Table Of Contents
When To Service A Gas Heater
Gas heaters are among the most frequently used heating options in Australia. Gas appliances require adequate servicing for an efficient and effective operation like all other operational devices. A gas heater service inspects and tests all the gas heater components such as the flue pipe, thermostat, fan, gas pressure, burner, and heat exchanger.
Carbon monoxide system inspection is crucial for gas heater servicing since it can easily cause fatal accidents if improperly maintained. Regular servicing helps keep your gas water heater in excellent working condition, thus improving its efficiency and ensuring effective gas heating in your home. Most professionals have suggested that keeping the gas heater under regular servicing is best.
However, it is best that you reach out to the experts to help with servicing your gas heater. This is because there are specific factors that you are not able to discover on your own. So, if you are worried about the cold winter season, it would help to ensure that your gas receives adequate and effective servicing at the right time.
How Often Should You Service Your Gas Heater?
Regular servicing of your gas heater holds various advantages for you as the owner of a gas heater. Similarly, it prevents your gas heater from multiple problems that may cause accidents, including fatal ones or issues that may lead you to spend a lot of money for heater repairs. However, prior to that, let us first delve into how often you need to service your gas heater to prevent such problems. Now, many experts recommend that you service your gas heater at least once every year.
The annual servicing of your gas heater will facilitate the inspection and cleaning of the sensitive parts of the gas heater that easily malfunction, such as the gas filter, the pilot light, the fan, and the heat exchanger. Keep in mind that the malfunctioning of some of these parts, such as the heat exchanger, may lead to the emission of dangerous gases such as Carbon Monoxide (CO) that can cause death.
Most people use their gas heater during winter as this is the cold season. Therefore, it is preferred that you service your gas heater once a year, especially in spring or fall. So, how about when the gas heater is idle and not in use? Unknown to most gas heater owners, this is the period when your gas heater can likely develop and experience severe problems.
Since the gas heater is not in use, most people tend to neglect its maintenance. On the contrary, this is the scenario when it helps to tune up your gas heater frequently for its smooth and efficient operation. Suppose you do that; your gas heater will be in a better position to warm your house throughout the winter season.
Benefits Of Servicing Your Gas Heater Regularly
Helps Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide is one of the gases produced during the combustion process by a gas heater. The gas is odourless and colourless, making it difficult to detect its leaks entirely by yourself. However, regular gas heater maintenance, especially by an expert, makes it easier and possible to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide is usually referred to as the silent killer due to its hazardous nature. It has other adverse effects when one is exposed to it, such as dizziness, nausea, migraines, and death. Research conducted in Australia indicated that approximately over 300 people die while over 10,000 people are transferred to emergency conservation units due to exposure to carbon monoxide.
During servicing, the licensed gas heater expert will inspect the gas heater to ensure that it is burning and venting correctly. Further, the expert will ensure that they make the necessary adjustments so that you and your family, including your pets residing in the house, are not exposed to carbon monoxide.
Helps You Save on Excessive Energy Bills
Have you been experiencing unreasonably high monthly energy bills? The problem and cause could be your gas heater. Regular servicing of your gas heater accordingly facilitates the efficient operation of the gas heater. This automatically translates to you paying less monthly energy bills.
A gas heater expert conducts due diligence to ensure the necessary repairs and maintenance during a standard service to facilitate the smooth operation of your gas heater. Examples of maintenance operations to be conducted by your gas heater expert technician include lubricating all the moving parts to minimise the rate of friction.
The expert will also ensure that they replace clogged filters since clogged filters reduce the efficiency of the gas heater, making them work harder, thus taking a very long period to heat your house. After an effective service by your gas heater expert technician, rest assured of spending less in catering for monthly energy bills.
Improves the Lifespan of Your Gas Heater
Not only does regular servicing of your gas heater enable it to work smoothly and efficiently, but it also helps in increasing the gas heater’s lifespan. Various factors such as dirt, grime, or clogging can reduce the efficiency of your gas heater, forcing it to work harder and take a lot of time to heat your home.
