7 year warrants offered on selected vaillant boilers as a registered installer for vaillant we get you an extra two years above the standard five year warranty.

Posted by your local southport plumber.

Gas boilers are used every day in your home and depending on the workload can wear quicker than many of your other appliances and it’s essential to have a yearly boiler service to keep it’s efficiency and run it safely . A large proportion of faults in a gas boiler can be easy and inexpensive to repair… and some are not. If you ignore it and allow these small faults to escalate they may well lead to major failure of the appliance, thus the need for expensive repairs or worse still – a whole new boiler! That is why you should ensure your boiler is serviced annually and by a base safe registered engineer.

plumbers in southport

A very common problem , as heating systems and boilers are turned on after the summer period,is that of stuck Radiator valves resulting in cold and under performing radiators.

It is often a very simple job to release the valve and once you know how it is done you’ll have no need to call a gas safe engineer or plumber. There is no need to turn off the mains water or drain the central heating system. In call cases you will have to remove the thermostatic valve head from the main body of the valve. This will more than likely be held on by a threaded ring, screw or some other similar kind of method. Once you have removed removed it you should be able to see a centre pin that enters the body of the valve. It is this pin that sticks and very often all that is needed is a gentle tap on top of the pin and the main body of the valve to release it.

plumbers in southport

We will match any local genuine quotation for a replacement boiler.

Terms apply

Published June 2013

The Gas Safe Register is the only goverment baed official list of gas engineers who are qualified to work safely and legally on naural gas appliances. The law states that all gas engineers must be a member of the Gas Safe Register. It is a replacement for CORGI. The Gas Safe Register ensures the engineers on the Register are safe by inspecting the gas work they have carried out.

Gas tips brought to you by a local plumbing company

Gas combi Central heating and boilers
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blog brought to you by a local plumbing company

Top tips for householder gas safety
Only use a Gas Safe registered engineer to install, repair and service your gas boiler cooker fire or hob.

Always check the gas engineer’s Gas Safe Register identification card. All Gas Safe registered engineers carry there Gas Safe Register identification card, with their own unique gas safety number embossed on it, showing the type of gas works they are qualified to undertake.

Get your gas appliances regularly serviced and safety checked annually , or in accordance with your manufacturer’s instruction guidelines, by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Your Gas Safe registered engineer will carry out strict tests and checks to establish your appliances are Working ok.Where an appliance or pipework has been installed in a incorrect manner or unsafe way or is operating and the engineer can not rectify the situation at once, they will follow the guidance outlined in the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure to make the installation safe. This is the industry accepted document for guiding engineers on dealing with unsafe situations.

The Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure can be a complex document to understand. Download Gas Safe Register’s factsheet to help you understand the procedure that engineers use to assess the safety of your gas appliance.

Fit an good audible carbon monoxide alarm. An alarm will alert you to the presence of the poisonous gas carbon monoxide, produced by unsafe gas appliances. Make sure you know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Keep safe call a registered engineer if you have any doubts.

We are a local plumbing company based in southport

2013
Gas safety and corgi registered operating in and around the Southport area.

Prevention is better than a cure. Check the insulation on all your pipes and tanks in unheated and external spaces.

Know where your main stopcock is located and periodically check that it works by opening and shutting it so it does not seize up.

The most important action to take is to turn off the main stop cock and run the taps allowing the all the water to drain. Be careful of wet or moist electrics and if necessary turn off the power at your main board to be safe. While the water in a pipe is frozen there is danger of a flood damage but it’s when it thaws that the fun really begins, so if you believe a pipe is frozen act with all haste turn off the water and check for signs of pipe splits damage or blown joints, repair if possible or call a local plumber.

If during a very cold spell of weather the worst happens and you have a burst or leaking pipe, you will not be alone and it is at this time that plumbers can be very busy indeed, so if you know how to turn off the incoming water supply and how to drain the roof storage tanks you will spare yourself a awful lot of grief!

