Boiler service and sludge

Gers

My elderly mother had her gas boiler serviced yesterday and now has no heating or hot water. The engineer said that as he serviced it a load of sludge came up and blocked 'things'.

Now she's been told that she needs a new diverter plate (?) and all seven radiators power-flushed at a cost of approx £900 plus VAT.

Is it possible for a boiler to work perfectly well since last years service and at the exact time the engineer does the service sludge stops it functioning?

I'm about 100 miles away and worried in case she's being taken for a ride or not.

Myser

Was it one of those large companies like British Gas that did the service? They are known for trying to sell Power Flushes at a high cost.

If the heating and hot water worked before the service, she needs to call the company back to rectify the problem.

If you are fairly competent with plumbing, you could try circulating Sentinel X800 in the system for a few days and then draining it fully and running cold water through a few times to flush the remnants and loosened sludge out.

tacpot12

A new diverted valve might be £150 + labour to fit it. a power flush should be £400'ish.

By diverter valve plate they might mean the valve diaphragm, which is a £10 part but with additional labour to take the valve apart to replace.

southcoastrgi

Boiler make & model ?
Sounds like complete BS to me

Gers

Many thanks for all the comments which have reassured me that she needs a second opinion.

No, not a large company but a small independent one in Glasgow which installed the boiler and has maintained it ever since.

I'm not at all competent at doing anything with anything mechanical or electrical. Not that it's any good reason but I'm female and in my 60s and get vertigo on anything higher than a two step ladder.

The boiler is a Viessmann and fairly new, about six years I think, and is serviced annually.

More investigation needed and meanwhile my 88year old Mum has no heating or hot water.

Thanks again.

Gers

tacpot12 wrote: »

A new diverted valve might be £150 + labour to fit it. a power flush should be £400'ish.

By diverter valve plate they might mean the valve diaphragm, which is a £10 part but with additional labour to take the valve apart to replace.

Info started as heat exchanger and has now become the diverter plate / valve.

tacpot12

Was the system power flushed when the new boiler was fitted? If not, that would explain the amount of sludge in the system, i.e. enough to damage a valve. But it does explain why the service loosened the sludge in the first place. I think a second opinion is the right step of only to get a second price to flush the system and get it working again.

Gers

tacpot12 wrote: »

Was the system power flushed when the new boiler was fitted? If not, that would explain the amount of sludge in the system, i.e. enough to damage a valve. But it does explain why the service loosened the sludge in the first place. I think a second opinion is the right step of only to get a second price to flush the system and get it working again.

Yes, everything was done as radiators had thermostat valves fitted.

I'm waiting for the engineers report to be emailed to me - seems he told my (very deaf) mother that her pipework was clear but that debris had come through.

Not sure if it's relevant... however the service was being done FOC as part of a five year FOC agreement following a very badly bodged installation in the first place. Boiler was installed, I reckon from 100 miles away, about seven years ago and had sustained problems from the start.

Mmmm - second opinion coming in today I hope.

Thanks again.

Gers

Mum's now had a second opinion from her previous heating engineer - he's confirmed she needs the flushing and is much happier.

Her records (kept meticulously) shows a hot flushing in 2014 but repeated problems because of poor water quality - Glasgow.

Price has come down about £100.00 and now includes VAT and, hopefully, the repair will go ahead on Friday. Second chap recommended a Magnaclean micro rod to make maintenance easier.

Thanks chaps!

southcoastrgi

There is no reason a service would cause sludge to enter the boiler, Vissmann use rubber hoses inside the boiler & I bet it's one or both of these that are full of crap, if they feel hard & crunchy then this is a good sign they need cleaning out, if the pipework & rads are clear I very much doubt it needs a powerflush, I'd be looking at cleaning these hoses out before I replaced anything & fitting a magnaclean is a very good idea

tacpot12

While there is nothing specific about serving a boiler that should cause sludge to be dislodged, we have to consider that this boiler is being serviced in August and the central heating may not have been switched on for three months or more. I suspect the engineer turned the heating system on and on this system, that is known to be problematical, it was this first-use that caused a build-up of sludge to start circulating. A magnetic filter, inhibitor and regular cleaning look to be the way forward.