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Heating upgrades
Sometimes the boiler is not the problem. If your radiators never quite get hot or the upstairs is freezing while the lounge is stifling, the system is what needs the work.
A new boiler on an old, undersized or unbalanced system will disappoint you. Before we sell anyone a boiler we look at what it is being asked to heat.
What an upgrade can involve
Replacing microbore pipework that cannot carry the flow, adding zones so upstairs and downstairs are controlled separately, fitting thermostatic valves, balancing the system so the far radiators get their share, converting from a conventional system with tanks in the loft to a combi or a system boiler with an unvented cylinder, and adding a magnetic filter to keep the sludge out of the new parts.
Conversions
Going from a tanked system to a combi frees up the loft and the airing cupboard, but it is not right for every house — if you have two bathrooms in regular use at once, a system boiler with a cylinder will serve you better. We will tell you which yours is.
Unvented cylinders
We hold G3, which is the qualification required to work on unvented hot water cylinders. Not every heating engineer has it.
Finance
Available on larger works, so a full system upgrade can be paid monthly.
Gas Safe registered 630601. Call 07476 272447.
Frequently asked questions
What pressure should my boiler be?
Most sealed heating systems should read between 1 and 1.5 bar when cold, and it is normal for the needle to climb toward 2 bar once everything is hot. Below about 0.5 bar the boiler will usually lock out and refuse to fire. Check the manufacturer's plate, because a handful of boilers ask for something different.
Why is my boiler losing pressure?
Falling pressure means water is leaving the system somewhere. The usual causes are a weeping radiator valve, a pinhole in pipework under a floor, and a failed expansion vessel inside the boiler itself. Topping it up every week is not a fix and makes matters worse, because each refill brings fresh oxygen in, and oxygen is what forms sludge.
Why has my hot water stopped working?
If the heating still runs and the hot water does not, on a combi that usually points at the diverter valve, and on a system with a cylinder it is more often a motorised valve, the cylinder thermostat or a failed immersion. If neither heating nor hot water works, check the pressure gauge and look for a fault code. Write the code down before you ring, because it tells us a lot before we arrive.
What is the lifespan of a central heating system?
Pipework and radiators often last twenty-five to thirty-five years, well beyond the boiler in front of them, which is why systems get patched rather than replaced. What shortens it is running without inhibitor, because the sludge that forms eats radiators from the inside and wears out pumps. A system kept clean will see out two boilers.