Suppose your gas heater continues to operate in such a condition for a very long period; it may sustain adverse damages which may be permanently incurable, thus reducing its life span. However, during regular gas heater servicing, your gas heater expert technician would thoroughly check and clean the gas heater to remove all the dirt and clogs.
They would also replace the worn-out parts to enhance the effective and efficient operation of the gas heater. Such regular servicing extends the life span of your gas heater.
Enables You to Keep Your Warranty Valid
Today in Australia, most gas heater manufacturers mandate their clients to service their gas heaters at least once a year. Those who fail to meet this requirement automatically make their warranties invalid. However, it is essential to note that valid warranties are crucial to any gas heater owner. You will need your warranty when faced with a significant repair or maintenance.
The warranty will help you offset some of the expenses too. Therefore, if you need to keep your precious warranty valid, it is best that you keep your gas heater under regular servicing. Suppose you do not service your gas heater regularly; what are some of the problems you are likely to face? Research carried out by HVAC experts indicates that the owners’ neglect contributes to most issues with gas heaters.
Most gas heater owners ignore the maintenance of gas heaters, thus causing long-term problems which require a lot of money to repair. Most gas heater owners use the gas heater in winter and not daily. As a result, they tend to assume that regular servicing of the gas heaters is not that important. Others leave their gas heaters idle for a long time when they are not in use, forgetting that they need to be tuned up frequently when not in use to enhance their smooth and efficient operation.
Such negligent actions cause severe problems to the gas heaters, some of which may be permanent and incurable, while others would probably require a lot of money to repair. Some of these problems are highlighted below.
Malfunctioning Pilot Light
Various factors may make a pilot light faulty. For instance, a pilot light may malfunction because you have not fully pressed the pilot light button, and thus the gas valve is partially open. It could also become faulty due to clogs in the pilot opening.
The inspection and repair of a malfunction require the services of a gas heater expert technician. The technician would clean the pilot light, adjust the flame, check the pilot button, open the gas valve and ensure that your pilot light is in good working condition again.
Clogged Gas Filters
The exposure of your gas filter to dirt, dust, grime, and gravel would highly likely lead to it being clogged by the same. When the gas filter is clogged, the clogging matter forces the gas heater to work extra hard and take a long period to warm your house. This is highly likely to interfere with its efficiency, thus eventually occasioning its breakdown.
Such a breakdown would cost you a lot of money to repair and replace the gas filter. Experts recommend replacing your gas filter every two-three months. Suppose you hire a gas heater technician to ensure regular servicing of your gas heater; you stand a higher chance of preventing the breakdown of your gas heater caused by clogged gas filters.
Cracked Heat Exchanger
Failing to service your gas heater regularly can cause a severe crack on the heat exchanger. In most cases, a heat exchanger may crack due to the presence of dirt, clogged gas filters, and other factors. A cracked heat exchanger is one of the most dangerous problems of a gas heater you would not want to experience.
This is because when your heat exchanger is cracked, the gas heater would highly likely emit toxic gases such as Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide, Carbon Dioxide, and even soot that would make your home dirty.
These gases are dangerous, and exposure to them automatically exposes your family members, your pets, and yourself to life-threatening issues. You stand in an advantaged position of preventing such problems if you ensure regular servicing of your gas heater.
Do You Need Professional Gas Heater Servicing?
The simple answer is yes. As tempting as it is, conducting a full gas heater service yourself could cause more harm than good. You can only change your gas heater’s filter and no more by yourself. Similarly, there are other problems that you may not be in a position to detect, such as carbon monoxide leaks. This gas is odourless and colourless.
Gas heaters can easily explode if you make a slight but dangerous error during servicing. As opposed to what you may think, you will end up spending a lot of money when you try to service your gas heater by yourself as opposed to hiring an expert gas heater technician.
Therefore, it is advised that you leave the whole process to a qualified and licensed gas heater technician. If you have or suspect any problem with your gas heater, do not hesitate to contact your gas heater expert technician.
