Pinhole leak in radiator......powerflush or not?

stevenleith

So, fitted 4 new radiators last month. Tested for heating once for 30 minutes then switched heating off given not required this time of year.

Last friday as the weather turned I switched the system back on and heated for about 6 hours - all was fine. Yesterday I switched the system on again for an hour and then heard water leaking.

One of the (new) radiators had developed a tiny pinhole from which the water was leaking through a pretty fast stream. I stemmed the leak with a towel and let the system drain out and switched off the system cursing the brand new radiators.

Called BG Homecare who came today. We removed the radiator and capped off the system so I could get hot water back.

Diagnosis on the pinhole leak was corrison caused by sludge. When I tipped the (new) radiator there was a serious amount of black water and some sludge coming out so seems to make sense.

But 1) all the radiators are heating very quickly and very thoroughly (i.e. no cold patches) and 2) the radiators are brand new so cannot believe you could burn a pinhole in a radiator within 8 hours due to sludge - surely the radiator was corroded already? Impossible to tell really.

Now I have the dilemma of replacing the radiator with or without powerflush and magna filter. Whether or not the sludge has come from the system previously or from the new radiators being rusty - it appeared to be there from what i saw coming out of the radiator that has been taken off - so it may be wise to go for a powerflush. I have underfloor heating as well so the filter has got to be worth it.

Is it really necessary to go with powerflush do you think? I'm still not convinced the system is "sludged" up enough to warrant the cost but have no way of knowing really....

C_Mababejive

It may not be fully sludged up but there would appear to be a water quality issue.

What sort of boiler is fitted to your system? How old is it?

Has self cleaning flux been used when making joints in pipework recently ?

If the system isnt powerflushed then it would at least need cleaning by filling and draining several times then water treated.

The system also needs examination to check for obvious causes of the problem eg system design issues?

latecomer

No way the radiator could be corroded in one month - not a chance. Send it back to whereever it came from for a replacement.

definitely go for a Magnaclean though.

C_Mababejive

Self cleaning flux would see it off i a month

stevenleith

I have Vaillant EcoTec plus - a decent boiler i'm told. Whole system is only 3 years old.

guys that did the new pipe work to fit the new radiators almost certainly didnt do any self cleaning stuff - they weren't particularly good and were rushing when doing the radiators as part of a larger job.

other than that the boiler hasnt had an issue since new (3 years) and heating has worked perfectly since new. the only change has been the 4 new rads.

I just can't see how this "sludge" could erode a new radiator so quickly. But regardless, I am tempted to get a full flush given the new pipe work probably wasn't done right and has dirtied the system. The filter sounds like a no brainer as well so I have no issues with that.

Theres just no way to diagnose what caused the radiator to pinhole so quickly.......

keystone

stevenleith wrote: »

So, fitted 4 new radiators last month.

Who did? You or did you pay someone to do it? If the latter who purchased the radiators?

Cheers

Jonesya

Sounds like a load of bull - corroded through in under 1 month! Any evidence to suggest it's not a manufacturing defect?

Where is the pin hole located?

C_Mababejive

Given the details,I'd advise the OP to have a water quality test to confirm any issues,have it powerflushed ,magnacleaned and water treated.

If your lucky,there may be no permanent damage done to the boiler.

vaio

another vote for manufacturing defect, there is no way sludge would rot a rad that quickly but in any event it doesn't matter.

The plumbers either fitted a defective rad or they fitted a perfect rad and didn't do the required check & flush.

Either way it's down to them to fix it and if they persist with the corrosion theory I'd be asking about the expected life of the other new rads.

stevenleith

Hi both. I bought the radiators from an online store - i don't remember where... here i think bathroombuildersuk.co.uk

Had them delivered to my home and then had my builders/plumbers fit them - there was minimal pipe work required as they were the same size - just a few new bends and that was it. Whether they dirtied the system in doing that i don't know.

Pinhole is located at the bottom near the right side - on the upper curve of the bottom rail - see pic at

picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6xfk43zJZxM9KOykE39uRBNf14Reeii1oVfT30Lci9E?feat=directlink

(add http:// before the above - new user can't post links!)

Know if there is an accepted alternative to BG's ridiculous pricing?

stevenleith

vaio wrote: »

another vote for manufacturing defect, there is no way sludge would rot a rad that quickly but in any event it doesn't matter.

The plumbers either fitted a defective rad or they fitted a perfect rad and didn't do the required check & flush.

Either way it's down to them to fix it and if they persist with the corrosion theory I'd be asking about the expected life of the other new rads.

Agreed. Now worried about the other rad (the other 2 of the 4 were different makes so hopefully they will be ok) but they were £150 each radiators Hudson Reed Revive - not totally cheap jobs. I have been onto the manufacturer today and emailed them pics so will see what they are saying tomorrow.

What is the check and flush that needs doing after a new fit? I'm fairly sure they didn't do this. Is that different to a powerflush?

Given filter on its on will be a few hundred quid - probably makes sense to find a decent pricing firm to do filter and powerflush and be done with it? thinking about trying aspect maintenance - used them once before - any knowledge on decent "powerflushers"??!