Why a gas boiler often turns on and off: causes of equipment interruptions and how to fix them

With the approach of cold weather, a person becomes dependent on heating systems. After all, heat, or rather, its absence, significantly affects the comfort of living and even the state of health. And, when, instead of enjoying the comfort, you have to deal with why the gas boiler often turns off and on, then this causes a lot of negativity. Isn't that right?

But it is possible to solve the problem that has arisen quickly and without significant financial costs. And in a number of situations, the user himself will be able to return the equipment to work.

What to do when a malfunction occurs?

Gas consumers should understand that they are not entitled to, but are obliged to carry out repairs of their indoor or indoor equipment. Moreover, timely and efficiently.

And since frequent shutdown of the boiler is potentially a malfunction, then this legal requirement cannot be ignored. Since for this, according to Art. 9.23 Administrative Code faces a fine.

The size, which is 1-2 thousand. rubles. And, if suddenly the situation, through the fault of the user, becomes dangerous to the life and health of people or an accident occurs, then you will have to part with 10-30 thousand. rubles (Art. 9.23 of the Administrative Code).

It is easier and safer to contact the gas company with which an agreement has been signed. And all the risks will fall on their shoulders. As well as responsibility for the timeliness and quality of repairs. And for violations, the company will be held liable in accordance with Art. 9.23 of the Administrative Code. Where it is said that penalties can reach an impressive 200 thousand. rubles

It should also be remembered that you should not take responsibility for yourself trying to eliminate the cause of the on / off switches yourself. Especially against the background of the fact that problems with equipment inoperability should be solved by specialists of companies with which the gas consumer has signed an agreement. And for ignoring such a rule, additional sanctions are threatened in the amount of 1-2 thousand. rubles - this is also spelled out in Art. 9.23 of the Administrative Code.

Any repeated violation of the above norms will be the reason for punishment in the form of a fine, the amount of which will be 2-5 thousand rubles. The basis for this is the corresponding norm in the above article of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Reasons for frequent switching on / off of the boiler

If the gas boiler is unstable, then there must be a reason. And repairs must always begin with its identification. To do this, you need to call a specialist.

But in some cases, it will be possible to identify the cause independently, since there is nothing fantastic in identifying a malfunction. Most of them have external manifestations, which means that it is possible to identify the problem visually. That is, all that needs to be done is to inspect the gas boiler and the equipment working with it.

It should be understood that there are a lot of types of gas boiler breakdowns, but they are all divided into only a few categories. Which greatly simplifies the task.

The types of breakdown include:

• clocking;
• failures, breakdowns of automation;
• low gas pressure;
• incorrect operation of ventilation and smoke removal systems;
• unstable operation of the electrical network.

And then in detail about how the listed reasons are identified and eliminated.

Reason # 1 - clocking

Frequent switching on of a gas boiler is a classic sign of its excessive power, the supply of which is much higher than necessary. And the more brute-force, the more often start / stop cycles occur.

Reasons that lead to clocking:

• incorrect setting of the boiler electronics;
• improper installation, operation of radiators. For example, narrowing of the channels, their clogging, kinks, distortions, which lead to a decrease in efficiency, lead to malfunctions. It is possible to neutralize the negative consequences of deficiencies only by eliminating them;
• an error in determining the power of a gas boiler upon purchase.

If a frequent on / off sequence is detected. The first thing to do is to make adjustments to the boiler operating mode. You will be able to do this yourself and in a matter of minutes, since all you need for this is to go to the service menu of the unit and reduce its power.

This is possible because modern boilers have a minimum and maximum specified value, as well as an operating range.

But it should be understood that the described regulation of the power of gas heating equipment is for the most part a fine tuning. Therefore, it can change the specified characteristic by only a few percent (usually within the range of 3-8%). And such figures indicate that when exceeding boiler power values a higher value setting will be useless.

