Let's Troubleshoot Some Common Boiler Problems

Gas-fired boilers are not the most common type of home heating system (that’s the gas-powered boiler), but they remain a popular way to deliver warmth during the cold months thanks to their energy-saving performance, even heating distribution, and long service lives. Boilers usually require fewer repairs than furnaces and heat pumps, but there’s no way to prevent all potential malfunctions.

In this post, we’re going to run through some basic troubleshooting for when your home’s boiler encounters problems. Sometimes, it might be an issue you can easily correct. If it isn’t, make sure you only contact licensed HVAC experts for your boiler repairs.

This is obviously an alarming turn of events, especially on a cold day. You might worry that your boiler has failed entirely and you’ll have to replace it. Although that’s possible, there are other things to check on first. Make sure there are no tripped circuit breakers. A gas boiler may use natural gas to heat up water, but it requires electrical power to operate the circulator pump and to light the ignition system. If you have an older boiler with a standing pilot light, check to see if it’s still lit. Or, you may simply have a broken thermostat.

Why isn’t the boiler sending out enough heat? This is also potentially troubling with the thermostat; it may be miscalibrated so that the boiler is shutting downturn early. Another possibility is that there is limescale along the bottom of the tank that makes it harder for the burners to warm up the water. This can be fixed by flushing the tank, although we recommend you call an HVAC professional for this service.

First, make sure that the water isn’t coming from the pressure relief valve. This is supposed to leak a bit of water. If it’s leaking more than you normally see, the pressure relief valve is faulty or broken, and this needs a professional to replace it. You may also have leaking connection points. Call for professionals as soon as possible to repair a boiler leak of any kind.

If one of the radiators in the house isn’t giving you heat, there might be air trapped in the lines or the radiator. This is when the valve on the radiator comes in handy: it’s an air bleed valve. Open it up to allow a bit of water to escape, then close it. If this doesn’t work, there may be a malfunction in the manifold. Have a technician take a look at it.