Boilers fail on the coldest day. That is not bad luck, it is because that is when they work hardest.
Before calling anyone, three checks that might save you a call-out.
Three quick checks
Do you smell gas? If so, stop. Turn off the supply at the meter if you can reach it safely, open the windows, leave the property, and call the National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999. Call us afterwards for the repair.
Check the boiler pressure. Look at the gauge on the front. Below 1 bar, usually marked red, and the boiler will not fire. You can top it up with the filling loop. If it drops again within days, there is a leak and that needs finding rather than topping up.
Check the thermostat. It sounds too obvious to mention, but flat batteries in a wireless thermostat and a programmer that has been knocked account for a genuine share of the calls we get.
What actually fails in Crawley homes
The housing here splits sharply, and the faults follow the split.
Frozen condensate pipes. During a cold snap the plastic pipe running from the boiler to an outside drain freezes solid and the boiler shuts down to protect itself. Pour warm, not boiling, water over it and reset. We can insulate it so it does not recur.
Sludge build-up. The 1950s and 1960s new town housing across Ifield, Langley Green, West Green and Three Bridges is now at the point where original steel radiators and copper pipework are shedding magnetite together. It destroys pumps and blocks heat exchangers. Radiators cold at the bottom is the tell.
Failing components. Past ten years, fans, gas valves and circuit boards start going. Repeated repairs on an old boiler become a false economy fairly quickly, and we will tell you when you have reached that point.
Crawley is also a hard water area, so limescale on the heat exchanger is a constant background factor here in a way it is not everywhere.
Why local matters in an emergency
When the heating fails, the instinct is often to call a national company. Local is genuinely better here, and not just as a slogan.
We are actually nearby. Our base is in RH11. We are not dispatching someone from London and quoting an optimistic arrival window.
You speak to a person. No call centre, no ticket number, no being told an engineer will contact you within 48 hours.
Our reputation is local. We depend on repeat work and referrals in this town. That is a considerably stronger incentive not to oversell you a new boiler than any corporate policy.
Gas Safe registered and insured. Ask to see the card when we arrive. Anyone who will not show you one should not be opening your boiler.
When to just call
- Any smell of gas, after calling 0800 111 999 first
- Water leaking from the boiler
- Loud banging or kettling
- An error code that will not clear after a reset
- A yellow or orange flame instead of blue
- Black marks or soot around the boiler
- You have reset it three times and it keeps cutting out
Frequently asked
How quickly can you get to a Crawley property?
We are based in Crawley, in RH11, so it is the fastest area we cover. Actual timing depends on what is already booked, and we will give you a straight answer on the phone rather than a vague promise.
Will I be charged for a call-out if it turns out to be simple?
You get the price before we start work, always. If we can talk you through the fix on the phone without attending, we will do that instead. We have done it plenty of times.
Is no heating an emergency?
In winter, with children, elderly residents or anyone with a health condition in the house, we treat it as one. For a healthy household in mild weather it can usually wait for a normal appointment, and we will tell you that honestly.
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Relevant in:CrawleyThree BridgesIfieldCopthorne