Much like any devices or electrical goods need maintenance, a boiler maintenance check should be performed to make sure you are getting the best out of it.
A heating boiler is a vital piece of machinery that offers a lot of benefits to owners. These benefits include a reliable
and energy conscious solution to providing heat or energy throughout a building or infrastructure. Domestic boilers are expensive pieces of equipment that should be regularly serviced to ensure maximum productivity and safety.
Each boiler type will come complete with an owner’s manual that contains specific information about the desired readout of each gauge and other information pertaining to the basics of boiler maintenance. Whether your boiler is an oil boiler, a gas boiler, a biomass boiler, or any of the other types, it is important to be sure that your home boiler is maintained and held to a clean, safe standard.
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What are the benefits of boiler maintenance?
Ensuring that your home boiler has a yearly visit by a certified HVAC service technician means many different things. Though it will cost you a small amount annually, the benefits of boiler maintenance are plenty. First, preventative maintenance is a great way to keep costs down on preservations.
By locating issues early and correcting them, homeowners are able to save money on extreme repairs. Ensuring a properly functioning boiler also provides benefits by increasing the life of the boiler, maximising efficiency and energy use, and guaranteeing safety, increased readability and reduced chance of carbon Monoxide Poisoning.
Daily boiler maintenance checklist
On a daily spectrum, there are a few things you can do to determine whether or not your boiler is functioning properly. Use your boiler’s owner’s manual to understand the specifications of your machine and what your machine’s valves should read. More precisely:
- Look around the machine.
- Check for leaks around the boiler.
- Read the boiler’s gauges and check the results against the owner’s manual’s suggestions.
- Look for error codes or problematic readings.
- Make sure the area is unobstructed and well ventilated.
- Listen to the machine.
- Listen for noises that are out of the ordinary for the machine.
- Ensure that the machine is running smoothly without extra vibrations or any other issues.
Monthly boiler maintenance checklist
As a home-owner, boilers are wonderful pieces of machinery, and boiler maintenance is important to conduct on a daily level using the steps listed above. There are additional steps that can be taken on a monthly basis that are more specific and therefore required less often. This part of the home boiler maintenance checklist is recommended to be carried out not daily, but at regular intervals, ideally on a monthly basis.
Look at your machine.
- Inspect the flue gas vent piping and combustion air piping to be sure that they are intact and not in need of replacement.
- Check the boiler’s boiler relief valve and the relief valve discharge pipe to be sure there are no leaks.
- Look at the drain system and make sure there it remains unobstructed.
Periodic maintenance
In addition to the daily and monthly boiler maintenance checklist suggestions, there are various other aspects of the boiler that can be inspected in an effort to expand the life of your boiler and ensure its safety and efficiency.
Owners of commercial or residential boilers should take the time to familiarise themselves with the workings of their boilers and the general appearance and function of its parts. Having a familiarity with the individual aspects of a boiler helps to make issues or malfunctions much more noticeable.
- Look at your machine closely.
- Check boiler hydronic piping for leaks or issues.
- Look at boiler flame to be sure that the appearance does not change.
- Inspect tanks and reservoirs for required materials.
- Have the low water cutoff on the boiler tested. This test is a way to ensure automatic shut off of the boiler in the emergency event that water levels within the boiler drop below the manufacturer’s suggested levels.
Yearly boiler maintenance checklist
So far on the boiler maintenance checklist, the inspections have been up to the owner, but annually, a certified HVAC service technician should only conduct an examination of the boiler to be certain that the machine is functioning at peak performance while maintaining maximum safety standards.
Several service providers offer boiler owners the option of signing on for more than one year of certified maintenance, and often having a certified inspection on a boiler can extend the life of a product’s warranty or offer a discount on insurance for boiler owners. Now the boiler maintenance checklist will list the things that a service technician should provide during their inspection.
- Review venting system for flaws.
- Guarantee all joint and pipe connections are snug.
