powerflush

thechippy

jessielicious wrote: »

How do you know if you need a Powerflush?

We have just had a new boiler installed (last thursday). Unfortunately the company have turned out to be cowboys and we've had multiple problems. Heating is fine but we now can't get the hot water to stay hot, it keeps going hot cold hot cold.

The cowboys say that dirt/scale from the radiators has got into the heat exchanger, causing this problem. They are going to clean the heat exchanger but if it doesn't work or the problem comes back they say we will need a Powerflush. But surely if there was lots of gunk in the system I would have trouble with the heating, or there would be cold places on some of the radiators? No probs at all with rads, only this thing with the hot water, which started as soon as the new boiler went in. Could this be true or are they taking me for a ride? Our house is 12 years old so that's how long the rads have been working. Any advice?

They should have powerflushed the system as a matter of course before installing the new boiler! Cowboys - yeeee haaaaaa.......:mad:

plumberian

Hello PMA

I consider that to be pretty sharp practice. And as far as I know, there is only one company offerring franchises and I'm pretty sure that the owner would be furious if he knew about it. He has a 'brand' to protect.

If you;re worried, give him a call. Otherwise, like eliteheat said, let him whistle for his money. £350 is very cheap, but a quote is a quote, not an estimate.

Jessielicious, I can't agree with chippy here. They may be cowboys, but the boiler manufacturers can only strongly recommend ( not insist ) that a powerflush is done because there is not yet a British Standard for it.

You can have good heat in the rads, and still get problems in the boiler. Can I suggest you find someone other than the cowboys to do it. Google for powerflushing and look for a firm that has good feedback from customers.

Good luck and best wishes, Ian Pritchard

Canucklehead

plumberian wrote: »

They may be cowboys, but the boiler manufacturers can only strongly recommend ( not insist ) that a powerflush is done because there is not yet a British standard

Good morning: Not a British Standard specifically for power flushing but BS 7593:2006 ( aka 'Code of practice for treatment of water in domestic hot water
central heating systems') does include a section on power flushing, though I doubt a cowboy would be familiar with British Standards, just with BS.:D

Canucklehead

jessielicious

Further to my last post, the hot cold hot cold thing is only happening with the bath tap, all other hot taps are fine, so this doesn't sound to me like it could be the heat exchanger, although I know nothing about plumbing so maybe someone experienced could shed some light?

TallGee

Hi guys

Hope someone can help.

Had few quotes for new boiler to replace very old one (about 25years old). Couple of quotes say to power flush system and another one didnt. When I questioned this he did say he would chemically clean it but not PF, as not always reqd. I'm guessing the real test is when drained to replace boiler see condition of water drained?. Hope he's just being honest rather than trying to cut corners?.

TeamQuest

We have British Gas Homecare 300 but have just been told that they will not fix anything else until we have a Powerflush at the cost of £579 - £680 with magnaclean. Its really fustrating that we pay all this money for a contract and the job they want to do has a massive charge. I saw the thread and e-mailed Ian pritchard - Plumberien. What a helpful man. He explained it all to me and responded really quickly. He has even given me a contact in my local area. Cant get better service than that. :A:D

Marie - TeamQuest

TeamQuest

try asking Plumberien - Ian Pritchard

junpit

Hi

I need some advice. I have a halstead best 60 which consistently overheats (overheat light) and then cuts out. The ignition lockout is lit. It probably happens once a week and I have to switch it off and reset the ignition lockout.

Anyway the boiler suffers from kettling quite badly but all the radiators and water are very hot. Do I need a powerflush or should I try something else?

Its about 10 years old.

Thanks

Darren

Tarquin_Pflush

Hi junpit

It sounds like you have 2 symptoms which are pointing towards maybe needing a powerflush;

i) boiler overheating which could be a circulation problem
ii) ketting noise which sounds like debris on heat exchanger

I would normally say your system sounds like it would benefit from a thorough clean. Powerflushing cannot guarantee to stop the kettling noise although more often than not it does.

A simple test you can do is whack a down stairs radiator at the bottom and then bleed the radiator to see if water is discoloured (brown/black). If dirty you definately need a powerflush, if clean you probably need a powerflush.

All best

Tarquin Pflush

MrsWenger

Hi Guys, i would welcome your opinions on a situation i have at present. We had a problem with our propane gas heating which was diagnosed as a faulty pump by the guys who service our system (they are a local long established company and have looked after us for 5-6 years). This was duly replaced for £350. Whilst doing this job we were advised that a powerflush was required as the system was old and had sludge in it. The guy put in the initial mix and then told us to arrange for them to come back in a month to do the flush. They duly did this and, as a result, the overflow was pouring out water when the heating was turned on. Additionally the radiators were "popping" and not heating evenly. They advised that this was due to a bit of grit in the ball !!!! so came back and tinkered with it. They also bled the radiators. We have just returned from holiday and the same issues are occuring. We contacted the company owner today who says that the coil in the water tank must have failed and we need a new cylinder, £5-600. One of my main concerns is that they have tried to invoice us for £820 for the power flush - a six radiator system in a bungalow. We had also asked them to quote for a replacement oil system as the gas is expensive and we know the boiler is the original from the early 70's. The guy has said that the problem stems from the system being old even though we had no issues before the pump failed.

Sorry for the long post but i do feel that we are being overcharged and we were not advised of any pitfalls before of the powerflush. Any advise would be welcomed.

Many thanks,

Tracey