Should you have a boiler in your home, regular maintenance is a must to keep it working properly. Whether you have a hot water, steam, or forced air boiler system, there are many tasks that can be done by yourself as well as professional maintenance technicians to keep your home’s heating system running properly. As for which tasks are most important, here are several that take top priority.
Vent Connection Pipe and Chimney
No matter which type of boiler system you have in your home, always make periodic inspections of your boiler’s vent connection pipe and chimney. Since these parts will inevitably begin to deteriorate as the years go by, holes and cracks may begin to appear. Should this occur, your boiler’s efficiency will be greatly diminished.
Combustion Chamber
An easy maintenance task you can complete yourself, checking your boiler’s combustion chamber could ultimately save your life and that of your family. When checking this area of your boiler, you will be looking for cracks that could allow carbon monoxide to seep into your home. While you can easily perform a carbon monoxide test as part of this maintenance task, readings that are abnormally high mean you need to call in a professional who is experienced in boiler repair.
Test Pressure Relief Valve
To test your boiler’s pressure relief valve, use your hands to slightly touch the drain lines that are attached directly to the valve. If they feel hot to the touch, that means the valve is opening as it should. Also, raise the test lever on the relief valve. If you do and hear water moving down the drain lines, all is well.
Drain and Test Water
If you have a steam system boiler in your home, one of the most important maintenance tasks you can do is to drain and test water from your boiler. When draining water, do so from not only the boiler itself, but also from the float chamber. This will accomplish several things, including improved heat exchange function, removing sediment, and preventing clogs from forming in the boiler’s low-water cutoff control.
While most of these maintenance tasks are ones you can perform yourself, never hesitate to call in an experienced boiler technician should you have questions or concerns. Whether this includes carbon monoxide readings that may be dangerous or concerns about alkalinity levels in your boiler’s water that could lead to corrosion and sediment buildup, taking care of these situations now can prevent costly repairs later on.