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Possible gas boiler replacement
Comments
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BG engineers are pressure by management to sell powerflushes, whether needed or not, and get a bonus for every job they book.
Filters like a magnaclean are NOT an alternative for a powerflush or chemical flush.
BG tend to be around twice as expensive as a good local company, despite their deceptively "cheap" £79 fixed fee call out; very rarely will that £79 be the end of the bill. In those cases where that is all you pay, chances are that is was no more than getting rid of some air or replacing a fuse.0 -
You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Though often recommended by BG when not needed, there are instances where it is easily the best solution to the problem.Power flushing is nothing more than a money making ploy by the heating industry.
The size of the bore has nothing to do with needing cleaning.A small bore domestic heating system should never need such a thing.
Not cleaning the system adequately can seriously reduce the reliability and longevity of a new boiler.Other than when you're having a new boiler installed, if told your system NEEDS a power flush, politely decline and never use that heating engineer or firm again.
DM
It seems your advice is based on what you read on forums rather than on professional experience; the blind leading the blind.0 -
Would you expect me to also mention everything else that should be done according to the gsiur, building regs and manufacturer's instruction?...the principle that the system should be dosed from new with inhibitor. Something that I note Bengasman is silent on.
The installation manual clearly states that the boiler must be flushed and treated with inhibitor to British Standards, and should be serviced annually. What is the point of repeating that here?0 -
The installation manual clearly states that the boiler must be flushed and treated with inhibitor to British Standards, and should be serviced annually. What is the point of repeating that here?
What you say is right. But the issue is whether "annual servicing" provided with contract maintenance is addressing that issue. I have a strong suspicion it is not.
You ask "what is the point of repeating that here?" I would say a point might be user education on the issue. But then you are on the other side of the fence.0 -
You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Though often recommended by BG when not needed, there are instances where it is easily the best solution to the problem.
The size of the bore has nothing to do with needing cleaning.
Not cleaning the system adequately can seriously reduce the reliability and longevity of a new boiler.
It seems your advice is based on what you read on forums rather than on professional experience; the blind leading the blind.
I agree with all you say. :T
Can I add the following.
Sometimes a power flush is not only the best solution, it is occasionally the only solution.
A down side, it can though at times, after it's got rid of all the muck, show up pinhole leaks, better they are found at the time.
A small bore domestic heating system should never need such a thing.
I take small bore to include 8mm & 10mm systems, these are more prone to blockage than 15mm !
Other than when you're having a new boiler installed, if told your system NEEDS a power flush, politely decline and never use that heating engineer or firm again.
Think again, why does the system require a power flush when a new boiler is fitted ?
To remove the accumulated debris that has built up over the past, say, 10 - 20 years life of the previous boiler.
By your logic, if you have a boiler that is 10 - 20 years old, is still working as it should, the 10 - 20 years debris doesn't exist to cause problems !
In a perfect world, with systems correctly designed, fitted and maintained, with annual checks of the inhibitor concentration and inhibitor replaced at the manufacturers recommended time, there would be no need for power flushes.
It ain't a perfect world.
As with most of life, there is no ' one hat fits all' .
There will be systems flushed that didn't need it.
There will be systems that need it but don't get flushed.
That's life.
Saying that "the only time a system needs flushing is when changing a boiler " is both incorrect and misleading.
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My reason for thinking a replacement might be needed is that it is eleven years old and very basic.
My boiler's 20+ and doing ok
To be honest we might want to upgrade at some point anyway to become more 'energy efficient'
Only worth it if you can at least break even over 12 years or so... I can't so my "vintage" boiler is staying for now - no point being more efficient if the install costs me more than the savings on gas
Now free from the incompetence of vodafail0 -
Technically, 8/10 mm is microbore, though it can not be excluded that an amateur would call that small bore....I take small bore to include 8mm & 10mm systems, these are more prone to blockage than 15mm ...
Microbore, though not always impossible, often is problematic to powerflush.0 -
My system is approx 25+ years old, it was a backboiler open system, always filled with inhibitor ( checked and replenished every year if required ), when the boiler died, approx. 6 years ago I fitted a condensing boiler with the obvious change from an open to a sealed system.
Condensing does not affect open or sealed.
In fact, my plumber recommended the Glow worm Flexicom 30HX, which can be open or sealed, to replace my old non-condensing open vented boiler. As it turned out, the 30HX had pipes running upwards, whereas the sealed 30SX runs downwards. Due to height clearance in the lean-to boiler room, if I mount the 30HX lower, I would not have sufficient height for the condensate pipe to have a natural slope, which would then nessitate a condensate pump. So I do have a sealed 30SX condensing boiler, but not because I can't have an open vented one.I did some research, picked some brains looked at the TF1 and decided to fit a Spirotrap MB2.
Spirotap is very good, especially the automatic air release.
The only problem is, they don't seem to want to sell any.
Even their named dealers don't stock them. It's alwasy a special order.0 -
Our Glowworm boiler is over 20 years old, working perfectly and never needed a repair of any kind. We have never had a power flush in the boiler's lifetime. I'm sure there are instances when a power flush is really needed but my suspicion is that there are probably many more instances when a power flush is not needed. It's such a shame that the plumbing trade seems to be so distrusted by the public but I can see why.0
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