Central heating clogging up
Discussion
roofer said:
This is what i did to ours. The amount of crap that came out was unbelievable ! Also did all the pipework too, which was a pita, but worth the effort .
Did a job recently where we couldn't powerflush, so took the rads off instead.One rad took nearly an hour of flushing before it ran clear. It was like used engine oil coming out!
Why don't you take the rads off as suggested and flush them out with hose? It's very cheap and very easy to do. You could get the plumber to do this if you aren't willing, he could also then fit a magnaclean for good measure.
Personally I think this approach is much more effective than a power flush. It's also certainly going to be more effective than going around bashing the hell out of the rads and hoping to dislodge the crud!
Personally I think this approach is much more effective than a power flush. It's also certainly going to be more effective than going around bashing the hell out of the rads and hoping to dislodge the crud!
Simpo Two said:
Thanks for the ideas; I'm certainly not going to hire a power flusher and do it myself!
Replacing the boiler isn't going to get the crud out of the system.
So we have:
Plan A - magnetic filter and bash the rads
Plan B - powerflush
Powerflush seems to have a slightly dodgy reputation as it can be used as a panacea to make money.
I agree with others here that Plan A is unlikely to make much difference and it would def. be a waste of £500 if that's what you'll be charged.Replacing the boiler isn't going to get the crud out of the system.
So we have:
Plan A - magnetic filter and bash the rads
Plan B - powerflush
Powerflush seems to have a slightly dodgy reputation as it can be used as a panacea to make money.
Plan B sounds like a lot of work, but I'd say it would be the course of action most likely to yield results.
I've heard different stories about powerflushing, some good some bad.
Simpo Two said:
More relevant, the fellow who came round said it could create leaks in an old low presure system - which makes sense to me - hence he proposed the filter approach. If he was after a quick buck he'd have gone for the powerflush, no?
I think he was on to a quick buck charging £500 to fit a filter and bash your rads with a hammer. Depends how much he was going to charge for a power flush of course.You have PM.
ColinM50 said:
Here's a guide to what's involved and how to do it...
https://www.sentinelprotects.com/uk/support/guides...
Interesting info which says -https://www.sentinelprotects.com/uk/support/guides...
UK Building Regulations
...the Compliance Guide to Part L of the UK Building Regulations for England and Wales requires a central heating system to be cleaned and flushed before a corrosion and scale inhibitor chemical is added during commissioning. ... Many boiler manufacturers now make the warranty dependent on flushing and cleaning in accordance with BS7593, Benchmark and Part L.
Does this mean that a diy approach will not conform to building regs and a boiler warrany will be void?
Simpo Two said:
^^^ This seemed rather drastic but I'll ask them what they think. The rads seem to get hot as quickly as they ever did though, so could they be badly clagged up?
They are the main source of the corrosion though. If you're handy with spanners and confident with basic plumbing, it's simple, just labour intensive.Ideally needs two people to help remove bigger rads, they still hold a fair bit of water when drained, that water will be black and it will go all over your carpets if you attempt it alone. I learnt this important lesson as an apprentice!
Rickyy said:
Simpo Two said:
^^^ This seemed rather drastic but I'll ask them what they think. The rads seem to get hot as quickly as they ever did though, so could they be badly clagged up?
They are the main source of the corrosion though. If you're handy with spanners and confident with basic plumbing, it's simple, just labour intensive.Ideally needs two people to help remove bigger rads, they still hold a fair bit of water when drained, that water will be black and it will go all over your carpets if you attempt it alone. I learnt this important lesson as an apprentice!
ColinM50 said:
Here's a guide to what's involved and how to do it. Seems quite a lot to it tbh, but not £500 worth. Had a quote from British Gas a couple of years ago for £600 and they saiod it'd be doen in a day, so a plumber and an apprentice, £600 a day. Wish I could get that
I read they routinely quote £750 and that's exactly what they quoted an elderly neighbour after problems with the hot water on his combi.However, to my amazement, when the guys turned up to do it they said it didn't need doing, and just fitted the filter and only charged for that.
Rickyy said:
They are the main source of the corrosion though. If you're handy with spanners and confident with basic plumbing, it's simple, just labour intensive.
Ideally needs two people to help remove bigger rads, they still hold a fair bit of water when drained, that water will be black and it will go all over your carpets if you attempt it alone. I learnt this important lesson as an apprentice!
I needed to drain a small one in my kitchen recently and got a drain kit - it was a long plastic sock with a clip that went over the valve. Worked very well, although I think it would need emptying twice with a very large radiator. It came with two balloons to go over the radiator tails which I thought was a neat trick!Ideally needs two people to help remove bigger rads, they still hold a fair bit of water when drained, that water will be black and it will go all over your carpets if you attempt it alone. I learnt this important lesson as an apprentice!
Your two options are in essence the same thing.
One is a magnacleanse the other is a power flush. Both options they should be fitting a magnetic filter as well for future protection.
A magnacleanse uses the pump in your system and isn't great at clearing anything if there are any badly clogged areas, but as the kit is cheaper to buy than a powerflush, they are the thing most plumbers seem to be selling. A powerflush has its own built in pump and it can move about 10 times the amount of water and goes back and forth to clear any blockages.
There is no reason why you couldn't have a powerflush with a magnacleanse added onto it.
£500 for a magnacleanse is a bit steep, that's the rice you would expect to pay for a powerflush.
One is a magnacleanse the other is a power flush. Both options they should be fitting a magnetic filter as well for future protection.
A magnacleanse uses the pump in your system and isn't great at clearing anything if there are any badly clogged areas, but as the kit is cheaper to buy than a powerflush, they are the thing most plumbers seem to be selling. A powerflush has its own built in pump and it can move about 10 times the amount of water and goes back and forth to clear any blockages.
