To powerflush or not to powerflush?

shays_mum

I would really appreciate some help....my mum had a new boiler replaced nearly 2 years ago (potterton), its had one problem after another . However, today was the worse, after numerous replacements, diverter values etc & her without heat/water since last friday - baring in mind she's old/disabled, we have been told the system needs to be powerflushed.
We were quoted £250 off the books by a reputable big company guy. Both my folks are retired on a v.limited income & really can't afford it . However, they did take out boiler insurance from powergen, apparantly they don't cover blockages, as was the case here.
In this instance the engineer did what he could, he showed us the gunk where the solder had not been taken out of the boiler system, but we were told today was just a short term solution unless the system is flushed.
I really don't know what to do next....
Any help is much appreciated, thanks in advance

Skiduck

don't bother with a powerflush at first.
Get a litre of Ferroquest by Betzdearborn (sentinel) from a plumbers merchant for about 20 quid
flush through the system by leaving the heating on etc, if that doesn't work, then a powerflush may help.

Powerflushes are expensive because you are paying a corgi engineer to sit there all day waiting, you are not actually paying for a lot of chemicals of equipment - a powerflush kit is only 400 quid.

My advice, use the ferroquest then if that sorts it, put some inhibitor in to keep the system smelling fresh and lovely ;-)

shays_mum

skiduck thanks for the reply, ok on laymans terms, how does one exactly flush the system? as the water is drawn from the mains, do we inject this stuff into the radiators or something?... sorry we are complete novices!
Thanks!

silvercar

shays_mum wrote:

skiduck thanks for the reply, ok on laymans terms, how does one exactly flush the system? as the water is drawn from the mains, do we inject this stuff into the radiators or something?... sorry we are complete novices!
Thanks!

You just put the liquid in the tank, the pump takes care of circulating it round the system. We have just had it added to our system. I was told the fact that the radiators get hotter at the top than the bottom is a sign that the system is full of gunk and a power flush would help. (If the radiators are hotter at the bottom than the top its a sign that they need a bleed.)

Skiduck

shays_mum wrote:

skiduck thanks for the reply, ok on laymans terms, how does one exactly flush the system? as the water is drawn from the mains, do we inject this stuff into the radiators or something?... sorry we are complete novices!
Thanks!

yep, you can get a tube to inject this stuff into the radiators amounst other places, then just run the system to get the fluid flowing. Even if you are a bit sceptical, it's worth a try for 20 quid rather than a powerflush, which you are merely paying for an engineers time rather than what it does and the euipment used.

Alan_M_2

Whilst there is some substance in this reply, a powerflush is substantially more effective than a simple cleaning chemical. It creates a far higher rate of flow then simply putting the chemical in and as the name suggests, actually flushes the system out almost completely.

£250 isn't unreasonable especially considering British Gas charge around the £600 mark for the exact same process, you'd save the money in boiler repairs alone I'd say.

Skiduck

Alan_M wrote:

Whilst there is some substance in this reply, a powerflush is substantially more effective than a simple cleaning chemical. It creates a far higher rate of flow then simply putting the chemical in and as the name suggests, actually flushes the system out almost completely.

£250 isn't unreasonable especially considering British Gas charge around the £600 mark for the exact same process, you'd save the money in boiler repairs alone I'd say.

a powerflush will do more than putting a cleanser or sludge remover in, yes, but little more than that. Ferroquest is significantly better and negates a powerflush.
I am in the business and honestly, a powerflush is not what it seems.

alanobrien

Powerflushing is frankly a modern nonsense and can be a way for the less honest to make money. Simply put its a means of pumping chemicals around the system. The chemicals break down the contaminents in the system and to some extent clean it.

This has the effect of increasing the efficiency in a previously contaminated system as both flow rates and heat transfer are improved.

As already stated you can use additives and your existing system (i.e. boiler and pump) to do virtually the same thing. In fact if you were to do it more than once it may even be better than a powerflush.

Better still you could remove each rad and flush it in the garden even i can do that now thames water have lifted the hose pipe ban

I know which i would do then again i am a born again moneysaver

Alan_M_2

I'm also in the business and Im reasonably impressed with the results that a powerflush produces, but the £800 to £1000 pieces of equipment, not the cheapies.

Skiduck

All I will say is, you can certainly charge more for being in someones house for 8 hours than topping up their system with a litre of chemical and leaving, telling them to run the system for a while.

Alan_M_2

alanobrien wrote:

Powerflushing is frankly a modern nonsense and can be a way for the less honest to make money. Simply put its a means of pumping chemicals around the system. The chemicals break down the contaminents in the system and to some extent clean it.

This has the effect of increasing the efficiency in a previously contaminated system as both flow rates and heat transfer are improved.

As already stated you can use additives and your existing system (i.e. boiler and pump) to do virtually the same thing. In fact if you were to do it more than once it may even be better than a powerflush.

Better still you could remove each rad and flush it in the garden even i can do that now thames water have lifted the hose pipe ban

I know which i would do then again i am a born again moneysaver

To an extent I agree with this post as I do with other points of view about the system, maybe you should sugget the OP's old/disabled mother dismantle each radiator and flush herself.

In the circumstances I think £250 to fully flush the system and probably reduce any further boiler bills seems a sensible idea.

If it were for my parents I'd probably pay for it on their behalf if they were struggling.