Service turns to full strip down!

Blocked condensate trap

The above image shows a condensate trap completely blocked with aluminium deposits. These come from the heat exchanger and were causing significant issues with this boiler.

This job was supposed to be a simple service.

However -

When I opened the front of the boiler, I could immediately see that the condensate trap was overflowing and causing corrosion -

Corrosion from blocked condensate trap

If you peer into the boiler, you can see the rust channels running down the component in the rear right of the boiler.

As I continued my inspection of the boiler, I could see that the heat exchanger itself was very dirty and also that the ignition electrodes were corroded.

Apologies for the blurry image.

Compare with the image below (of the same boiler component after cleaning...)

Not perfect, but a massive amount of carbon & aluminium deposits were removed using hot water & a soft brush. These improvements make a huge difference to the efficiency of a boiler and are exactly the sort of work many gas engineers may fail to do during an annual service.

I then ensured all the particles of aluminium were removed from the condensate trap (as seen in the first image).

Next, I replaced the electrodes -

You can clearly see the difference between the old, corroded electrodes & the new replacements in the image!

The final main job was to replace the burner gasket above the heat exchanger -

The automatic air vent at the back of the boiler also had to be replaced, but I forgot to take any images of this.

As my regular customers will know, I do tend to remind them about their annual service. It is the singlemost important thing you can do to extend the life of your boiler/ central heating system and will ensure that everything operates as efficiently as possible - saving you money in the long term.

If you have questions or would like to book in your first service with me, please just get in touch...

Thanks for reading :)