While gas furnaces are the most popular appliance utilized to provide warm air to houses, boilers are also an excellent way to keep your family comfortable throughout the winter months. If you have a boiler in your home, it’s important to become familiar with common signs that may indicate an issue with your system. Although a gas furnace will produce banging, squealing, or rattling noises when there is an issue, the boiler in your house will create a different type of noise that may indicate malfunctioning components or parts.
Once a boiler reaches the middle or end of its lifespan, you may begin to notice a sound that is identical to a kettle on a stove. This type of boiler noise is referred to as kettling by licensed plumbers and technicians in the industry. If your boiler is making a strange kettling noise, this is a sign of a severe issue. Immediately deactivate the system and call a certified technician.
What is Kettling & How Do I Prevent It?
Kettling is an ordinary issue with residential boilers that is caused by hard water. If the water in your suburb or city features a high concentration of magnesium and calcium, mineral deposits will begin to form in the heat exchanger. This problem may cause the water to become stuck in the heat exchanger.
Once the flow of water stops, it will transform into steam and the pressure in the heat exchanger will begin to rise. If the pressure becomes too high, the boiler will begin to make a strange roaring or kettling noise. To prevent permanent damage to your exchanger, reach out to a certified contractor in your area to remove the excess mineral deposits from your boiler.
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Issues Caused by a Kettling Boiler
Boilers are engineered to heat water. Once the temperature of the water is high enough, the water or steam is distributed throughout your house. Kettling can be caused by a number of factors, but the most common cause of this strange boiler noise is hard water. This type of water includes a high amount of minerals such as magnesium and calcium. If you have hard water in your area, a kettling noise may be caused by calcium deposits on the interior of the boiler. An excess quantity of calcium deposits in your boiler can result in a number of issues.
High Utility Bills & Insufficient Heating
Kettling interferes with the boiler’s ability to heat your home sufficiently. The cost of your heating bills will go up and your home may be heated unevenly.
Damage to the Heat Exchanger
Once a boiler begins to produce a kettling noise, it’s important to call a licensed technician to prevent damage to your system’s heat exchanger. If you choose to ignore this issue with your boiler, you may be required to replace your heat exchangers.
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Stress On Components & Parts
If your boiler is making a strange kettling noise, this is a signal of moderate to severe stress on vital parts and components. This will cause the total cost of your heating bills to increase. In addition, you may have to invest in a costly repair in the near future if you do not resolve the boiler kettling issue.
How to Confirm a Ketting Issue With Your Boiler
The most obvious sign of kettling is the noise itself, which always means you should shut off the system immediately and call in repairs. You can also spot the signs of kettling by checking your heating bill for any unexpected spikes, or noting any variations in heat levels in your house. If you notice an issue with your boiler, give our team a call by phone at (484) 206-8594 to receive help. WM Henderson provides dependable HVAC repair and installation services for boilers, air conditioning systems, furnaces, and heat pumps. Our team provides heating and cooling services to homeowners in areas of Pennsylvania such as Broomall, West Chester, Conshohocken, and Coatesville. We have been providing fair and trustworthy plumbing and HVAC services to homes in Pennsylvania since 1977.