Your gas heating

If your hot water or heating isn’t working right, it might be something simple and you can fix it yourself, rather than waiting for a technician to come to you. We've got some helpful hints and tips below.

Remember if you're not sure please contact us and if you think you might have a gas emergency call 0800 111 999. 

• Heating or hot water issues

  If your heating or hot water isn't working, it doesn’t always mean your system is broken. There are sometimes quick and easy things you can do to get it back up and running. Here are some things to look for if your system seems to have gone down.

  • Check your gas, electric and water supply is on. If you have pre-paid gas or electric meters, check to see if you have credit on both
  • Look at your fuse box to make sure there are no tripped switches
  • Check your room thermostat is turned up and the boiler timer is set to the right time
  • If your boiler has one, check the pilot light hasn't gone out. If it has, you can check your user manual to see how to reignite this
  • Turn your thermostat on full for a while to see if this triggers any heat
  • Check if the power switch to your boiler it turned on.
  • If it's been very cold, check the condensing pipe hasn’t frozen. If it has, check the drop-down box bellow to see how to resolve this.

  If you have taken all the above steps and still can’t get your heating or hot water to come on, please call us or contact us online to report a repair.

• How do I pressurise my boiler?

  If you need to repressurise your boiler please follow these steps:

  1. Underneath your boiler you’ll find a filling loop.

  2. With the boiler turned off, start to repressurise the boiler until the needle reaches between 1 and 1.5 (Don’t worry if you go too high, you can reduce it by bleeding the radiators). 

  If you bled the radiators, check the pressure gauge and see if it’s still between 1 and 1.5. If not, top it back up.

  3. Turn the boiler back on.

  4.  If there’s still a fault code displayed, press the reset button to clear any faults.

  5. Turn on your heating and check to see if your radiators start to get warm after a couple of minutes.

  6. If you find you keep having to top up the pressure regularly then contact us.

  Below are some videos on re-pressurising you boiler:

  Watch the video on how to repressurise your Worcester Bosch system using the new Keyless Filling Link​
  
  Watch the video on how to repressurise a Worcester Bosch heating system with an External Filling Hose

  Watch the video on how to repressurise an Ideal Boiler

  Watch the video on how to repressurise a boiler with a flexible filling loop

• My boiler has no power

  If your boiler or programmer are showing no display or lights, but you have power to other appliances it may be that a switch has been turned off, so following these steps should help:

  • Go to the fused spur (this is usually either by the boiler or in the airing cupboard).
  • It should look like a single switch, check it's in the ON position, if not turn it on. 
  • If the fused spur is on but you still have no power, please go to your consumer unit (fuse board) and open the cover to see if any switches have tripped to the OFF position. Put them back to the ON position

  

• My thermostat has no power

  Sometimes, the batteries on the thermostat fail, try replacing the batteries.

• How do I reset my boiler?

  You only need to do this if the boiler is displaying a fault code or if the reset button is flashing red.

  What to do:

  1. Press the reset button for 5 seconds (See pictures below of common boiler types to help you find the right button)
  2.  Repeat the process 4 – 5 times
  3.  If the problem persists, please contact us by phone and we’ll send someone out to take a look for you

  Worcester Combi & System Reset Button (Press & hold button for 5 seconds).

  

  Worcester Regular (Heat Only) boiler Reset Dial (Turn dial to the reset position for 5 seconds, then turn back to original position, blue light will stop flashing and go solid)

  

  Ideal Combi boiler Reset Dial (Turn the Mode dial to the Restart position and hold for 5 Seconds, release the dial and return to original position, the boiler will go into its start-up process and display 0)

  

  Watch the video on how to reset your boiler

• My radiators aren't warm?

  If your radiators aren’t working, there are a few things you can try:

  • Turn on your heating and set it to the highest heat setting on the thermostat. Make sure the radiator valves are also at maximum (turned as far anti-clockwise as they will go).
  • Check each radiator and see if they’re getting hot.
  • If they’re getting hot at the bottom and not at the top, there is too much air trapped in the system and you need to bleed your radiator. Bleeding the radiator releases the air and allows the hot water to fill the whole system and increase the heat it can radiate into the room.

  Bleeding a radiator

  • You will need a radiator key, available from most DIY shops.
  • Turn off the heating system.
  • You will need a cloth and bucket or bowl.

  Step by step instructions

  • The bleed valve is the smallest square nut at the top of the radiator.
  • Place the key over the valve and have a cloth ready to catch any water.
  • Gently turn the key anti-clockwise.  You will hear a hiss as the air is released.
  • When the water starts to be released, turn the key back clockwise to shut off the valve.
  • DO NOT unscrew the valve completely

    You've bled the radiators and there is still a problem

    • Some radiators are getting hot and others aren’t, further investigation is required so please contact us.
    • No radiators are getting hot they may be a problem with your main thermostat.
    • Your radiators are all working but after about 15 minutes they’re still cold at the bottom, we’ll need to come and take a look so please get in touch.
• How do I thaw a condensate pipe?

  Combination boilers, or combi boilers, create condensation as a waste product. This condensation is taken away from the boiler through the condensate waste pipe or condensation pipe.

  Extremely cold weather conditions can cause these pipes to freeze as the pipe usually leads from the boiler, through the wall to the outside of the building. Where the pipe meets the outside of the building is usually where it freezes.

  How can I fix this issue?

  If this happens you can easily fix this issue by thawing the frozen pipe with a hot water bottle or heat wrap that can be applied to the frozen area and allowed to defrost over time.

  You can also pour warm water over the frozen part of the pipe can be more effective.

  Once the pipe is thawed, you can reset your boiler and this should solve the issue.

  Please take care if using hot water to thaw your condensation pipe – you should not use boiling water as this can be dangerous.

  If your condensing pipe is above ground level, give us a call and well come to fix the issue.