No Hot Water? A Galway Homeowner’s 5-Minute Boiler Checklist
Before you pay for a callout, run through these five checks. A lot of "broken boilers" are really low pressure, a tripped switch or a frozen condensate pipe.
John, Eco Plumbing GalwayEmergency plumber, Galway
No hot water on a cold Galway morning is miserable. But before you assume the worst, it’s worth spending five minutes on a few simple checks. A good share of the “dead boilers” we get called to turn out to be something the homeowner could have spotted — and we’d always rather tell you that on the phone than charge you for a visit.
Safety first: if you smell gas, don’t touch any switches. Open the windows, leave the house and call Gas Networks Ireland’s 24-hour emergency line on 1800 20 50 50. Never remove the boiler casing yourself.
1. Check the boiler pressure
Most modern combi and system boilers have a pressure gauge on the front. With the heating off, it should read between 1 and 1.5 bar.
- Below 1 bar: the boiler will often lock out to protect itself. You can usually top it up using the filling loop (check your boiler manual — every model is slightly different).
- Keeps dropping? Then water is escaping somewhere — a leak, a faulty pressure relief valve or an expansion vessel issue. That needs a plumber.
- Above 2.5–3 bar: turn the boiler off and call us. That’s too high.
2. Is there power?
Sounds obvious, but check the display is on, the fused spur switch next to the boiler is on, and nothing has tripped at the fuse board. A power cut overnight can also reset timers and thermostats.
3. Look at the timer and thermostat
If the heating works but the hot water doesn’t (or the other way round), the programmer may simply be set wrong — especially after a power cut or the clocks changing. Turn the room thermostat up a few degrees to make sure it’s calling for heat.
4. Check for a frozen condensate pipe
Condensing boilers have a small plastic pipe that runs outside to a drain. In a hard frost it can freeze and the boiler shuts down, often with a gurgling sound. Pouring warm (not boiling) water over the outside section usually thaws it, then reset the boiler.
5. Reset — once
Most boilers have a reset button. Press it once and give it a few minutes. If it locks out again, don’t keep resetting it. Note the fault code on the display — it tells us a lot and means we can bring the right part.
Cylinder homes: check the immersion
If you have a hot water cylinder in the hot press, try switching on the immersion. If you get hot water that way, the problem is on the boiler or heating side, not the cylinder. If the cylinder itself is leaking or the immersion won’t heat, it may be time for a replacement — something we do regularly.
Radiators cold at the top?
That’s trapped air. Bleed them with a radiator key (a cloth underneath catches the drips) until water comes out, then re-check the boiler pressure — bleeding lowers it.
When to call a plumber
- The pressure keeps dropping after you top it up.
- The boiler locks out again after one reset.
- You hear banging, kettling or loud whistling from the boiler.
- There’s water dripping from the boiler or the pipes underneath.
- The boiler is overheating or the pipes are too hot to touch.
We’ve fixed overheating boilers and low pressure faults at “unsocial hours” all over Galway, and our customers mention one thing again and again: we explain what the fault is in plain English. If the checklist didn’t sort it, message us on WhatsApp at 083 369 0973 or request a callback.
