Your boiler, which has silently and faithfully hung on the wall for years has now become a noisy boiler. It might be just a niggling sound or something that sounds more sinister. One thing is for sure, it is best to get it checked over by a professional. We are always happy to come and look, and listen.
Here are some common noises and their causes:
Boiler making a rattling noise?
There could be loose items in the boiler that are vibrating against each other. Other rattling in the boiler or throughout the system could be caused by air in the system. If this is the case the radiators will need bleeding and the system re-pressurised. Other reasons could be un-clipped pipework, faulty pump or valve.
Boiler making a vibrating noise?
Vibrations can be caused by a number of things. These included a malfunctioning pump shaking inside its casing, or the fan bearings starting to fail. This could also be caused by a build-up of sludge or limescale inside the boiler.
Boiler making a kettling noise?
This is often caused by trapped air in the system, or can also be caused by a build up of limescale in the boiler. More common in older cast iron heat exchangers and in hard water areas (such as ours)
Boiler making a banging noise?
This can be caused by a blockage in the system or in the boiler itself. Banging is also often caused when a pump is failing. In both cases, the water flow through the boiler is not fast enough to cool the boiler so it starts to overheat and boil the water inside. This is often accompanied by poor flow through the radiators and ‘patchy’ heating.
Boiler making a dripping or gurgling noise?
Gurgling and dripping noises are sometimes caused by trapped air. A first approach is to ensure all your radiators are warm at the top and bleeding air out of any that are not. But beware, if you bleed radiators on a pressurised system, you must then re-pressurise. Don’t bleed any radiators unless you are sure you know how to re-pressurise as, with a pressurised system, the boiler will stop working. If in doubt, call us.
Boiler making a droning noise?
This is a noise that can sound like a drone/aeroplane or even a foghorn. This again can be due to a failing heating pump (inside or outside the boiler) causing overheating.
Call in the experts
As you will see, many of the noises above can be solved by bleeding and re-pressurising the system. This is an ideal starting point and could be carried out yourself before making a call. If you have already tried this, or would rather have a professional heating engineer take care of the issue from the start, please get in touch and we will get the issue solved.
Get in touch here, or call us on 01243 370880.