Get Your Boiler Winter Ready

If your boiler has an external condense pipe, in cold weather the possibility of this pipe being frozen is extremely high. It’s the fault we find on most boiler breakdowns. 
 
The trick is to gently unfreeze the pipe using either a hot water bottle, heat pads (the sort used for muscle pain), or a watering can of warm – not boiling – water. Once this is done, holding down the boiler's reset button should spark it back to life. 
 
How do you know if this is the problem, assuming you can't decipher the fault code flashing on the boiler's screen? If the weather has been freezing, and your boiler has an external condensate pipe, then a gurgling noise when you try to reset it is a good clue.

If you have a prepayment meter, check that you’ve got enough credit. Next, test whether your other gas appliances, like your cooker hob, are working correctly, or whether the switches in your fuse box have tripped.

If you have, your boiler’s timer might have reset - which means getting it working again could be as simple as re-programming it with your times.

Take a look at your boiler’s instruction manual for a reminder on how to do this.

If it’s showing a reading of one bar or less, low pressure could be the reason why your boiler’s not working.

Topping up the pressure yourself is usually straightforward - follow the steps in your boiler’s manual.

Having your room thermostat set lower than 21 degrees can stop your heating from coming on, so turn it higher to see if your boiler starts working again.

Remember to check the radiator valves are turned up, too.