If we get “called out” to 100 boiler breakdowns 20-30 of them could be repaired by the customer themselves, the following article will hopefully save some of our customers a repair bill, we all have better things to spend our money on after all.

Check your boiler has power.

Only last week we visited a customer in Newcastle who reported no power to their boiler, after about 60 seconds we realised they had knocked the fuse spur off with a dinner tray. Check the switch is on and if it is, check the fuse (must be 3amp) is ok inside the spur or plug and finally check your main consumer unit to ensure none of the fuses have tripped.

Have you got gas?

Don’t assume you have gas just because you did 2 hours ago, check your cooker or gas fire. If you don’t have another gas appliance check the boilers error code quite often the error code will tell you the fault, for example e133 on a Baxi combi boiler means “gas fault”. Then ring your supplier to confirm.

We had a customer in Gateshead a month or so ago that had knocked the gas meter handle when putting her hoover back, it didn’t fully shut so her cooker still worked but the boiler stopped getting enough gas to light so check your handle. It’s right next to your meter if its pointing straight up its fully open, if in any other position then your boiler could struggle, on the corrugated pipe connected to your meter you should have some tape which describes how to turn your handle on and off.

Please note in an emergency such as a smell of gas this is the handle that you turn off and then you must call 0800111999 which is the emergency gas line (free service).

make sure the red handle is in the position above

Does your boiler have pressure?

The most common easy fix on the list, combi boilers need between 1-1.5bar pressure to operate, if the pressure drops below 0.5 then most boilers will shut down. You will have a gauge on your boiler check the needle is on 1-1.5 if not then repressurise it. If you have an external fill loop then simply turn the black tap (see picture below) if you can’t find something that looks like the picture below then you may have an internal fill loop these are always directly underneath the boiler, simply type in to google “how to repressure or top up a ………….(whatever the make and model of your boiler is) there’s a Youtube video for every boiler ever made, but don’t quote me on that. If you’re unsure then give us a call and we will talk you through it for free.

Is your thermostat turned up?

If you have your thermostat set for 15 degrees and its 17 degrees in the room then your heating won’t come on because you’re telling your boiler you want the room to be 15 degrees, so why would it turn your heating on? This is common when the seasons change, when we go from mild to freezing (especially in the North East) Turn it up and embrace the heat.

If none of the above work then I am afraid you will have to call a Gas Safe registered engineer to visit your home, and It also might be worth considering one of our super value boiler cover packages, to take away any worry or unexpected bills that may occur.