Bleed your radiators
How To Prepare Your Boiler For Winter:
One of the most important homeowner tasks if you you use a boiler system to heat your home is to bleed your radiators. This will make sure any air in the radiators is removed and should mean that your radiators give out as much heat as possible. Often, radiators that need bleeding will be hot at the bottom and not at the top, says the most referred Littleton plumber.
If you have a pressurized heating system you should check the pressure is within the recommended levels even when the system is cold; the heating is off. According to the plumbing Littleton experts, If the pressure is too low you can top up your system (refer to your boiler manual) or, if the pressure is too high, you may need to contact your local Littleton plumbing specialist.
Condensing boiler system
If you have a condensing boiler with a condensate pipe that runs on the outside of your house, make sure this pipe is adequately insulated to prevent ice building up and blocking the pipe on cold days. This is a common cause of boiler failure and one that is easily avoided. If it is difficult to insulate you may be able to have the pipe re-routed inside the building.
Plumber Pro Tip of the Week
Tip #1 Check that the pipes in your loft have been adequately insulated to prevent freezing in the cold weather.
Tip #2 Don’t assume because your loft (or attic area), is insulated that the pipes will be OK. Very often, a well-insulated upstairs will be incredibly cold because heat that would have radiated through your ceilings is unable to do so hence pipes are actually more likely to freeze.
Tip #3 Test that your boiler and central heating works now so that you can rest easy so when the weather turns cold you are ready.
Tip #4 If you have an oil boiler, make sure you’ve topped off your oil to be ready for the winter.
We can’t guarantee if you do all of these things that you won’t have a problem but preparing your gas boiler for the winter will be a step in the right direction. Here are some common terms used in the industry when referring to a boiler system:
Breeching: Duct work from the rear of boiler. This duct work carries excess gases and solids (soot) to the chimney.
Chimney: Firebrick chute which goes from the boiler room to the roof, allowing expulsion of excess gases emanating from the burning of fuel oil or gas.
Soot: A residue by-product from the burning of fuel oil
Chimney Base: The settling chamber of the chimney where solids (soot) carried by the gases traveling through the breeching settle while the lighter gas travels up the chimney and exits into the atmosphere.
Fire Tube: Transfers heat emanating from the burner (fireside of boiler) to the waterside of the boiler.
#2, #4 & #6: Designated fuel oil from #2 (light) to #6 (heavy). Lighter oil (#2) has less sludge and burns cleaner. Heavy oil (#6) gives off the highest amount of residue (soot).
