Potential Problems with a Boiler’s Circulator Pumps

Boilers can heat homes in two ways: with the steam created from the hot water or with the hot water itself. Steam flows on its own through your system’s piping because it is under significant pressure, but hot water systems need a little help pushing the hot water through the piping; this is where circulator pumps come in. As you can probably imagine, problems with a circulator pump or pumps means that the hot water needed to heat your home; should this happen, you’ll need to call for heating repair in Pittsburgh, and you’ll want to call professionals you can count on. Boehmer Heating & Cooling has been helping customers in the Pittsburgh area with heating since 1933, and we bring this experience to every job we do, so call us today!

Types of Circulator Pump Problems

There are a few kinds of problems that can develop with circulator pumps, such as:

• Leaking – when leaks develop with a circulator pump, they typically develop at the joints where the pump meets the pipe into which it is soldered. The reason leaks are likely to occur here are that the pump has rubber phalanges that act as seals at these joints, but these seals can sometimes dry and crack, which causes leaking.

• Electrical issues – circulator pumps need a small amount of electricity to turn the wheel inside the pump, known as an impeller. A relay switch is responsible for delivering this electricity, and if the switch becomes faulty, the electricity won’t be delivered as needed.

• Broken impeller – as mentioned above, the small wheel inside the pump is the impeller, and its job is to push the water forward. Impellers look like miniature water wheels, complete with small blades that help push the water forward. Impellers can crack, which hamper their ability to push the water forward as needed, and the result is usually low heat.

Circulator pumps are critical to the proper operation of your heating system, and as such, should only be repaired by a trained professional. If you are in need of heating repair in Pittsburgh, call Boehmer Heating & Cooling today and schedule an appointment.