System Flush v Power Flush Heating System

Stuart_Dunne

I have been quoted £1800 + Vat to replace my old back boiler and add a towel rail to my bathroom that doesn’t have heating at present.

This is in an old traditional first floor granite tenement building. So I need scaffolding and the wall cored. I am intending putting in a Alpha cd25c combi boiler (4 year guarantee), programmer and room thermostat, along with a towel rail 600 *1200mm. I will also be fitting a magnetic filter and new trvs to the existing radiators.

The quote includes a SYSTEM FLUSH not a POWER FLUSH. What is the difference between the two? The old back boiler has been in for 30 years so the system could be dirty!?

Can anyone offer advice?

Should I change the TRV's or is this not necessary?

Should I system flush or power flush?

Thanks

Canucklehead

Stuart_Dunne wrote: »

I have been quoted £1800 + Vat to replace my old back boiler and add a towel rail to my bathroom that doesn’t have heating at present.

This is in an old traditional first floor granite tenement building. So I need scaffolding and the wall cored. I am intending putting in a Alpha cd25c combi boiler (4 year guarantee), programmer and room thermostat, along with a towel rail 600 *1200mm. I will also be fitting a magnetic filter and new trvs to the existing radiators.

The quote includes a SYSTEM FLUSH not a POWER FLUSH. What is the difference between the two? The old back boiler has been in for 30 years so the system could be dirty!?

Can anyone offer advice?

Should I change the TRV's or is this not necessary?

Should I system flush or power flush?

Thanks

Good evening: a powerflush follows this procedure....definition of a system flush can vary (ask your RGI). Your CH system will probably be filthy. TRVs...depends on their condition. More advice here
A magnetic filter is an advisable option eg. Boiler Buddy, Magnabooster....

HTH

Canucklehead

gas4you

Systems that have had a back boiler fitted, especially for many years like yours, tend to be the dirtiest systems and need a very thorough clean.

DataMiner

Stuart_Dunne wrote: »

I have been quoted £1800 + Vat to replace my old back boiler and add a towel rail to my bathroom that doesn’t have heating at present.

This is in an old traditional first floor granite tenement building. So I need scaffolding and the wall cored. I am intending putting in a Alpha cd25c combi boiler

Why would you want to replace a back boiler with a combi?

Should I system flush or power flush?

Power flushing is a plumbing con trick which all too many fall for, in domestic systems it is rarely if ever necessary. In over 40 years involvement with domestic heating I have never encountered a system where such a technique has been the correct solution. Yet it is sold to unsuspecting customers in their thousands.

DM

jblack_2

DataMiner wrote: »

Power flushing is a plumbing con trick which all too many fall for, in domestic systems it is rarely if ever necessary. In over 40 years involvement with domestic heating I have never encountered a system where such a technique has been the correct solution. Yet it is sold to unsuspecting customers in their thousands.

DM

What a load of rubbish :rotfl:. A power flush (if done correctly) is a cure to many problems and a prevention to many others. How do you suggest a 'sludged' system is cleaned properly and efficiently?

As an aside many boiler manufacturers list a power flush as part of the installation process, without it they wouldn't honor any warranty given.

I do however think a power flush is over priced.

J

iamcornholio

Powerflushes, do seem to be recommended more and more of late, and this presumably has nothing to do with them being a good earner?

For the price of some quotes, it is actually cheaper to take off all the radiators and fit new ones

gas4you

Power flushing CAN be very good, but usually with someone who knows what they are doing, a standard chemical flush followed by flushing with mains water can be just as effective.

The best power flush on a good day, will at best only get the system 80-85% clean, hence fitting a magnaclean or similar as well.

DataMiner

jblack wrote: »

What a load of rubbish :rotfl:. A power flush (if done correctly) is a cure to many problems and a prevention to many others. How do you suggest a 'sludged' system is cleaned properly and efficiently?
As an aside many boiler manufacturers list a power flush as part of the installation process, without it they wouldn't honor any warranty given.J

I'd confidently speculate that 99 out of 100 power flushes performed week in week out are not only wholly unnecessary but are more likely to be detrimental to a system than anything else. If sludge is accumulating in a system, this will always be symptomatic of a another problem which needs sorting. Sludge is never the problem, sludge is because of the problem. A power flush might fix the sludge, it will certainly not fix the problem. (But at several hundred quid per visit, why should the engineer worry?) But customers need to be aware of the Power-flush rip-off.

A whole industry has developed, and is further stoked by commercial interests, preaching the myth that wet central heating systems get dirty, sludged-up and require frequent attention to maintain peak efficiency. This is simply not true. A well designed and correctly fitted open vent heating system can be filled with fresh water, without any additives or inhibitors and perform perfectly for many years.

With regard to manufacturer's guarantees depending upon a power-flush. They are obviously reluctant to face claims where system debris is to blame for a malfunction. If they specify a system should be thoroughly cleaned prior to installation this could be open to interpretation. Specifying a power flush, although still dependant on the skill of the operator, gives them a better chance of a clean environment for their equipment. If I were a manufacturer I'd probably do the same. This doesn't mean it is necessary for the system operation, but a precaution to help the boiler or equipment to avoid problems arising from a disturbed drain down & re-fill.

DM

DataMiner

iamcornholio wrote: »

Powerflushes, do seem to be recommended more and more of late, and this presumably has nothing to do with them being a good earner?

For the price of some quotes, it is actually cheaper to take off all the radiators and fit new ones

EVERYTHING to do with them being a good earner!

DM

karl-123

after retiring from a training centre with 25 years site experience

i fully agree with dataminer powerflushing is a con i have drained thousands of heating systems i drained 850 tank fed systems for the local council apart from a few cupfulls of sludge ( big deal ) the rest was clean water,i took mexicos out with 5 gallon black tank and put
classics with sealed system pods back :mad:
a waste of time and money the plonker at the council who recomended
it was nuts and i told him,he was going backwards,:(
in the 1960`s the church my father and grandfather married at was bulldozed by the council its now a cheap cafe,tea 50p hotcakes £1:o
personally i flush out new systems cold then hot and add
fernox inhibitor to reduce heat exchanger scale which costs money (£)
i have not got a combi in my bungalow, its a tank fed ideal standard classic, with a 15-60 grundfoss pump, a 3 port honeywell divertor valve,honeywell roomstat and a horstman 425 tiara clock,all wired into a ten way...wiring centre ( a white plastic box with ten screw conectors in it ) commonly referred to as chocolate blocks,
someone on here will probably tell you different after 25 years on site all over the uk and abroad, and working in the training centre teaching,
someone from the college with a wierd energy efficiency certificate who would not last five minutes on a proper job,will have something to say............whatever lol tatty bye.......karl,:A