Ever since the Industrial Revolution, boilers have played a key role in the UK’s (and the world’s) economy. They are also the principal method of heating and hot water production for most private homes.
Speedy Jet Plumbers offer boiler repairs in Camden and across all parts of London. Here we look at the commonest types of boilers in the UK, how they work, and why we offer high-quality repair and replacement services for all types of this essential appliance.
The History of Boilers
Boilers have come a long way since the 19th Century, when water was heated with a flame to produce steam. There are many different people who can lay claim to have ‘invented’ the boiler. For instance, in 1804 in the UK Benjamin Waddy Maughan invented the ‘Geyser’, a coal-fired, water-heating system that used a gas flame to heat water in a copper tank. The idea of a gas-fired boiler didn’t arrive until the 1860s thanks to Richard Baxendale, who founded the Baxi company.
Across the Atlantic, Americans George Babcock and Steven Wilcox were the first people to patent a boiler design, also in the 1860s. Their version consisted of tubes inside a firebrick-walled structure to create steam (effectively a water-tube boiler).
The Principal Types Today
There are three main types of boilers in use in the UK today – the heat-only, the combi and the system.
The Heat-Only – these are also known as conventional or regular boilers. They operate via a hot water cylinder in an airing cupboard and need a pump, a programmer and a room thermostat. This type of boiler provides heating directly to the radiators and uses the cylinder to provide hot water; it also needs a water tank (usually found in the loft).
The System – these also operate with a hot water cylinder, but do not need a tank in the loft, and some of the components that would normally be outside a heat-only boiler (pumps, valves etc) are integrated into the boiler itself.
The Combi – this type of boiler also has a programmer and a thermostat, but it only needs to control the heating, as it heats hot water on demand directly from the cold mains (via an integral heat exchanger) and so does not need a cylinder for storage.
Differences Between Domestic and Commercial Boilers
The principal difference between domestic and commercial boilers is size; the latter have to heat much larger spaces. Domestic appliances tend to deliver 10-40kW, while their commercial counterparts can vary from 30-150kW but are generally above 70kW. A kilowatt is equivalent to 1,000 watts; the figures quoted above show the maximum power the boiler is capable of producing each second.
Boiler Repairs in Camden and Across London from Speedy Jet Plumbers
Unfortunately, like any machinery, boilers can and do malfunction. The reasons can include problems with the thermostat, air in the system, the pilot light going out or low pressure. For a full breakdown of the commonest boiler problems, and how we can solve them, check out our previous blog post here.
At Speedy Jet Plumbers we can repair your boiler if you have no hot water or central heating or are experiencing any other boiler problems. The problem may be one of those outlined above, equally, it could be a failure of one of the mechanical components, a leak, or some excessive noise. Whatever it is, we should soon get to the bottom of it.
We work around the clock, seven days a week, and our engineers carry a large stock of parts with them (for all makes and brands) to help us carry out repairs quickly and efficiently. We have no call-out charges, whatever time of day it is.
In certain cases, we may recommend it’s more cost-effective to commission a new boiler. At Speedy Jet Plumbers we offer boiler replacement services in Pimlico, Soho, and across the capital.
If you have any questions about our boiler repair or replacement services, follow this link and fill in the online form, call us on 0203 633 2424 or email us at office@speedyjetplumbers.co.uk
