POWERFLUSHING central heating system

keystone

gasbag1602 wrote: »

You are talking through your rear mate! Central heating water should be cleaned appropriately(powerflush/clense) what ever it needs then chemicals added and topped up every 3 years! Draining a system every 12months is daft! It only adds fresh water containg oxygen and other impurities that will just rot youyr system from inside out! Its nice that you have taken time to give advice but try getting it right or you could cause someone a lot of trouble!

Ha Ha - he's prolly not listening right though you may be - he posted that in August 2005!

Cheers

inmypocketnottheirs

Powerflushing a microbore instal is asking for trouble.

heating-eng

IJJoseph wrote: »

Oh dear. I guess no corrosion inhibitor was added and the system hasn't been serviced since it was installed. You really need to have the system drained down once a year and then refilled adding corrosion inhibitor. Especially with boilers that have an aluminium heat exchanger like the Worcester Bosch. I'd also get the boiler serviced once every two years at least.

Sounds like you'll have to bite the bullet and get it done unless you are prepared to drain down the system. Take each radiator off and flush it clean. Fill the system up, add Fernox Restorer or a similar sludge remover, run the heating for a week and then drain the whole system down again. Refill it and add corrosion inhibitor. Even then you may find that you don't clear the whole system.

The cost of a powerflush can be anywhere from 180 to 600 depending on who you call and where you are in the country. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours but if the system is as bad as your saying then it could take longer. Also if your system is microbore :mad: then there's no gaurantee it'll clear. You may end up replacing the pipework :eek:

You really need to have the system drained down once a year and then refilled

please do not liston to this ..this person doesnt know what they are talking about ..
i would say your system does need flushing and an inhibitor added once complete but never ever drain your heating unless you need to as all you do is when you fill it back up is put air in which bin turn will help to corrode the heating ...a magnaclean filter is a good idea this will catch all the sludge (once flushed of cause)and you can the use it to add inhiditor every couple of years of so . .

keystone

heating-eng wrote: »

You really need to have the system drained down once a year and then refilled

please do not liston to this ..this person doesnt know what they are talking about ..
i would say your system does need flushing and an inhibitor added once complete but never ever drain your heating unless you need to as all you do is when you fill it back up is put air in which bin turn will help to corrode the heating ...a magnaclean filter is a good idea this will catch all the sludge (once flushed of cause)and you can the use it to add inhiditor every couple of years of so ..

LoL - He still posted in in August 2005 and was roundly slapped for his pains then!

Cheers

zooks

Thread hijack (its old so hopefully nobody will mind)

Our noisy chuffing boiler is "kettling" ??? due to a blocked heat exchanger according to the BG man and its not covered by our homecare agreement.

BG have quoted me £851 to powerflush the system, fit some magic magnet cleaner thingy and replace the air separator. Apparantly they will replace the heat exchanger foc if this doesnt work.

Does this seem an excessive price or is it worth it for the heat exchanger guarantee?.

Our rads are hot all over and the heating works fine, its just the boiler noise thats the problem. Im reasonable confident I can flush the system and add an inhibiter myself but changing the heat exchanger is probably beyond me.

Thanks

sph1971sph

Fernox do a product that might be worth a shot first, can be easily added via the filling loop (assumming a combi?)

http://www.fernox.com/?cccpage=sc_boiler_noise_silencer&sub=3

(Might need two shots if over ten rads on system)

I've just bought the leak sealer myself from tradeplumbing.co.uk, they stock this stuff too

http://www.tradeplumbing.co.uk/Fernox-Super-concentrate-Boiler-Noise-Silencer_p_5207.html

Disclaimer : I'm not a plumber and don't work for either organisation mentioned in posting!

zooks

Its not a combi and its fed from a tank in the roof space.

I should have added that this noise only really started a xmas and has got worse quite quickly. Not helped by running the heating 24/7 during the snows though.

Anyone know if its likely for the HE to go 1st with no other heating symptoms?

heating-eng

zooks wrote: »

Thread hijack (its old so hopefully nobody will mind)

Our noisy chuffing boiler is "kettling" ??? due to a blocked heat exchanger according to the BG man and its not covered by our homecare agreement.

BG have quoted me £851 to powerflush the system, fit some magic magnet cleaner thingy and replace the air separator. Apparantly they will replace the heat exchanger foc if this doesnt work.

Does this seem an excessive price or is it worth it for the heat exchanger guarantee?.

Our rads are hot all over and the heating works fine, its just the boiler noise thats the problem. Im reasonable confident I can flush the system and add an inhibiter myself but changing the heat exchanger is probably beyond me.

Thanks

depending on the system a powerflush can be anywhere from £245
i would guess you could get the same job done for half the price else where .
i worked for BG for 20 years so i am up on how much they charge .
Hope this helps.
i would complain to BG tell them your rads are warm and you want a second opinion get them to change the heat excharger and if they still say it needs flushing getting a local guy to do it . .

plumb1_2

zooks wrote: »

Anyone know if its likely for the HE to go 1st with no other heating symptoms?

Yes, if you are in a hard water area and the system has been aerated with fresh water(pumping over cycle) The limescale will collect in the HE as that is the hottest part of the system. And will need de-scaling. Dont put silencer in the system as you are just masking the problem.

I would recomend the whole system is powerflushed after the HE is cleaned.
Also add a Magnaclean or simular product. regarding replacing the air seperator this can be cleaned with the powerflush as the feed and expansion should be linked up when flushing( but not all guys do this sadly) I have had the cut the AS a few times as they are blocked solid and flushing will not clear them.
This is why the header tank should be cleaned out also(sadly few do this) as its no good flushing then allowing all the crap in the tank to enter the system again.

My advice is dont take advice from anyone who says a Powerflush can be done in 2hrs. Do they do a PH test? or TDS test?, the answer is NO

Hope this helps and tell BG to boff off and get a local guy to clean your system, for 1/2 the price.

kataddey

I'm going to jump on this thread as it has become very relevant to me today! My heat exchanger is all blocked up so i've set about trying to clear it. I had a heating engineer in today and he tried for an hour and didn't get very far... suggested new HE or new boiler. So i've decided to have a go over the weekend before deciding on Monday what to do. Is there anything i can use to speed up the process of breaking down the crap blocking the holes? So far its been lots of poking and 'flossing' with pipe cleaners! Its a potterton prima if that matters....

thanks