The cause of this problem is the wrong choice of equipment. This happens when untrained buyers pay attention to anything, including the power of the gas boiler, which is considered the main indicator, but they forget to compare it with the total thermal power radiators.

And with a significant difference between the two indicated indicators, significant problems begin.

Which can be solved:

1. Replacing the boiler.
2. An increase in the heat output of radiators. For example, an increase in their number.

Due to the significant difference in power indicators, an important feature of clocking occurs only immediately after the purchase and start-up of a gas unit or replacement of radiators.

If such procedures were not carried out, then you should look for another cause of the malfunction.

Reason number 2 - automatic breakdowns

In this case, the human factor or the wear and tear of individual elements leads to problems. Often these problems arise due to poor quality commissioning. For example, this is exactly what happens when the wrong installation of a circulation pump into the system. As a result, the circulation of the coolant becomes unstable, as a result, the liquid in the heat exchanger will overheat.

This will be a signal for the automatics to turn off the boiler, which can be repeated with different frequencies. At the same time, most of the coolant remains insufficiently warm.

In this case, most likely, you cannot do without a master. But initially, if normal ignition occurs, followed by a quick shutdown, but the water in the system is not warm enough, then you can try start the pump yourself, as it may not work correctly not only due to breakdown, but also in the event of air congestion, and simply for the reason jamming.

To do this, arm yourself with a screwdriver and unscrew the special screw on the unit body. As a result, the system will self-air. If this does not help, then use the same screwdriver to carefully rotate the blades. In case of a positive outcome, the pump's performance will be restored.

If the listed procedures did not help, then you should definitely call a specialist.

Often the reason for the unnaturally frequent switching on of the gas boiler is a breakdown or the absence of an external temperature sensor. As a result, the boiler automation is guided by a similar indicator of the coolant, which can make the operation of the entire system less stable and more costly.

Have turbocharged boilers fan problems often occur. What is associated with the wear of rubbing structural elements, their breakdowns, clogging of the air channels. As a result, there is a lack of oxygen for the combustion of the gas, which leads to the extinction of the flame. After that, the automatics turns off the boiler, but since it remains conditionally serviceable, the starts will be repeated, as well as shutdowns.

Reason number 3 - low gas pressure

Perhaps this is the most dangerous of the reasons for the unstable operation of a gas boiler. Its essence is that low gas pressure not only provokes frequent shutdowns of the boiler, but, quite often, is accompanied by a leak of this fuel, which can cause an explosion or fire.

You can make sure that the cause of low pressure is a leak by a specific and unpleasant odor.

In this case, the operation of all gas equipment should be suspended until the problem is rectified, which should be done by a specialist.

The place of the leak can be identified by yourself, for which soap foam is used. The soap solution should be applied to the joints. Where the tightness is broken, the soap solution will form bubbles.

In some cases, a decrease in gas pressure can occur without gas leakage. This happens when the meter breaks down or the filter is clogged.

A reason such as a breakdown of the meter is usually detected easily, since a hiss, extraneous sounds are emitted from its body, and the readings change in jerks.

However, carry out meter replacement you don't need it yourself. This can lead to unpleasant consequences, which can be a fine for unauthorized connection to gas pipelines (Art. 7.19 Administrative Code). As a result, you will have to pay a fine, the amount of which can reach about 30 thousand. rubles.

Reason number 4 - incorrect operation of ventilation

In this situation, problems with the operation of the gas boiler occur due to reasons such as chemical or mechanical underburning.

So, in the first case, insufficient air is supplied to the boiler burner. It is not enough for gas combustion. The situation is aggravated by the fact that as a result of ineffective gas oxidation, a significant amount of soot is formed. Which covers all the inner surfaces of the boiler.

In advanced cases, this leads to clogging of the burner nozzles, pipe channels, therefore attenuation occurs.

In many cases, the usual cleaning of surfaces from combustion products will help restore the boiler to work. It is better to do this before the beginning of each heating season, or even several times during its duration.

