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Maintaining Your Gas Heater
A gas heater is an excellent investment for your property in Sydney, Australia. Like all other appliances you have in your household, your heater requires regular maintenance to work perfectly. Most people forego maintenance if they find that their appliance is working correctly.
However, this is wrong since the maintenance work ensures that your gas appliance can last for many years with optimal performance. As a result, it is crucial to ensure that the maintenance work is done regularly. This article offers some important aspects of gas heater maintenance in your home or business.
What Is Gas Heater Maintenance?
Gas or hot water system maintenance involves checking and testing the appliance components to ensure they are in the proper condition and working accordingly. Some of the parts checked during the maintenance process include the fan, heat exchanger, thermostat, flue, burner, and gas pressure.
One of the most fundamental steps in a gas heater inspection is carbon monoxide checking. Regular maintenance helps enhance its working efficiency and make it more durable while also ensuring that your gas heater is not a health hazard.
Is Regular Gas Heater Maintenance Necessary?
Most people in Sydney, Australia, understand that annual gas heater maintenance is critical, but few take it with the seriousness it deserves. Here are the significant reasons why regular maintenance of your gas heater is vital.
Helps Save on Energy Costs
Your gas heater can take up to almost 40 per cent of your energy costs. This can go up, especially during cold weather conditions. You can save on these costs by performing regular heater maintenance. With regular maintenance, the system becomes more efficient and less expensive to run.
You can add a programmable thermostat or perform other annual tune-ups. You may feel like you are doing extra work, but you end up saving a lot of money in the long run. Bear in mind that some gas maintenance services are simple; thus, they do not require much time or professional assistance.
Tasks such as cleaning the heater or changing the filters are simple and will save your home from high heating bills. The tune-ups ensure the proper airflow, thus reducing the need for regular heater repairs. Note that a well-maintained heating system also lasts longer, and in turn, you get a good return on your investment.
Prevents Frequent Heater Breakdowns and Repairs
A broken heater can frustrate you, especially during cold weather conditions. With regular maintenance, you can avoid all these issues and ensure that you remain toasty when it is chilly. The maintenance job ensures that your system is in suitable condition at all times, thus requiring a few or fewer gas heater repairs. Schedule the maintenance with your plumber to help you save on the repair costs on issues such as:
- Frequent heater shut-offs
- Furnace blowing cold air
- Water heater leaks
- Carbon monoxide leaks
- Malfunctioning components
Increases the Heater’s Durability
This is one of the obvious benefits of performing regular heater maintenance. With frequent checkups, you can be sure that your gas heater will work at its optimal levels at all times. The better maintained your heater is, the longer it will last. Your plumber does not only clean but also tests and checks all the appliance components to detect a problem before it escalates into a costlier problem.
For instance, you need to check the safety controls and ensure you know where the heater stands. Prolonging your heater’s lifespan makes it an excellent investment in your home or business in Sydney.
Ensures You Enjoy High-Quality Air
The need to maintain your gas heater does not stop with reducing the energy costs. It is also critical for the maintenance of your indoor air quality. The heater has air filters that require regular changing after every 90 days. But, debris and dirt will accumulate in other parts of the appliance too.
The air filters work to ensure you get high-quality air, but if dust and dirt accumulate, you get poor quality. Therefore, regular maintenance helps improve the air quality in your space.
Eases Carbon Monoxide and Gas Leak Detection
Yearly gas heater maintenance helps to keep you and your family safe. The heater produces heat by burning gas, and it is necessary to make sure that the combustion process is highly efficient. An issue in the heater can cause a gas leak, which is dangerous and can result in health issues and fire hazards.
An unmaintained heating system can also cause a carbon monoxide (CO) leak, which is hard to detect because CO is odourless and colourless. With routine checkups and maintenance, you will be able to detect all the potential risks, allowing you to relish in the peace of mind that your heater is working safely and properly.
Maintains Your Heater’s Warranty
It is a great choice to perform regular gas heater maintenance to help maintain its warranty. For most high-quality gas heaters, you get a 10-year warranty because a well-maintained appliance can last for up to 20 years. It is necessary to check the warranty to ensure that the system qualifies for the warranty provided.
Note that if a day comes when you need to use that warranty, you will be requested to prove that you have been maintaining your gas heater. If you fail to perform regular maintenance, you do not get to enjoy the benefits of a warranty, making the process a great option to safeguard the warranty.
Keeps You Warm During Cold Weather
With annual gas heater maintenance, you can be sure that it will serve you well during cold weather conditions. Understanding the condition of your heater before the cold season saves you from the discomfort of freezing. You get enough time to repair or replace it if necessary if you check your gas heater before the cold season begins. Additionally, it also gives you peace of mind that you will be warm during the winter.
When Should Gas Heater Maintenance Be Done?
It is advisable to perform the maintenance work at least once a year to prevent problems with your heating system. However, it is also preferable to have the maintenance done in the fall and spring seasons. Yearly maintenance of your gas heater involves thoroughly cleaning and examining the components that commonly malfunction, such as the pilot light, fan, heat exchanger, and air filter.
