Last week, a customer from Bournemouth on Roslin Road (BH3), called up as they were having issues with their boiler. They were unsure if it was a boiler repair or boiler installation that they needed. On the phone, she informed me that they were experiencing a rumbling and whistling sound from their boiler. I asked if it sounded like the noise that a kettle makes and she said that it did. I knew from this that their boiler was kettling and this was what was causing the issues.
I explained that the water inside your boiler should not reach boiling point. It starts to boil if the water passes through the flame too slowly. This is caused by a blockage in the pipework. You will hear the result of this when the boiler starts to make sounds that are similar to a kettle boiling. We booked her boiler repair service for the next day.
When I arrived to inspect the boiler, I knew that there was a build-up of sludge blocking the system and raising the temperature of the water inside. This is most likely caused by a build-up of magnetite – an iron-based chemical that wears off the insides of radiators. To fix the issue, I took apart the heat exchanger and cleaned it to clear the blockage. The water then started to flow freely through the pipes and stay at the optimum temperature.