Boiler Repair Folkestone

Boiler repair in Folkestone

A boiler breakdown is always badly timed, and it is nearly always in weather where you notice it immediately.

We carry out Gas Safe registered boiler repairs across Folkestone, Hythe and the surrounding Kent villages, and the majority of faults are resolved on the first visit because the components that fail are broadly the same ones every time and we carry them.

Check these three things before you call anyone

Occasionally this saves you a callout entirely, and we would rather you kept the money.

The programmer. Is it on, set correctly, and showing the right time? Timers reset after a power cut and a wrong clock is a genuinely common reason the heating "stops working".

The room thermostat. Set above the current room temperature, and does it have working batteries? A flat battery in a wireless thermostat stops the whole system.

The pressure gauge. It should read between 1 and 1.5 bar cold. Below 1 and the boiler will lock out and refuse to fire.

And if a fault code is showing, write it down before you reset. It narrows the diagnosis substantially and often means we arrive with the right part rather than needing a second visit.

The faults we attend most

Losing pressure. The gauge drops, you top it up, and a week later it has dropped again. That is either a leak somewhere on the system, an expansion vessel that has lost its charge, or a pressure relief valve passing. Worth resolving properly rather than managing, because every top-up brings fresh oxygenated water in, and oxygen is what drives the corrosion that produces sludge. See why your boiler keeps losing pressure.

Ignition failure. The boiler attempts to fire, fails, and locks out. Usually the ignition electrodes, the gas valve, or a flame sensing fault.

Locking out on overheat. Almost always poor circulation rather than a boiler fault at all. A failing pump, a blocked heat exchanger, or a system full of sludge. Fitting a new boiler onto a system in that state simply moves the problem.

Kettling, banging and rumbling. Scale or sludge on the heat exchanger. The water across Folkestone and Hythe is hard, so we see a great deal of this. Sometimes resolved with a power flush and fresh inhibitor, sometimes the exchanger is past saving. See why does my boiler make strange noises.

Heating but no hot water, or the reverse. A diverter valve on a combi, a motorised valve on a system boiler. Frequently only the actuator head needs replacing rather than the whole valve. See hot water repairs.

Water underneath the boiler. Never something to leave. A failed seal, a corroded heat exchanger, or a relief valve discharging, and all three get worse. See why is there water under my boiler.

Frozen condensate. The classic winter shutdown, and the one we get called to most in a cold snap.

The frozen condensate problem, and why it happens every year

Modern condensing boilers produce acidic condensate that drains away through a plastic pipe, and where that pipe runs outside it freezes.

The boiler detects the blockage and shuts down to protect itself. It is doing the right thing, and there is nothing wrong with the boiler.

What matters is that this is entirely preventable. If the pipe is external, undersized or unlagged, it will freeze every winter and you will call someone out every winter. Rerouting it internally, increasing the diameter or lagging it properly is a permanent fix.

Exposure decides how often it happens. Properties up on the downs at Hawkinge, on the clifftop at Capel-le-Ferne and along the escarpment at Lympne freeze considerably harder than the seafront a few miles away, and wind chill does the rest.

"Boiler lost pressure suddenly but Damian was nice enough to come in an hour and sorted it out instantly, gave lots of information and advice too. Would highly recommend as reliable and speedy."

Alika Rai, Google review

Brands and fault codes

We work on Worcester Bosch, Vaillant, Ideal, Baxi, Glow-worm, Viessmann, Potterton and Alpha.

Fault codes are manufacturer specific and they are genuinely useful, so please note yours before resetting. A code pointing at the fan, the PCB or the flow sensor tells us what to bring, and the difference between a first-visit fix and a return trip is usually that one detail.

What we carry

Pumps, diverter valves, motorised valve heads, expansion vessels, pressure relief valves, thermistors, ignition electrodes, fans, PCBs for the common models, and the usual seals and fittings.

Repair or replace, answered honestly

The rough rule we work to: if the repair costs more than a third of a new boiler and the existing one is over twelve years old, replacing usually makes better sense. Under eight years old, repairing almost always does.

In between, it depends what has failed. A pump on a ten year old boiler is worth doing. A heat exchanger on the same boiler probably is not.

We will give you both figures and let you decide, and we are not going to condemn a repairable boiler to sell you a new one. If we do tell you a boiler is beyond economic repair, we will explain exactly why. See boiler installation.

"He explains all the options, pricing etc and doesn't just go straight for the usual 'Mmm, you're going to need a new one of those' line but instead will try and repair what you've got if he can."

Tim Hack, Google review

Sometimes the boiler is not the problem

A fair proportion of the boiler faults we are called to are system faults wearing a boiler costume.

Cold radiators, uneven heating and repeated overheat lockouts usually trace back to sludge, a failing pump or a system that was never balanced. Replacing the boiler in that situation gets you an expensive new appliance struggling against the same restricted system.

See central heating, radiators and valves and why radiators develop cold spots.

Oil and LPG

Plenty of properties around Lyminge, Elham, Sellindge and out on the Marsh at New Romney run oil or LPG rather than mains gas. Different qualifications, different faults, and covered on our oil and LPG page.

If you smell gas

Do not call us first. Call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. It is free and staffed around the clock.

Open windows and doors, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely, do not use light switches or your phone inside, and get everyone out. They will make it safe. They do not carry out repairs, and that is where we come in afterwards.

Most of this is preventable

Nearly every fault on this page gives warning before it stops the boiler, and an annual service is what catches it while it is still cheap. Book it in summer rather than October, when everyone else discovers the heating does not work.

See boiler servicing, how often should central heating be checked and preparing your plumbing for winter.

Where we work

Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate, Seabrook, Saltwood, Hawkinge, Capel-le-Ferne, Lympne, Lyminge, Elham, Sellindge, Dymchurch, New Romney, Dover and Ashford.

Out of hours, or with no heating in cold weather where someone elderly, very young or unwell is in the property, this comes under our 24 hour emergency service.

Common questions

My boiler keeps locking out and I keep resetting it. Is that harmful? Resetting repeatedly does not fix the cause, and on some faults it makes things worse. Two attempts is plenty before calling.

How often should I top up the pressure? Occasionally, perhaps once or twice a year. If you are doing it monthly, something is leaking.

Can you repair a boiler that is out of warranty? Yes. Most of what we repair is.

Will you condemn my boiler just to sell me a new one? No. If we tell you it is unsafe or beyond economic repair, we will show you why.

Do you repair boilers you did not install? Yes, any make on the list above and most others.

Call +44 7915 255984 for a boiler repair in Folkestone.