How effective is Powerflushing?

[timmyP]

I've asked for some quotes to fit a new condensing boiler (my present boiler is 25+yrs old). One of the guys has given me a fair quote but he does not think it necessary to powerflush the system before installing the new boiler. He has said that Powerflushing is "not effective" and is "a waste of money". I thought all systems had to be Powerflushed before a new boiler could be registered? Does this guy have a point? Alarm bells are ringing that I should ignore his quote. Any views?

 

[nickso]

ooh hot potato, i forsee this being a popular thread if the usual suspects turn up.

is the water in the system dirty?

 

[Deleted member 105431]

Powerflushing and a spirovent magnabooster would be a VERY good idea but if the system is fairly clean (a water sample will show either way) a chemical flush and a spirovent dirt seperator will suffice.

DO NOT GET AN IDEAL BOILER! THEY ARE JUNK.

 

[timmyP]

Took a sample from a rad - water clean as a bell. Would powerflushing make the rads hotter quicker or would the new boiler take care of this? Is the Glow Worm Ultracom hx a good one?

 

[Soggy_weetabix]

Is the Glow Worm Ultracom hx a good one?

NO.

The amount of powerflushing Ive seen by 'big corporate companies' on a semi-gravity system has quite surprised me.

Never once do they remove the non-return / anti-gravity valve. Howcan you reverse the flow with the valve still in place?

Dave

 

[Deleted member 105431]

Do all your radiators heat up top to bottom and in the middle of them?

What do you dislike about the ultracom soggy? Won best boiler in "which?".

 

[timmyP]

All rads heat up ok. They take 20-25mins to heat up fully. Is this because the boiler is old or is it because the rads are full of gunch? Some rads are on microbore - these rads heat up very slowly and are not as hot as those rads which have wider pipes. Are these rads hotter because of the wider pipes or because there's less crap in them?

 

[Deleted member 105431]

powerflushing on microbore systems is very hit and miss, best to repipe in 15mm if practical.

 

[gas4you]

Even if your sample is clean, I would think that when a proper chemical flush is carried out you will surprised at the amount of muck that comes out.

Doesn't need a powerflush machine to do it properly, just a good installer, but a new boiler WILL need a proper chemical flush of some sort on your system.