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Just like a motor vehicle, the more you make an effort to ensure maintenance of your boiler system, the smoother and the longer it will run effectively. Poor maintenance of your boiler can shorten its life span, decrease its efficiency and potentially pose a threat to your home. As a general rule, it is recommended that boilers undergo a service or maintenance check at least once a year. Committing to just a once a year check can serve to help you save costs in the long run.
Servicing boilers is really a specialist field. The components and workings of home boilers are something that is completely unknown to most of the general public. Therefore, it is very important that a certified, qualified, reliable professional carries out your yearly boiler maintenance check.
By law, anyone in Ireland who works on gas appliances needs to be registered with the RGI (Registered Gas Installers of Ireland). As they service your boiler, you can observe that they follow the below boiler maintenance checklist.
1. Visual Inspection
First things first; your gas engineer should perform a visual inspection of the boiler to try to identify any visible safety faults, signs of wear and tear or incorrect positioning or location of the boiler system components. They will also check to assure that appropriate ventilation is in place and that it’s functioning correctly.
2. Pre-service Check
Next, the engineer will likely perform a pre-service check. The boiler maintenance engineer should switch the boiler on to check for any system faults or signs of system failure.
3. Main Components Check
Your engineer should next serve to remove the casing and look inside the boiler. They will check the condition of its vital components - the burner, the heat exchanger, the seals, fans and other components – to make sure they are clean and undamaged. The engineer will then conduct a thorough clean of the inside surface of the boiler. They should then check the electrics (probes, cables) and the pipe work and ensure the flue terminal isn’t blocked in any way.
4. Combustion Check
Next, the boiler maintenance engineer will take a flue gas analyser and ensure that the boiler is combusting properly. A flue gas analyser is a portable electronic device that measures and displays the products of combustion from fossil fuelled appliances. The engineer will also check for any signs of gas leaks in a test known as a “gas tightness test”.
Upon the completion of these 4 stages of boiler checks, the engineer should replace the casing of the boiler and leave the area in the exact state that they found it. If any faults have been identified or repairs need to be made, the boiler maintenance engineer should inform you of them before he leaves as well as inform you of any additional costs incurred.
They will then provide you with a service report. To guarantee that you’ve received an adequate service, you must only proceed to sign this report if you feel that all of the above steps have been followed correctly.