A southport local plumbing company April 2013

One easy way to save water if you have an older WC toilet cistern that flushes nine litres or more is to add a small balloon filled with water, which ever will fit best. The cold water flush will be reduced by the volume of water in the balloon . You should place the balloon so that it does not get in the way of the movement of the ball valve float. Newer cisterns only flush six litres of water so adding a balloon or other water saving device is not beneficial and may cause you to use even more water, with repeated flushing necessary but many have dual flush buttons ;small button reduced flush; large button full flush.
Make sure the balloon used is of a good grade as a burst will over fill your cistern.

pluming advise by a local southport plumbing company march 2013

Most modern combi gas condensing boilers & many standard boilers are now fitted as Pressurised Systems. They differ from the conventional boiler systems with a water tank ,with a ball cock device to maintain good water levels in the system. As the self filling water tank is left out a pressurised system requires filling manually via a filling device, ( a ‘filling loop’). This allows a specific amount of water to be injected into the system via your inlet mains cold water supply.
This water pressure is distinct from the pressure in your hot or cold water taps. The pressure in your cold water taps comes direct from your water mains and is maintained by your water company. The pressure in your hot water taps is created by the head of water in your water heating cylinder or from the electric pump feeding your hot water supply.
How can you tell what your current system pressure is.
Every pressurised system, regardless of the type of boiler (gas combi boiler or standard system), will incorporate a a manual or digital pressure gauge which you can read. This pressure gauge is the device with which the system water pressure in your boiler and system radiators is measured.
To maintain the system in a healthy condition the pressure gauge should be checked monthly. If when you check it, you find that the system pressure has fallen please follow the steps below to re-pressurise your system.
Your central heating system manual will advise of the pressure that your system runs at. Most systems should be pressurised to between 1 and 1.5 bar.

To top up your heating system and increase the pressure, you will need to find your filling loop. It most usually resembles a stop tap and is connected to the central heating system by a metal braded hose. Occasionally you may find that one end of the this metal hose is not connected to the pipe work on your system. There may be a cap on the end of the pipe and it will need to be connected to the system to allow the water to be injected.
To connect your filling loop to the system, simply remove the cap from the end of the pipe work and attach the metal braded filling hose. You will then need to tighten this connection by hand, do not over-tighten with a spanner.
Sometimes this filling loop device may be hidden, behind a pipe near the boiler or perhaps inside a cupboard below the boiler. It should always be somewhere close to the combi boiler as it needs to be able to connect to the boilers copper pipework.
Another issue in finding the filling loop may be that some filling devices are an integral ( built in ) part of the boiler, you should have been advised of this by your boiler installer and you will need to refer to your boilers instruction manual for the exact way in which this system is repressurised.
To refill the system, use the isolation tap you have located to open and close the braded filling loop. When the tap is opened it will allow fresh mains water to flow into your Central Heating system pipes and radiators. As this happens you you will hear the water going through the valves into the system. It is recommended that you open the valve slowly to allow the system to fill up to your desired pressure . When you do this a steady increase in water pressure will be seen on the combi boilers pressure gauge in the same way as you would see an increase on a car tyre gauge if you were inflating a tyre.
If you cannot see your pressure gauge while filling the system it is a good idea to have a second pair of eyes to look at it for you while you are turning the tap. When the recommended system pressure is reached close the valve by turning it in the opposite direction to which you opened it.
There is no need to worry if your system does accidentally become over pressurised . All modern systems are designed with safety in mind and a pressure safety valve is incorporated into the plumbing. This acts like an overflow pipe releasing the excess pressure and allowing the system to revert to the recommended levels.
The pressure relief valve may make a noise as it releases this excess water pressure sounding like a thumping noise, again do not worry, this sound will stop when the system pressure reduces to a lower level.
If the system is free from water leaks the water pressure should remain the same within the system in future months. If you notice that the pressure regularly falls you may have a pressure leak or faulty pressure relief valve.
Bleeding radiators involving perhaps a small amount of the air escaping from a system at the radiator bleed point can reduce the overall system pressure. As a result after bleeding your radiators you should remember to check your pressure gauge and fill the system as required.
water leaks will cause pressure loss within a pressurised cmbi boiler central heating system and the severity of water leaks can vary. Very small leaks will cause pressure drops over a long time, possibly several months or even a year. Leaks of this magnitude may not be detectable as the water evaporates quite quickly although you may spot some residue following evaporation of the water.
Big leaks may be more visible and will mean your system will require filling as frequently as once or twice a week. If this is the case you should check your central heating system for leaks when it is cold paying particular attention to the areas around radiator and boiler valves. It is recommended that you check for leaks when the system is cold as heat causes expansion and can seal small leaks temporarily.

southports local plumber blog march 2013