Make Sure Your Home is Ready for the Winter!

Sad to say its official – the summer is over. With the cold weather approaching, so too is the heating season. Here’s everything you need to know when getting your boiler up and running in time for the cold winter months.

Boiler Maintenance Service

Prior to starting up a boiler for the season, it’s important to have your heating system inspected and maintained by a licensed professional. Servicing boilers typically include the following:

• Draining and flushing the unit itself. This will ensure that any soot or scale built up during the warm months is evacuated. During this time, a professional can examine the unit for corrosion and damage, or remove potential mineral sediment prior to refilling the unit.
• Cleaning and potential adjustment of the fuel burning equipment. This includes the main gas burners which often times need to be removed, cleaned, then reinstalled from season to season.
• Visual inspection and exercise of the control valves and fuel safety shutoff valves to make sure they’re operating as they should.
• Lubrication of mechanical components.
• Servicing the low water cutoff and water feed by disassembling, cleaning, then reassembling.
• Visual inspection of the tank, cold water supply, hot water discharge, and all connections. During this time your plumber can assess potential deterioration or leaks.
• Examination of the gas supply line and gas connections for any evidence of leaks or damage. This is extremely important as potential leaks can expose combustible gas to a potential open flame.
• Check the condition of the vent piping from the boiler for leaks and obstructions all the way to the outside of the home.
• Starting up the system to observe check the burner flame’s color and height for proper operation. Once the system is up and running, your professional can check to make sure the water temperature and pressure are adequate.

Now That Your Boiler Has Been Cleaned up, What’s Next?

Now that your boiler has had a tune up, lets look for early signs of problems after starting it up for the season. Being able to see the warning signs may help you avoid very costly repairs after it’s too late. Don’t be left without heat!

The easiest warning sign to identify – you guessed it – no heat. There are a few reasons this could be happening:

• Your unit isn’t putting out the right amount of heat, or any heat at all for that matter. This could be the result of a change in water level/volume, or built up mineral deposits that weren’t cleaned out during your tune up.
• If you have an electric boiler that isn’t heating up the water, the issue could have to do with the thermocouple sensor or thermocouple itself. The thermocouple controls the flow of gas inside the unit, and also keeps track of the heat being produced. If the pilot light goes out, the thermocouple will cool down.

Other things to look out for and call a plumber or HVAC professional include:

• Smelling gas, plastic, oil, or burning metal.
• Higher than expected energy bills (without justification)
• Boiler turns off by itself

Call Evergreen Today!

Whether you’re looking to install, replace, or tune up your existing boiler, Evergreen is here for you. We are experts at preparing your heating system for the winter months, and can assist with repairs of any size along the way.