"A common issue with boilers around the UK is that they naturally and gradually lose pressure."

The second you realise something has gone wrong with your boiler, that’s the second you start panicking. We understand this can be very frustrating. You can always pick up the phone and call someone, preferably a Gas Safe engineer, for help. Or, you can read on for a couple of minutes and learn more about why your boiler is not working, do some basic checks and try our troubleshooting steps, and hope it helps. If nothing works, we have another tip, but let’s leave that for a little bit later.

Free Checks

If your boiler is not working, the first thing to check is whether your boiler is switched on. Although this may sound absurd, we’ve heard many UK boiler companies have earned crazy money just by switching on the boiler for their customers. There’s a chance the unit has been switched off at the mains. Maybe the only thing you should do is to switch the thing back on.

Now, let us ask you a bit of a personal question. Are you sure you have paid your energy bills? It still may sound silly but so many people simply forget to pay their gas bills and blame the boiler for not providing heat, when it’s actually their own fault.

Why Is My Boiler Not Working?

If you are 100% sure the boiler is switched on and your gas bill is paid, let’s move onto the 5 most common reasons why your boiler is not working and how you can fix it.

1. Low Pressure

A common issue with boilers around the UK is that they naturally and gradually lose pressure. So, if your boiler is not working, it could be you should just increase the pressure within it. How do you diagnose pressure issues? Take a close look at your boiler’s pressure gauge, located at the front of your appliance, practically impossible to overlook. Your boiler pressure should be around 1-2 bars, and if the reading is below this number, your boiler is likely having pressure issues.

How to top up your boiler?

• Turn off the unit,
• Locate the external filling loop (a hose under the boiler that connects 2 water pipes),
• Turn on the valves and listen if the water is running,
• Look at the pressure gauge,
• If the pressure gauge is going up, wait until it reaches 1 or 2 bars,
• Shut off the valves,
• Turn on the boiler.

Here’s also how to reduce your boiler pressure if it is too high.

2. Boiler Pilot Light Not Catching

When you turn your boiler on, that should trigger the boiler pilot light. This light, which is in fact an internal flame, is responsible for igniting the gas and delivering hot water and heat. Sudden draughts may make the boiler pilot light go out.

Try to visually check the boiler flame through the casing. If you can’t see the flame, reset your boiler. However, if the unit is still not working, you should contact a heating engineer.

3. Boiler Thermostat Not Working

It could be that your boiler is working but it does not respond to the thermostat. What you can do to check if your boiler thermostat is working or not?

• Check whether it is fully charged,
• If using a smart thermostat, check your Wi-Fi connection,
• Turn off the vacation mode or any other custom mode you might have set,
• Make sure the temperature in the room is below the temperature you set on the thermostat.

How to check if your boiler thermostat is not working? Here are the top boiler thermostat failure symptoms:

• The thermostat display is blinking, non-responsive, or completely turned off,
• Room temperature can’t reach the thermostat setting.

What you can do to fix a faulty boiler thermostat?

• Replace the batteries,
• Restore to factory settings,
• Check the manual for a solution,
• Or maybe you should do something as simple as replacing your boiler thermostat.

4. Frozen Condensate Pipe

There’s a pipe coming out of your boiler that is connected to the outside wall. This pipe, a condensate pipe, is in charge of ejecting excess liquid outside from the boiler. However, during the winter months, this excess liquid tends to freeze (when the temperature drops below 0).

Once this excess water can’t find a way out, it causes your boiler to automatically shut down. In this case, you should unfreeze the pipe by gently pouring warm water over it. Once it has melted, protect the pipe with a cloth or foam to prevent it from freezing again.

5. No Power to Your Boiler

If your boiler shows no sign of life, it could be a turning point for you. It could be a broken circuit board, which is a costly replacement, or a faulty fuse. Highly likely, this is an electrical issue. So, try turning the boiler off and on a couple of times. If turning the power back on does not elicit any reaction, you’ll probably need to contact an engineer or electrical provider for help.

Summary

If you’ve tried everything we suggested and your Worcester boiler is still not working, follow this simple form and book a job right away. Or, even better, you can ditch that old, unreliable boiler and get a new, reliable, and energy-efficient boiler installed. Like the latter option better? Click here and get a free, instant quote on a new boiler!