The Process Of Gas Heater Maintenance
During the maintenance process, thorough work is done by a professional plumber to ensure that the entire system is working right. Various tests are performed to enhance your gas heater’s efficiency. So, how is the system maintenance done?
Visual Inspection
Your plumber will inspect your gas heater visually, clean it, and perform the necessary adjustments. They check for any signs of damage and spot any signs of distress in the system. With their vast experience in the industry, plumbers can detect many issues through a visual inspection.
Operation and Control Testing
A gas heater has several controls and safety features tested during the maintenance work. The plumber will check that all the heater functions are working correctly.
Checking the Combustion and Flue Releases
Your plumber will look at the flue’s construction, termination, and route. The flue is usually the pipe that runs from your boiler to the outside of your home. This is done to ensure that no obstructions occur in the flue terminals and that it is safely fitted.
Cleaning the Heater’s Components
During the heater maintenance, your plumber will remove, inspect and clean the significant parts of your gas heater. Doing so ensures that the components have no defects and are in good working condition to meet their purpose. Some of the parts cleaned during the check include the flue ways, main burner, ignition pins, and heat exchanger.
Conducting Checks and Running Several Tests
Several tests are conducted during the gas heater service and maintenance. Some of the checks undertaken and tests run by your plumber include the following:
- System operation
- Thermostat settings
- Flue effectiveness
- Ventilation
- Heating controls
- Wiring connections
- Pressure and gas flow
- Seals
- Safety devices
- Electrical wiring connections
Recording the Tests Done
As mentioned above, your plumber will carry out a series of tests and checks during the maintenance. They then record each of them, including the heat output and boiler pressure. As the property owner, you should keep these records for future gas heater inspections or when there is an issue. You can also use records to prove maintenance when claiming your gas heater’s warranty.
Ensuring Your Gas Heater is Ready for Use
At the end of the gas heater maintenance, the plumber will ensure that your system is working accordingly. All the settings and controls altered during the process are returned to custom settings. However, they could also leave them as is so that you can set them according to your needs. Your plumber will then give you advice on handling and caring for your heating system.
Signs You Need Gas Heater Maintenance
Although it is advised to perform the maintenance work yearly, your heating system might require maintenance work outside of the annual one. Here are some of the signs to keep an eye out for to determine whether your gas heater requires maintenance work.
Strange Noises
If you continuously hear strange noises from your heater, this shows there is an issue. A loud bang can be a sign you need to clean the burners. Howling and whistling noises indicate that the fuel supply to the burners is limited. Your plumber will diagnose the strange noises and carry out the proper repairs and maintenance.
High Energy Costs
At times, you may experience a drastic power bill surge. This might be a sign that your gas heater is working inefficiently. It shows that some of its components are clogged or worn down by debris or other forms of dirt. When your heater uses more power than usual, this signifies that the system has become inefficient and requires maintenance.
Recurring Odours
If you smell dust when you turn your heater on, this can be normal. This is because dust in your ducts or heating elements burns off during the heating system. However, unpleasant odours such as burning oil, rubber, or smoke are not typical.
Therefore, it is good to investigate the bad odours because they may be an indication of a serious safety hazard. If you notice persistent strange smells, you should call a plumber to solve the issue. You should do this ASAP as the odours could make your home uncomfortable to live in.
Carbon Monoxide Leaks
Carbon monoxide (CO) can leak from your gas stove. The gas is produced due to incomplete combustion. Carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas, so you should prevent its leakage. Mild carbon monoxide poisoning causes dizziness, headaches, and nausea. If you don’t have a carbon monoxide detector, you should always check the flame colour. The correct flame should be blue, while a yellow flame shows CO leakage. This calls for immediate maintenance to avoid health issues that may occur due to the carbon monoxide leak.
Failure to Maintain Home Temperature
Your gas heater should keep the space at the right temperature when the weather is cold. If you find that some of the rooms are colder compared to others, or you keep adjusting the thermostat to keep your space warm, your heater requires maintenance.
Increased Dust in Your House
Dusty or dry air can be an indicator that your gas heater requires maintenance. A heater with clogged air filters or a dysfunctional humidifier affects you. The increased dust in your space calls for your heater checkup. It is necessary to note that the dust can cause allergic reactions or other pulmonary issues in your family.
No Adequate Space Heating
If you find out that your gas heater is no longer heating your space, this is an indication of a significant problem. You need to perform maintenance of the system to solve the issue and make it functional again. Note that if you find that the appliance is no longer heating your space, you need to call your plumber immediately. They do the checkup, repair, or advise you accordingly if you need to replace your heater.
Hire The Best Plumber For Gas Heater Maintenance
Since your gas heater is an excellent investment in your home or business, you should ensure that you reach out to a highly qualified plumber for the maintenance work. You need to check for a plumber with vast experience and reputation in the industry. Work with a fully licensed and accredited professional.
With the right plumber, you can be sure that they will do the checkups and advise you on or even do the repairs needed to improve the efficiency of your appliance. They understand the working mechanism of every gas heater, so you can always expect the best services from them.
