Sludge in radiators if bleeds clear?

Lysimache

If radiators consistently have clear, clean water when you bleed it, can it be crippled by lots of sludge somewhere? Or is that highly unlikely as you'd expect the water to be manky and not clear when you bleed it?

Just considering whether or not to believe the British Gas man re their beloved powerflushes and the need for it...

Head_The_Ball

Lysimache wrote: »

If radiators consistently have clear, clean water when you bleed it, can it be crippled by lots of sludge somewhere? Or is that highly unlikely as you'd expect the water to be manky and not clear when you bleed it?

Just considering whether or not to believe the British Gas man re their beloved powerflushes and the need for it...

Yes.

Bleeding clear water from the top means little or nothing as sludge will usually settle at the bottom of the radiator.

Are the radiators hot at the top and middle and cold at the bottom? That would suggest a build up of sludge.

Don't take British Gas's word that you need a powerflush and don't accept their quote which will probably be twice or three times what a good independent will charge.

Get a few other firms in to assess the problem. There may be easier and cheaper solutions than a powerflush.

Is the problem with one or two radiators or with all or most of them?

If it is just one or two, you could remove them and flush them out with a garden hose. An easy DIY job for someone with basic skills.

PS: You also need to find the cause of the problem. Is there an inhibitor in the system?

UncleZen

My rads were bled after 25 years. The water that came out was gin clear, they were bled from the lowest point on the property. There was no sludge or discolouration. They are hot all over with no cold spots.
The heating engineer says this is not uncommon, and a powerflush wasnt needed. There is a common misconception that powerfushes are always needed, the view is that as long as the heating engineer deems the system to be clean then a powerflsuh is not needed.

Grenage

But that's not bleeding, that's draining; big difference in terms of checking water for sediment.

plumberpaig

Water can be clear but your radiators could still have cold spots which means you have sludge.

A very good video on how to take a radiator off the wall (without draining the whole system), cleaning it out with a garden hose, and putting it back again.

youtube. com /watch?v=Ru-nNFqBzqk