A central heating system or even an ordinary household involves a lot of intricacies for any layman or woman to understand. These systems usually throw tantrums during the autumn, when they are pressed into service for heating after a lazy spell of summer. As a best practice, you must switch on the heating system in the summer from time to time. This ensures that the system will not give in when switched during the autumn.

But, there’s nothing to worry about if any issues come up. Thankfully, most issues related to central heating systems are easy to fix. When you are stuck with something serious, there are reliable plumbing mechanics and heating engineers to provide a solution to your problem quickly and effectively.

Let us explore some common problems people face with their central heating system.

The Thermostat Controls Aren’t Working

Maybe you forgot to switch on the thermostat. Make sure it is set between 17 and 20 degrees centigrade, which is the ideal temperature range. If the radiators still remain cold, access the programmers and set both the central heating (CH) and hot water (HW) on.

In the next step, check if the electricity supply to the system is alright. Check out whether the heating fuse is blown.

If the heating fuse is fine, turn your attention to the motorised diverter valve. It usually remains located very near the boiler and controls the flow of the heated water. First, turn it off and then on again to take care of your problem.

If the problem still persists, your pump may have gone defective. This device pressurises hot water from the flow pipe to get into the taps and radiators. Blockage and mechanical failure are two common issues in this aspect. Turn the pump off and see if there’s any difference. Clogging requires a thorough clean of the dirt inside. However, pumps can also stop working due to trapped air. There is a tiny nut to release the excess air. Once the fluid starts coming out while releasing trapped air, you will know that all excess air has been released and it is time to close the nut and switch on the device again to find out whether it works.

The radiator is warm only at the bottom

This is a common problem with an easy solution – bleed the radiator. Switch off the pump to prevent air from entering the system. Place an empty bucket at the corner bottom of the radiator. There is a square nut usually made of brass at the upper corner of the radiator. Make use of a radiator key to turn the nut to the right angle anti-clockwise till hot air escapes the radiator. When this happens, dirty water gets deposited into the bucket. You will find a radiator key at any local hardware store and without this tool, you cannot bleed a radiator. Once the bleeding is done, close the valve properly and make sure that there are no signs of leakage.

There’s Mold in Your Heating System

This happens because of sludge build-up inside your radiator. You need to flush that out. Dismantle the radiator from the wall and flush it with running water. If this does not solve the problem, you may have a blocked pipe, broken pump or an inferiorly designed heating system.

A strange noise coming from the heating system

Strange sounds coming from your boiler is also called kettling. If you get a noise when the pilot light ignites for the first time, it may be because of trapped air. Vent excess air through the air bleed screw. If that does not solve the issue, make sure that enough water gets into the boiler tank. The issue may also arise because of sludge build-up. Flush the system to fix the issue. If there is a pressure system, make sure it is set to the right level.

The over-flow keeps continuing

Usually, a water tank located at the loft feeds water to your heating system when you have traditional and system boilers. The ball-cock inside the tank gets jammed to create a continuous overflow problem. You need un-jamming the ball-cock to fix the problem.

If you face this problem with an immersion tank, make sure that only a plumbing expert handles the issue.

A drastic drop in heating system pressure

Take a look at your boiler’s pressure gauge when faced with this particular problem. Various factors are known to create this problem ranging from water leakage to excess air taken out from the system after the radiators were bled. Top-up the system with water when you notice a drop in the pressure right after the maintenance service of the system. Qualified engineers experienced in central heating installation in London suggest adding the excess water through the filling loop. If you do not feel very confident about handling this well, you should contact a professional to do it for you.

Break down of a central heating system because of boiler defect often turns out to be a costly affair. And the loss of hot water in the cold season is definitely unpleasant. Feel free to contact us at Emergency Plumbers London to fix your problem within the shortest possible time frame.