At the same time, too much thrust leads to mechanical underburning. The main feature of which is considered to be that the gas simply does not have time to burn. This causes the flame to fade and the interlock system is triggered.

To restore stability to combustion will allow a reduction in the area of ​​the chimney, which is done with the help of a device such as gate. It is a damper installed in the exhaust duct of the smoke exhaust system.

If the specified device is not provided or is faulty, then such a defect should be eliminated. And this is when using modern sandwich chimney easy to do.

In difficult cases, it will be necessary to change the design of ventilation and smoke removal systems.

Often, difficult climatic conditions lead to problems with gas combustion, and, therefore, with stability.

Which can be:

• strong wind;
• negative temperatures;
• precipitation.

So, in a strong wind, the draft may deteriorate significantly, which will lead to underburning with a possible shutdown of the gas boiler.

At subzero temperatures, ice freezes on internal surfaces smoke exhaust systems, which leads to instability of thrust or its complete absence. Eliminate the negative consequences in this case will be obtained by removing ice.

What can be done:

• mechanically, that is, simply chipping the resulting frost;
• heating the chimney channel. For example, using a disposable gas cylinder.

To reduce the consequences of ice freezing, do not use a head (umbrella).

Precipitation leads to a decrease in thrust, as well as to a decrease in its stability. Negative consequences in each of the listed cases are eliminated after the situation normalizes. But, it should be remembered that you can reduce the likelihood of their occurrence by changing the design of the smoke exhaust system. It is expensive, but it will increase the safety of using gas equipment.

Damping often occurs due to the reverse thrust. The cause of which is improper ventilation of the room where the boiler is installed.

Namely:

• the absence of special channels for air exchange at the bottom of the doors, and in the entire building;
• the tightness of the premises, which is due to the use of modern windows and doors.

And also the occurrence of reverse draft indicates excessive draft in the smoke exhaust system.

All of the above leads to the fact that the resulting air flow simply extinguishes the flame, after which the automation turns off the boiler. After the next activation, the situation may be repeated due to the subsequent formation of reverse thrust.

To eliminate negative consequences in this case, you can create proper ventilation in the building, as well as install a deflector on the chimney.

Reason number 5 - instability of the electrical network

Often the reason for switching off / on the boiler is the voltage drop in the electric current in the system. Since when the set critical values ​​are reached, the electronics will turn off the unit.

And when the voltage returns to normal, the automation will independently generate a command signal to resume heating. This is convenient, but it can create additional problems.

The reason is that in many cases, users may not even be aware of a breakdown for a long time. Or ignore it, since from the outside usually everything looks not as problematic as it really is.

Indeed, in the presence of an unstable voltage, the electronics can fail at any time. The repair of which is expensive, and in some cases it will not be possible to perform it promptly due to the fact that you will have to wait for the delivery of the spare part.

In addition, all other electrical equipment in the room is at risk of breakdown. And the most important thing is that such a malfunction as voltage drops is a direct threat to the life and health of users.

Therefore, the performance of the gas boiler must be monitored regularly. And if a problem is identified, immediately begin to eliminate it, and not talk about how often the used gas boiler should be turned off. In this case, repairs must be done by a specialist.

To avoid breakdown of the gas boiler due to voltage instability will help Voltage regulator.

It must be of adequate power and reliable. That is, you should not buy a device that costs a penny, especially from an unknown manufacturer.

Conclusion and useful video on the topic

The video tells about what timing is, how such a negative phenomenon occurs, and also outlines the ways to deal with it:

The following video describes the situation with the attenuation of the boiler in a strong wind:

The frequent repetition of off / on cycles of any modern gas boiler directly indicates its unstable operation. And therefore, for the presence of a malfunction or incorrect setting, which is the cause of accelerated wear of the equipment. Therefore, having identified the problem, you should immediately begin to eliminate it.

Have you ever encountered interruptions in the operation of a gas boiler? What kind of problem did you have to face and how did you manage to get out of their position? Please share your experience with our readers in the comments section.