In the UK we generally have a mild summer, followed by cold winters with freezing temperatures that can last for weeks. For a lot of people, they don’t discover issues with their central heating system until the cold spells have arrived. Then they have to join the other thousands of people who have to get a boiler technician out to repair their boiler. Don’t wait until the temperatures are chilly, follow our handy checklist to ensure that you are prepared this winter.
Bleed Your Radiators
First one the list is bleeding the radiators in your house. This should be considered routine maintenance by all home owners. Bleeding your radiators will keep your system as efficient as possible and can also help to save money.
What you will need:
- An old towel
- Small flat heat screwdriver
How to do it:
- Turn on your central heating system
- Let it run for a few minutes
- Turn it back off
- Go to the radiator and locate the bleeder screw or tap
- Protect surrounding walls and floor with the towel
- Carefully unscrew the bleeder valve (anti-clockwise)
- Once the air has stopped rushing out and water starts to come out, tighten the screw again
- Repeat for all radiators
Check Your Boiler Pressure
Your boiler needs to sit at around 1 to 1.5 bar when the system is cold. If you find that your boiler gauge is showing 0.5 bar or less, you need to re-pressurise the system. It is a good idea to consult your boiler manual before doing this to ensure that it is safe to do this yourself.
How to do it:
- Start with the system cold
- Locate the inlet pipe tap
- The should be at a 90 degree angle to the pipe
- Slowly turn the tap so that it is inline with the pipe
- Watch the pressure gauge
- Turn the tap back off
- Turn the boiler on and check for pressure levels