There is no reason why you couldn't have a powerflush with a magnacleanse added onto it.
£500 for a magnacleanse is a bit steep, that's the rice you would expect to pay for a powerflush.
Andehh said:
Might be worth investing in a boiler & central Heating care plan? You know, for future problems involving the system getting gunked up & not working as it should.... 
They don't cover that. Indeed it's a constand criticism of these plans that they'll repair the system once but say they won't do it again until it's been power-flushed. The guys are on commission to sell it.Sheepshanks said:
Andehh said:
Might be worth investing in a boiler & central Heating care plan? You know, for future problems involving the system getting gunked up & not working as it should....
They don't cover that. Indeed it's a constand criticism of these plans that they'll repair the system once but say they won't do it again until it's been power-flushed. The guys are on commission to sell it.
[quote=Simpo Two]stuff
So we have:
Plan A - magnetic filter and bash the rads
If it was me i would look at this cleaning system as it uses the same the connections as magnetic filter but has been designed for flushing rather than maintenance of the system
http://www.adey.com/installers/filters/magnacleans...
Rob
So we have:
Plan A - magnetic filter and bash the rads
If it was me i would look at this cleaning system as it uses the same the connections as magnetic filter but has been designed for flushing rather than maintenance of the system
http://www.adey.com/installers/filters/magnacleans...
Rob
robwilk said:
Simpo Two said:
stuff
So we have:
Plan A - magnetic filter and bash the rads
If it was me i would look at this cleaning system as it uses the same the connections as magnetic filter but has been designed for flushing rather than maintenance of the system
http://www.adey.com/installers/filters/magnacleans...
Rob
That's what we had done when fitting a new boiler. Despite the system having been drained a year or so previously as we had fitted TRVs all round, it was amazing the amount of crap which came out. The unit has clear pipes on inlet and exit, it was quite interesting to watch as the water was black going in and clear going out, then the heating installer would vibrate another radiator, as in give it a right old clobbering with a rubber hammer, the inlet water would go black again. Run the system till it got clear, another clobbering, and so on. Then move to next radiator. Took them best part of a day.So we have:
Plan A - magnetic filter and bash the rads
If it was me i would look at this cleaning system as it uses the same the connections as magnetic filter but has been designed for flushing rather than maintenance of the system
http://www.adey.com/installers/filters/magnacleans...
Rob
Once running, rebalanced etc, the heating is brilliant. Difficult to say without looking back how much they charged, on the initial quote it was £250 on top of the boiler installation quote, in the end they rolled it into the price. £500 sounds a lot to me.
In the OP shoes I would:
1) Get a Magna cleaner (or equiv filter) fitted to the system by a plumber.
2) Overdose(!) the system with cleaner and run for a week or so
3) Twice a day go round and tap all the rads with a soft mallet to mix it all up
4) Drain the system fully, remove each radiator in turn, take outside and flush through with a hose pipe as best I can, tapping rad as I go along and see how much debris comes out.
5) Refit all rads, overdose with cleaner again, run for a week and drain the system & run through with water (not a big job, so might as well to see how effective first few steps were)
6) Fill up system, fill with inhibitor and see how it goes long term
I spent my Saturday morning draining the system down & removing a (unwanted) radiator, then filling the system back up again. Really not a big jog/ball ache at all. Removing a dozen radiators one at a time would be a long day, but worth it for the sake of a £500 saving.
1) Get a Magna cleaner (or equiv filter) fitted to the system by a plumber.
2) Overdose(!) the system with cleaner and run for a week or so
3) Twice a day go round and tap all the rads with a soft mallet to mix it all up
4) Drain the system fully, remove each radiator in turn, take outside and flush through with a hose pipe as best I can, tapping rad as I go along and see how much debris comes out.
5) Refit all rads, overdose with cleaner again, run for a week and drain the system & run through with water (not a big job, so might as well to see how effective first few steps were)
6) Fill up system, fill with inhibitor and see how it goes long term
I spent my Saturday morning draining the system down & removing a (unwanted) radiator, then filling the system back up again. Really not a big jog/ball ache at all. Removing a dozen radiators one at a time would be a long day, but worth it for the sake of a £500 saving.
As said, once the black goo from a radiator gets on to your carpet it's the end of the carpet!
I had my system power flushed in the summer by my regular boiler service engineer. He didn't have any qualms about the pressure aspect and the system didn't have a hissy fit. It certainly isn't new having been modified and expanded over the years from some handyman's really awful diy job to being reasonably efficient.
I had my system power flushed in the summer by my regular boiler service engineer. He didn't have any qualms about the pressure aspect and the system didn't have a hissy fit. It certainly isn't new having been modified and expanded over the years from some handyman's really awful diy job to being reasonably efficient.
OK well the chap has been very efficient and sent me a quote detailing exactly what he plans to. He's included removal of rads instead of just vibrating them. I'll be helper.
Drain down central heating system
Supply and fit magnaclean filter above boiler
Clean F+E Tank
Remove and flush all radiators
Connect magnacleanse flushing kit and add flushing chemicals to system
Circulate chemicals throughout system until satisfied
Drain system of chemicals
Refill system, add inhibitor, vent and test.
Total £400.00
(No mention of any VAT)
That seems pretty good to me but I'm getting a second opinion as well. What does the jury think?
Drain down central heating system
Supply and fit magnaclean filter above boiler
Clean F+E Tank
Remove and flush all radiators
Connect magnacleanse flushing kit and add flushing chemicals to system
Circulate chemicals throughout system until satisfied
Drain system of chemicals
Refill system, add inhibitor, vent and test.
Total £400.00
(No mention of any VAT)
That seems pretty good to me but I'm getting a second opinion as well. What does the jury think?
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