Powerflush of combi boiler and Homeserve

babasu

Hi all,

First ever post so if I contravene any rules, apologies!

Our boiler has been playing up for ages, cutting out when we start using hot water. After forking out over £700 the week before Christmas to have it fixed (unsuccessfully), I bought contents insurance from the Cooperative which came with a maintenance package - Homeserve.

I called them last week to address the hot water related fault code and they raised a job with Storm Heating. The engineer informed me we required a part, which he duly came back and fitted (think it was a heating exchange valve or similar). This did not solve the problem, but he fiddled about with something else and claimed that this had fixed it. He then said he would recommend we have a powerflush done, as there was a great deal of dirt in the boiler. I was told that this probably wouldn't be available on our insurance but was worth doing.

The problem recurred AN HOUR (!) after he left. I called the heating co on Monday am and was told to contact the insurers. After a lengthy saga, I managed to get them to put a recall job through to the heating co. The insurers were reluctant to do this at first because they said we needed the remedial work (the powerflush) doing. I explained patiently that that was merely a recommendation, and that the original problem had not been resolved. In the end they agreed and raised a job.

The heating co are now saying they won't come out until the powerflush has been done i.e. they want £400 plus VATs worth of work from us before resolving the original problem. I've had a look at some of the threads relating to powerflushing on this site, and get the impression that this is a standard response from heating engineers and that there's no guarantee that a powerflush will address the original problem.

Any suggestions? I'm caught between insurance co and heating co and they both seem to be colluding. I just want my boiler to work properly!!

Thanks

Rebecca

acbleeds

In our experience as a local small gas firm, we find that large companies (such as BG, Homeserve etc) seem to simply say a boiler needs a powerflush when they can't figure out what's wrong with it (ie pass the buck). When we are asked to visit by customers in this situation, in over 90% of cases (Yes.... 90%!!!!), we find that the problem has absolutely nothing to do with sludge build up and does not need a powerflush. They say this because they open a water section of the boiler and a little bit of black deposits come out. What they fail to mention is that they are usually opening a very 'static' section of the boiler or system, where there's bound to be a bit of build up because there's barely any flow of water there. This doesn't mean the system is dirty. My recommendation would be to get a local reputable gas engineer to call and take a look, and provide you with a quote for the powerflush at the same time (but he should be able to do that bit over the phone as is usually just dependant upon how many radiators there are). If it turns out no flush was needed, bas the gas engineers bill to Homserve to pay and 'vote with your feet' as the saying goes by leaving them and spreading the word about their cons. Some of the practises of these companies really annoy me, the way they get away with telling complete bull to customers just to sell them more.

powerflushplumber

You know that there is sludge in the system causing problems so why not remove it? I do a lot of power flushing and the simple rule is that the central heating system should be kept dirt and debris free at all times. The power flush association recon that up to 80% of problems relate to sludge in the system.
What happened? I think that when the boiler was turned on, after the new heat exchanger was installed, the sludge in the system was pumped into the new part blocking it up again (just like the old one). Till you clean out all the sludge from your whole central heating system, you will have re-occurring problems.

bambibashercol

Did the engineer do a water test on the system? If not how can he come to such a quick decision that it needs power flushing? Why not post the make and model of your boiler and we might be able to advise you further.
80 % of boiler problems are caused by sludge don't make me laugh. so a pcb, aps, fan , and a gas valve can be faulty by sludge? I just covered over half the major components of a boiler. Please tell me what qualification you need to join this association?

keystone

powerflushplumber wrote: »

You know that there is sludge in the system causing problems so why not remove it? I do a lot of power flushing and the simple rule is that the central heating system should be kept dirt and debris free at all times. The power flush association recon that up to 80% of problems relate to sludge in the system.
What happened? I think that when the boiler was turned on, after the new heat exchanger was installed, the sludge in the system was pumped into the new part blocking it up again (just like the old one). Till you clean out all the sludge from your whole central heating system, you will have re-occurring problems.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Its not going to work you know - registering lots of different names to plug this farcical club. Get a life or go somewhere else. We are really not that stupid.

Cheers

keystone

bambibashercol wrote: »

Please tell me what qualification you need to join this association?

Sir, Sir please Sir - I know. None just pay the fee please - its all BS.

Cheers

Gerry_McLaughlin

What a cynical attitude. I have been a Plumber for 32years. I have qualifications coming out my ears. Power flushing in many cases is absolutely necessary. Water plus metal equals corrosion. I can understand the anger towards the likes of British Gas, Homeserve etc. They force their customers to pay more than double for this service, and don't allow them to shop around, threatening to cancel their contract. The only way you can tell if a power flush is required, is to test the system water for corrosion using a test kit. Radiator temperatures and circulating temperatures should be recorded. Using this knowledge, a power flush is an option depending on the turgidity of the circulating water. If their is no inhibitor there is corrosion and this will negatively affect the operation of your system and definately cost you money whether it be the efficiency of the system or worse, breakdowns. I charge £245 for an average power flush including a free test, chemicals, my time and the expense of operating the equipment. Make sure you only get a gas safe rgistered engineer to carry out your work.

bambibashercol

British gas do no such thing, They offer a quote to do the work but they don't force people to have the work done, Boiler manufactures don't even state that a system has to be power flushed in there manufacturing instructions, It states the system should be cleaned with a chemical cleaner. The system the op stated is a combi, a sealed system and the biggest cause of sludge is oxygen, That is why open vented systems suffer this problem more. A system that is piped incorrectly or pumping over is going to cause problems. I agree that power flushing should be done on new installs, Just for a engineers own piece of mind but associations for power flushing and all the false information that's spouted, Oh and there's no need to get a rgi to do the job either as power flushing is nothing to do with gas. As a warning power flushing can also cause leaks on old rad valves, microbore pipe and manifolds and doing conversions over to pressurised systems.

Cardew

powerflushplumber wrote: »

You know that there is sludge in the system causing problems so why not remove it? I do a lot of power flushing and the simple rule is that the central heating system should be kept dirt and debris free at all times. The power flush association recon that up to 80% of problems relate to sludge in the system.
What happened? I think that when the boiler was turned on, after the new heat exchanger was installed, the sludge in the system was pumped into the new part blocking it up again (just like the old one). Till you clean out all the sludge from your whole central heating system, you will have re-occurring problems.

Just spam for the association!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/647143

keystone

Gerry_McLaughlin wrote: »

What a cynical attitude.

P'raps you should read wots bin writ before making such a statement. The argument is not about powerflushing per se its about a mickey mouse outfit calling itself the Power Flush Association. Take a boo at their ludicrous website and you'll see what I mean. The site is getting a lot of spam plugging it recently.

I have been a Plumber for 32years. I have qualifications coming out my ears.

Good for you.

Make sure you only get a gas safe rgistered engineer to carry out your work.

Eh? You mean in relation to powerflushing? In that case you are, of course, having a laugh n'est pas?

Cheers

Gerry_McLaughlin

As a registered gas installer it is my duty to report to the Health and Safety Executive anyone interfering with the safe operation of a gas appliance. Efficiency is increasingly becoming prevalent in all markets these days, and the Plumbing and Heating companies are at the forefront. We are obliged to install, repair and service appliances to achieve efficient and safe operation. We are systematically rooting out the installers with the "that'll do" attitude and this means more qualifications, more examinations and inevitably more expense for the installer. This expense must be passed on to the customer. If you get an unregistered person to carry out any work, be it fitting a boiler or power flushing a system you are asking for trouble. ~~~~You wouldn't get your GP to carry out heart surgery, or would you?