Last week in Battle Creek felt more like September than the end of October. The Battle Creek airport hit 66 on Monday and Tuesday, 72 on Wednesday and 71 on Thursday, when normal highs are in the mid 50s. Most nights stayed in the mid to upper 40s. A front came through Thursday with about a sixth of an inch of rain and gusts in the mid 20s, Friday only reached 56 after a morning low of 36, and the weekend warmed back into the 60s with almost no rain at all. A week like that is easy on a house, and that is the problem for homes heated by a Boiler. The heat barely had to run, so a Boiler that sat idle all summer still has not proven it can carry the house through a cold night.
Battle Creek has a lot of older homes heated by hot water or steam: cast iron radiators, baseboard along the walls, or radiant floors. Those systems sit full of water all summer and get tested only when the heat finally runs for hours at a time. That is when the problems show up. Air collects at the top of the system, so some radiators heat only at the bottom or not at all. A pump that sat still for months can stick and leave the Boiler hot while the rooms stay cold. Pressure creeps up as the water heats, and a waterlogged expansion tank can make the relief valve drip or spit onto the floor. Old valves, unions and radiator connections that stayed dry in summer can start to weep once hot water runs through them every day. Steam Boilers have their own tell: a water level in the glass that is low, dirty or bouncing. Newer wall-hung high-efficiency Boilers add a condensate line and pump, and a blocked one will shut the Boiler off with an error code.
What to do this week: turn the thermostat up for an hour while you are home and walk every room to make sure each radiator or baseboard gets warm from end to end. Look at the pressure gauge on a hot water Boiler when it is cold and again when it is hot, and write both numbers down so you can tell if it changes. Check under the Boiler, the relief valve pipe, the pump and every radiator valve for drips, rust trails or white crust. On a steam Boiler, make sure the water level shows in the glass. Keep storage, laundry and paint cans away from the Boiler and its venting, and test the carbon monoxide alarms. If the relief valve is dripping, the pressure climbs high when it is hot, or a room stays cold, have it looked at now rather than on the first night the temperature drops into the teens.
That is the work A.W. Crooks Plumbing, Heating & Cooling does every fall. We handle Boiler Repair and Boiler Replacement on hot water and steam systems, bleed and balance radiators and baseboard, replace stuck pumps, failing expansion tanks, relief valves and leaking radiator valves, and clear condensate lines on high-efficiency Boilers. We are Battle Creek’s residential plumbing and heating company since 1912, serving Battle Creek first and the surrounding areas within about 60 miles. We offer 24-hour service, 7 days a week. Our office hours are 7 days a week, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with no weekend upcharge during office hours. The Boiler Tune-Up special is still live. Start with Boiler Repair and Installation, or Furnace Repair if your home has a Furnace. Call (269) 962-5441, email tctc@mitctc.com, or contact us.
Quick Boiler walk: every radiator or baseboard warm end to end? Pressure gauge steady from cold to hot? No drips at the relief valve, pump or radiator valves? Water showing in the glass on a steam Boiler? If something failed the walk, get it handled during a warm week instead of during the first real cold snap.