Central Heating
- Thread starter MartY_sp
- Start date
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No powerflush. It was pretty dirty but no blockages. Her boiler is a tolerant cast iron Potterton Profile. I gave it a couple of full-bore drains and refills, fitted the Magnaclean, ran it for a week until it had cleared the water and stopped picking up much black, then added the X400 and got lots more out. Ran it for a couple of weeks with the X400, emptying the Magnaclean at intervals, When it was picking up no significant amounts, I drained, flushed, refilled with X100, and am checking the Magnaclean which is picking up small and declining remnants of black.
Well i'd be looking at doing exactly the same has john has . Like i said to start this has fallen at a bad cash flow time , so in my interest i'll be following John's tip's as so not to pay out anymore money or at least to keep the cost down . Hopefully be picking the magnaclean up at the end of the week so you think i'll be ok to leave the x400 in untill then . Then drain system fit the Magnaclean and refill tank with another dose of x400 keep an eye on the filter and do a few more flushes later adding the x100 when no significant amounts are piked up , as youve stated .
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I don't think there's any need to drain out the X400 before fitting the Magnaclean (except enough to prevent a flood when you cut the pipe) From what I found, the X400 loosens the sediment so it circulates in the water, and the Magnaclean traps it. If you clean the trapped sediment off the magnet, the X400 continues to circulate, loosening more sediment all the time. It seemed to me OK to leave it circulating until the Magnaclean has stopped picking up significant amounts of sediment (though there seems to be a bit more loosened each time you empty and refill, perhaps the air bubbles dislodge it).
If you drain off into a plastic bucket and put the magnet in the bucket, it pulls the black out of the water. To save wasting chemicals, you can then tip the clean water back into the F&E
Another useful thing is to leave the pump on fast speed, and close down most of the rads, opening one or two at a time so the max flow goes through that section to disturb settled sediment (but watch your vent pipe into the F&E to make sure there is no pumping-over). As far as I can see, you can leave the pump running with the boiler thermostat turned down, to avoid over-heating your house and wasting gas on a warm day. I don't deny that a Power Flush would be quicker and more powerful. The great thing about the magnaclean whie you run X400 for a week or two, is that the sediment is taken out of the circulating water, so it can't re-settle while the pump is not running, or collect in quiet corners.
You are supposed to drain and flush the X400 when you've finished the clean, before refilling with X100. I dont know what woud happen if you left X400 in the water long-term. Try to avoid buying budget-brand inhibitor, you never know if it is as good as the leaders....
If you drain off into a plastic bucket and put the magnet in the bucket, it pulls the black out of the water. To save wasting chemicals, you can then tip the clean water back into the F&E
Another useful thing is to leave the pump on fast speed, and close down most of the rads, opening one or two at a time so the max flow goes through that section to disturb settled sediment (but watch your vent pipe into the F&E to make sure there is no pumping-over). As far as I can see, you can leave the pump running with the boiler thermostat turned down, to avoid over-heating your house and wasting gas on a warm day. I don't deny that a Power Flush would be quicker and more powerful. The great thing about the magnaclean whie you run X400 for a week or two, is that the sediment is taken out of the circulating water, so it can't re-settle while the pump is not running, or collect in quiet corners.
You are supposed to drain and flush the X400 when you've finished the clean, before refilling with X100. I dont know what woud happen if you left X400 in the water long-term. Try to avoid buying budget-brand inhibitor, you never know if it is as good as the leaders....
Just wanted to say thanks all for your help. if i could post you a pint i would john and all .
Installed magnaclean after a flush out the otherday andf all running good
. Would you say to check on it once a month or less or more once initial gunk has gone ?
Installed magnaclean after a flush out the otherday andf all running good
. Would you say to check on it once a month or less or more once initial gunk has gone ?On my mum's old system, I cleaned it out several times during the first weekend, then at two week intervals. By the third of these, there was nothing more than a faint dirty mark on the magnet sleeve, so I probably won't look again until next winter, when the heating has been running again. I've refilled with fresh inhibitor, so there shouldn't be any new corrosion. I will ask the engineer to check it during servicing (it is next to the boiler so he shouldn't miss it)
This was it after 2 weeks:
After 4 weeks there was just a teaspoonful.
After 6 weeks there was just a dirty mark.
BTW, here is a pic of my own (very clean) system water - you can see why I decided not to put a magnaclean on it except as a trial:
This was it after 2 weeks:
After 4 weeks there was just a teaspoonful.
After 6 weeks there was just a dirty mark.
BTW, here is a pic of my own (very clean) system water - you can see why I decided not to put a magnaclean on it except as a trial:
how is the magclean doing after a couple of years john??
seems fine. The screw cap seemed to get worn and not so smooth, I lubed its thread with plumber's silicone grease and now it is OK again.
The amount of black dwindled away until we converted the HW circuit from gravity to pumped, whereupon all the sediment that had collected in the cylinder coil and the long 28mm horizontal runs came loose and was captured, and I am still getting a bit out. I have a look every month or so, usually 5ml or so of sludge.
I took off a couple of rads during the summer when changing rad valves, and there is still some sludge loitering at the bottom of the rads that you can pour out, but too low or heavy to wash out during normal circulation.
I have heard that by vibrating the rads you can shake this loose so that it circulates round and the Magnaclean can trap it, and there is a rubber pad that you can attach to a SDS drill with rotation turned off or you can bash the rad with your hand. I will probably not bother though.
The amount of black dwindled away until we converted the HW circuit from gravity to pumped, whereupon all the sediment that had collected in the cylinder coil and the long 28mm horizontal runs came loose and was captured, and I am still getting a bit out. I have a look every month or so, usually 5ml or so of sludge.
I took off a couple of rads during the summer when changing rad valves, and there is still some sludge loitering at the bottom of the rads that you can pour out, but too low or heavy to wash out during normal circulation.
I have heard that by vibrating the rads you can shake this loose so that it circulates round and the Magnaclean can trap it, and there is a rubber pad that you can attach to a SDS drill with rotation turned off
or you can bash the rad with your hand. I will probably not bother though.
seems like a good investment for an old system.
was thinking of fitting one on a vented system with signs of bad corrosion.
are they easy to site and fit?
was thinking of fitting one on a vented system with signs of bad corrosion.
are they easy to site and fit?
for a DIYer it might take you half a day including draining first and refilling after. You will want a pipeslice or similar and some extra pipe clamps, as well as the usual spanners.
put it on a vertical 22mm return pipe as if it is (nearly) vertical you can unscrew the cap for emptying without water spilling out. Put the supplied servicing tools on a bit of string and hang them round the Magnaclean. Only do the top up hand-tight.
As an amateur I put a few turns of PTFE on the brass olives after initial tightening, it reduces risks of leaks and dribbles.
some plumbers sneer at this and say they never get leaks.
do I believe them?
put it on a vertical 22mm return pipe as if it is (nearly) vertical you can unscrew the cap for emptying without water spilling out. Put the supplied servicing tools on a bit of string and hang them round the Magnaclean. Only do the top up hand-tight.
As an amateur I put a few turns of PTFE on the brass olives after initial tightening, it reduces risks of leaks and dribbles.
some plumbers sneer at this and say they never get leaks.
do I believe them?
yes , i,m dreading the drain down cos the system is a corrosion fest
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