Below you will find a selection of quick fixes from manufactures for the common questions that we get asked on a daily basis:
When the heating system is cool, the pressure should be between 1 and 1.5 bar on the pressure gauge. If pressure is below 0.5, water has been lost from the system and must be replaced.
If the pressure gauge indicates high pressure as a result of over filling, you will need to bleed a radiator until the pressure gauge returns between 1 and 1.5 bar.
If pressure rises by more than 1 bar when the heating is up to temperature then the expansion vessel may require repressurising. This will require a service engineer. The pressure in the system will usually require topping up once or twice a year. If you are having to repressurise your heating system much more frequently, please contact our Service department on 01675 489 480.
How To Defrost A Frozen Condensate Pipe
Frozen condensate pipes can cause real problems for your boiler, especially during the cold winter months.
If your condensate pipe becomes blocked and condensate can’t be disposed of, this will send a signal to your boiler to prevent it working for safety reasons. If this happens, your boiler may display a fault code such as L2 or F2, or you may hear a gurgling noise coming from your boiler. These could be signs that your condensate pipe is frozen, but thankfully there’s no need to panic.
A frozen condensate pipe is a relatively common problem when temperatures drop below freezing, and can be easily resolved if you follow these simple steps:
1. Locate your condensate pipe, which runs from the bottom of your boiler. It’s usually a white or grey plastic pipe that runs through the wall and outside the property for part of its length.
2. Remove any insulation that is fitted to the pipe work.
3. Hold a hot water bottle or microwavable heat pad around the pipe work.
4. You could also pour tepid water over any section of the pipe that’s frozen. It’s important that you don’t use boiling water, as this may crack the pipe.
5. To help prevent any further freezing, refit the insulation sleeves onto your pipe.
6. Once you have cleared the blockage from the condensate pipe, press the restart button on your boiler.
If you have any doubts or difficulty defrosting your condensate pipe or your boiler still isn’t working, contact our Service department on 01675 489 480 today.
Ideal Logic Fault Codes
Ideal boilers tend to be fairly reliable but they can still develop faults when they’re not properly maintained. Having said that, things can go wrong with your Ideal boiler even if you do take good care of it year after year. When a fault occurs, your boiler should display a fault code or fault message to help you and your engineer diagnose the problem. Your Ideal boiler may even go into a lockout mode (a shut-down procedure) and remain this way until the fault is fixed and the code is cleared.
If a fault code or fault message has appeared on your Ideal boiler and you want to know what it means, you should be able to find the answer in the clip below.
Bleeding Your Radiators
Bleeding a radiator means releasing air that has become trapped inside your heating system. Letting this air out will help you to heat your home more effectively and reduce your energy bills.
If you can hear pipes banging or radiators gurgling, this is normally a sign that you should bleed your radiator.
When you’ve found out which of your radiators need bleeding, follow these simple steps:
Top tip: If you’re bleeding more than one radiator, start with the one furthest away from your boiler. If you’re living in a two or more storey house, start with the downstairs radiators before repeating upstairs.
- Make sure your heating is off and the radiators are cold.
- Hold an old cloth, or a jug, under the bleed valve, and insert the bleed key.
- Turn anti-clockwise until air starts escaping (you’ll hear a hissing noise).
- When water starts to escape, turn the key clockwise to re-tighten the valve.
- Repeat on other radiators that need attention, making your way back towards the boiler.
- Turn your heating back on and check if your radiators are now heating up correctly.