Some plumbing advice please

[bobfather]

I have a Halstead Finest Gold Combi. The DHW heat exchanger is furred up on the boiler water side. I understand that this can be cleaned by flushing with dilute hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is not easy to get hold of, is there an 'off the shelf' alternative that is agressive enough to soften this residue quickly?

As for removing and cleaning the HX, no problem, I'm very handy with such things.

Thanks in advance

[Ferg]

Personally I wouldn't bother.
They are a nightmare to clean effectively. You need to soak them for DAYS. I'd just stump up the £60 or whatever and get on with life.

[bobfather]

£138 + P&P. I thought it would be worth trying to flush it first.

[Ferg]

That IS dear.....
Where's that from?

[bobfather]

Found it by Google, a place called Heating World of Spares. All the other suppliers via Google are asking £250+. I'd be happy if you could point me at a cheap supplier.

[Ferg]

The last one I bought was around £60, but in fairness that came from Halstead themselves and they are almost impossible to deal with since the Glen Dimplex takeover. I can't believe that anyone can charge the higher price you are talking about!

[ATG]

bobfather said:

I have a Halstead Finest Gold Combi. The DHW heat exchanger is furred up on the boiler water side. I understand that this can be cleaned by flushing with dilute hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is not easy to get hold of, is there an 'off the shelf' alternative that is agressive enough to soften this residue quickly?

As for removing and cleaning the HX, no problem, I'm very handy with such things.

Thanks in advance

Hydrochloric acid is actually quite easy to get hold of. It is sold as "Spirit of Salts" and is available in loads of hardware stores. Handle with care ... they sell it surprisingly highly concentrated.

[freecar]

I don't know if it is worth mentionig, but we flushed our system at home and it shifted some muck. So much that it blocked the system and needed to be cut into to find out which pipe was blocked!! (as luck would have it, 1st cut we found the blockage and managed to snake it out and it's been good since!)

[bobfather]

The problem with the Halstead design is that the heat exchanger sits at the bottom of the boiler with all pipe connections at the top so the exchanger acts like a sump gathering all the heavy gunk.

[Ferg]

bobfather said:

The problem with the Halstead design is that the heat exchanger sits at the bottom of the boiler with all pipe connections at the top so the exchanger acts like a sump gathering all the heavy gunk.

I disagree.
I'm struggling to think of a boiler that has the plate heat exchanger anywhere else although some are fitted sideways. It's the fine waterways which are responsible for 'filtering'. There shouldn't be anything in the system to collect in the heat exchanger which is why old systems being changed over to combination boilers shoud be PROPERLY flushed and refilled with a decent inhibitor.

[pitbull turbo]

right if you plate to plate is scaled up you you can either use descaling crystals but the best way. boil some malt vinggar in a old saucpan and run it throught the heat exhanger as it eats the lime very quickly.
by far the best way to clean it. what is the primary side like? if it has iron in the system then use x400 in you heating system for a week or two and the flush the heating system out.

[Gingerbread Man]

Halstead Finest Gold - Surely it's a make of coffee?

[Simpo Two]

Gingerbread Man said:

Halstead Finest Gold - Surely it's a make of coffee?

I thought it was a radio station in Essex...