stopcock switched off on F&E tank for 18 months

akrot1

what knock on effects should I expect and how will this affect my system?

It was turned off but mistakenly not switched back on by a certain company and I am looking to get compensation from them.

Already we ran out of hot water which is what triggered us to realise what had happened but what else could happen in the future / is my system permanently messed up?

There now appears to be a blockage in the system and the boiler isn't working as a result for which my plumber has said we need powerflush - does this seem right as the company are trying to say this is not their fault.

Your help and comments please!

new_owner

you might just have an air lock. have you tried bleeding the system?

18 months sounds like a long time not to notice...how did it not become apparent before?

Crinkmeister

new_owner wrote: »

you might just have an air lock. have you tried bleeding the system?

18 months sounds like a long time not to notice...how did it not become apparent before?

It's an F&E tank. You wouldn't know it was not maintaining its water level until you experienced an air lock and/or the boiler cut out.

Cyberman60

As the previous poster says it's probably an air lock in the hot water system, so may well need bleeding, but simply running the 'hot' taps for a while should draw out most of the air.

I would think it very unlikely that there is an issue with the heating system as the expansion tank is what it says, so would not lose much water at all.

27col

You should think yourself lucky. I've worked in loads of houses where there was no stopcock for any appliance or fitting in the whole house.

akrot1

thank you all for your responses. In terms of not noticing it, after about 17 months hot water started to only work intermittently. Plumber came round and has already bled the radiators amongst fixing a new stopcock and getting it going again.
Couple of weeks later, he then serviced the boiler and 2 days later boiler's not working and he is saying it needs a powerflush.

I can bleed the radiators again and try turning the boiler back on but i'd be surprised if that works given plumber thinks there is sludge in the system and it needs a powerflush....

That's first question, second is whether there is any other damage done to the system as a result of the stopcock being off for 18 months-will my system have a reduced lifetime now as a result as an example?

Crinkmeister

How old is your system, was inhibitor added when last filled and has it ever been flushed out?

akrot1

system is probably 10-15 years old, difficult to say as we moved in about 5 years ago. I think inhibitor has previously been added but i couldn't say when or if its been flushed out i'm afraid.

Crinkmeister

Then you could well have a sludged up system, in which case a proper power flush could help (although it is expensive) or you might get away with just dosing up with something like Sentinel X400 and flushing through yourself. Usual problem is that the sludge (iron oxide) gets stuck in the rads and a gentle flush may not shift it.

akrot1

Thanks Crinkmeister.

Looks like I'll have to go with the powerflush (£500 is what i'm being quoted in london) and then I'll go to the ombudsman to try to seek compensation from British Gas who turned the stopcock off in the first place but arerefusinbg to takeresponsibilty this time roubnd.

Thanks all

Crinkmeister

Be aware that they might argue that the system was sludged up due to lack of maintenance/no inhibitor, hence not their fault. Good luck!