- Check air intakes and ventilation systems to certify passages are unobstructed.
- Check control settings.
- Test operating controls.
- Test safety controls.
- Comprehensively examine heating structure and report any issues.
- Examine and clean the boiler heat exchanger.
- Inspect all boiler wirings and boiler connections.
- Check water PH levels.
- Examine and clean condensate system.
- Check and clean burner assembly.
- Power flush system for optimum performance.
- Check for correct boiler operation once the boiler has been cleaned and examined.
Periodic Boiler Maintenance Checklist
| STEP | IF | THEN | WHEN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Observe condition of flame | Flame is smokey, flame impinges on furnace walls or burner starts with a puff | Make appropriate repairs or adjustments | Weekly |
| Test low water and fuel cutoff | Boiler does not secure during tests | Locate problem and repair | Weekly |
| Test water column or gauge glass | Gauge glass is dirty, has an obstruction, or leaks are present including gauge cocks | Clean, remove obstructions or repair leaks, or replace | Weekly |
| Observe operation of condensate of vacuum pumps | Pump is defective or leaking | Repair or replace pump | Weekly |
| Check operation of chemical feed pots and pumps | Leaks or improper operation exists | Repair or replace defective equipment | Weekly |
| Test flame detection devices and associated automatic fuel cutoff valves | Loss of flame does not shut off fuel to burner | Repair or replace valves or defective equipment | Monthly |
| Inspect steam supply and condensate return piping | Problems with valves, radiators, trap leaks, or excessive rust | Repair or replace defective equipment | Monthly |
| Inspect fuel supply systems and piping Include adjustment of oil pressure and ensure both oil supply and return lines have a fusible in-line valve | Discrepancies are leaks, or insulation is missing | Repair or replace for corrective action | Monthly |
| Check condition of safety valves | Valves are obstructed to flow, inoperative, or fail to meet code requirements | Repair or correct the problem | Monthly |
| Check boiler room drains | Drains are not operating properly | Repair | Monthly |
| Inspect burner assembly | Evidence of improper fuel nozzle wear, plugging, or carbon buildup exists | Replace nozzle and adjust equipment after new nozzle is installed | Monthly |
Boiler Tune Up/Maintenance Advice
Much like any devices or electrical goods in your house a yearly check on how they are performing is essential to make sure you are getting the best out of them. Your boiler or furnace is a key item that needs looked after, can you imagine having to fix it in the midst of a cold winters day or even having to go without it? It is not a thought you want to have to worry about. To avoid this all you need to do is a simple annual check on your boiler or furnace to keep it healthy and happy. This will reward you with a boiler or furnace that lasts for longer and so saving you money.
How Long Does A Boiler Tune up Take?
An annual tune up should only take about a day and involves replace any parts that have worn down and making adjustments to ensure fuel efficiency. Sometimes larger issues may be found with your system such as a leak in the pipes, clogging or problems with the fuel injection, this will take longer to fix so best to check the boiler or furnace when you have time to work on it.
Remembering to do your annual check-up is one thing but when you do it is another. It is important to make sure you time your check right so you are not without heat when you need it. The best time is when the boiler or furnace is out of use and this usually means summer time. It should be noted that if you haven’t used your system for a long time then it would be good to have a quick inspection of it before using it.
What is the best time to maintain my boiler ?
The optimal time for checks is between April and October as long as the sun is shining! Ideally if you can leave it as late into the summer as possible so there is not too much space between the check and when you will start to use it. If the summer is a particularly hot one then there is a danger of the metal pipes expanding in the heat and possibly burst or break.
Is Spring a Good Time?
Spring is slightly too early as the warm effects of summer can effect the system so would need another check would be needed before switching on. Waiting for the cool autumn air come in is a great time to get out and start work. If you can aim for late September or early October then you’re probably going the have the perfect timing as the system will have settled down and be ready for the winter.