burning gas, this is compared with the technical specifications of the boilermaker, if adjustments are needed, they can carried out.

Most gas boilers now are designed to be very efficient and save you money on your energy bills, but a gas boiler that is left out of service will eventually cost you more to operate and eventually a new boiler.

3 Many boilers are now high efficiency condensing boilers and produce condensation, this condensed water is acidic and needs to go to an internal drain if possible or an external drain and protected from cold weather.

Inside the boiler there is a condensation trap, a bit like the one you have under your kitchen sink, it always has water in it, this trap needs to be cleaned and checked. The reason the condensate trap and pipe needs to be checked is that it is part of the furnace flue, if there is a small leak inside the condensate trap or pipe, carbon monoxide could leak into the room in which the boiler is located.

4 Many of today’s high-efficiency boilers run on high pressure, which basically means that the entire heating and hot water system is pressurized, known as a sealed system. The system is filled with water up to around 1.2 bar through the incoming water network. If the system pressure needs to be increased periodically, this indicates a problem. Having to keep increasing the pressure is not good for the boiler, part of servicing the boiler is to check if the pressure has been dropping and find out why.

5 Each sealed and pressurized heating system has an expansion vessel installed; on most boilers these are installed internally, some are installed externally near the boiler.

So what is an expansion tank and what does it do?

When you look inside a gas boiler, depending on the make and model, you will see a long flat type tank, it can be gray or red in color, it can also be located on the back of the boiler.

Every time the boiler starts to heat the water or central heating, an expansion of the water occurs. As the water heats up it begins to expand, this is where the expansion vessel comes into operation, absorbing the expansion,

The container is like a big sponge that absorbs the expansion. It comes factory pressurized and set to the correct pressure for the boiler. Over time the canister will deflate and need to be readjusted, this is another very important part of servicing the boiler. With a non-working expansion vessel, the pressure in the boiler may continue to drop, if it stops and does not reset, you may need to replace the boiler.

6 Many other tests are also carried out, these involve checking that the gas supply is the correct size for the boiler, also checking the ventilation if required, to make sure it is compliant. Generally checking the boiler for hidden faults and working as designed.

7 If your gas boiler has a warranty, to maintain the validity of the warranty, you must perform annual maintenance on the boiler. Only has registered gas insurance engineer who is registered in boilers can perform the service.

When your boiler was installed it came with a reference book, this book has a service history section and must be completed signed and dated when a service is performed. If you do not do maintenance to your boiler you have no guarantee.

Having an annual gas boiler service is totally up to you, there are no regulations yet, but SAFETY is the most important part of any boiler service.