You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law—the adage that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Particularly if it’s a frigid Indiana night and you’re counting on your boiler to keep you nice and toasty. All of a sudden, you hear some suspicious noises, and the air inside your home starts to cool noticeably. Sigh. Time to see what’s up.
There are several things that could be keeping your boiler from operating at peak performance. Here are a few of the most common:
1. Leaking
Old parts, a worn out seal, a pressure valve set too high, a system overload, pipe corrosion…these can all contribute to leaks or drips in your boiler. If you notice this issue, it’s best to get in touch with an experienced HVAC contractor to find out the cause. They’ll have the know-how to diagnose and fix the problem without causing any further damage.
2. Kettling (and Other Strange Noises)
Does your boiler sound like it’s about to brew you a nice, steaming cup of tea? That’s not a good sound. The purpose of boilers is to heat water, which then gets spread throughout your home as steam, warming the air as it goes. Kettling and rumbling noises can be brought on by a number of things, but hard water is typically to blame—minerals in the water, such as calcium and magnesium, build up on the boiler’s interior and can clog the flow of water in the heat exchanger. This leads to intense heating which causes those noises…and potentially larger issues, as well.
3. Frozen Condensate Pipe
We see this issue a lot in the colder months. Your condensate pipe is responsible for moving waste gas, in the form of a liquid, from your boiler to the outside drain. But what do liquids do in cold temperatures? They freeze. Especially if your condensate pipe is fitted outside your home or in an unheated space, like your garage. The frozen condensate can cause a blockage or even make its way back into the boiler and cause a full system breakdown. Not fun. This is a fairly easy fix, though, and one you can do yourself—just apply hot (not boiling) water or a warm cloth on the pipe. Be sure to wear gloves, though, to protect your skin from the extreme cold of the pipe.
4. Pilot Light is Out
Fixing this problem could be as simple as reigniting the flame (after following the instructions in your boiler’s manual to make sure you do so safely, of course). But before you do, you’ll want to check on a few things: First, make sure your boiler is receiving gas—if not, you may need to check that the stopcock isn’t on or that the gas in your house isn’t turned off. As simple as it sounds, you may also want to check that there isn’t a draft somewhere that keeps blowing out the flame. If none of these are at fault, the problem could be a faulty thermocouple or a deposit build-up.
5. Thermostat is Wrong or Not Working
We hate to be Captain Obvious here, but is the thermostat turned on? Is it set to the correct temperature? Do the batteries need to be replaced? Have you reset the clock after a time change? You may roll your eyes, but sometimes the simplest thing is the solution! If you’ve checked all these factors and your thermostat still isn’t doing its job, it could be old or broken, or some wires could have come loose. Time to call the pros.