every since we have had these cold snaps my heating has stopped working, the bolier is still on but the radiaters arent heating up, i have had a plumber come out to look at it the last time it happend, but he wouldnt tell me what the problem was and said it would cost £200 to fix, but a couple of days later the cold went and the heating came back on! and i want to know if there is anything i can do to stop this happening before i pay that much money out! thanks.

hailie, January 2010

This fellow is a cowboy trying to make a fast profit. It's almost certainly an ice blockage in the condensate drain pipe, if you have a condensing boiler. Many installations are done without catering for extreme cold like we've recently had. This pipe should be bigger diameter than the 22mm commonly fitted, and/ or lagged with UV-proof insulation. 99% aren't!
Just pour a kettle of boiling water over the pipe length to melt any ice blockage.

Colin, January 2010