inhibitor advice needed

[seneca]

hi folks,

I've got a 3 year old combi heating system with a worcester boiler and was wondering about putting an inhibitor in. I had never heard about them before, until someone mentioned it at work. The booklet i was given by the installer says nothing. Should I get some? If so, is it possible to put it into the system without taking radiators off. Everything is just working fine, and I was just about to remove some air that had built up over summer. Rather not muck about with the system as there have been no problems with it.

Seen something in the screwfix catalogue - it's by Fernox and comes in a sealant tube - think it's called F1 superconcentrated 290ml. Will this be ok for a regular 3 bedroom house. How do you calculate how much you need?

any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[davebgas]

Fernox F1, easy job, straight into a rad

 

[ColJack]

can it be applied to an empty system or does it need to go straight into the water in the rad to dilute it?

system will be re-filled as soon as it's in..

 

[kevplumb]

can it be applied to an empty system or does it need to go straight into the water in the rad to dilute it?

system will be re-filled as soon as it's in..

yup just stick it in (ooh err missus)
==========================================

op

i would put some cleaner in the system first then drain and add inhibitor

 

[Goldberg]

Seen something in the screwfix catalogue - it's by Fernox and comes in a sealant tube - think it's called F1 superconcentrated 290ml.

It's a good thing to add to a clean system, but if yours is already corroding then I would rinse it out first. If it's really dirty then consider using a proprietary cleanser, leaving that in for a couple of weeks before draining again and then adding the inhibitor when you finally refill.

 

[davebgas]

leaving that in for a couple of weeks

Careful careful....

Choose the chemical wisely if you do this.....

 

[Goldberg]

leaving that in for a couple of weeks

Careful careful....

You missed out an important bit:

...consider using a proprietary cleanser, leaving that in for a couple of weeks...

 

[kevplumb]

leaving that in for a couple of weeks

Careful careful....

You missed out an important bit:

...consider using a proprietary cleanser, leaving that in for a couple of weeks...

wrong YOU missed out the important bit

 

[Garygas69]

If it's been in 3 years without being flushed and no inhibitor added, it will be like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

 

[Goldberg]

If it's been in 3 years without being flushed and no inhibitor added, it will be like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Isn't it more like opening the stable door before the horse has bolted?

 

[namsag]

Scaremongers will be out but in reality dont be worrying too much sealed system not drained or topped up ,minimal affect on system. Also it may already have been added

 

[bengasman]

Has it been flushed by the installer?
Has the installer added inhibitor?
If it is a junior or i-series, I fear the worst.
However, you can find this info on the blue benchmarksheet that was filled out and left with the boiler documentation.

 

[Agile]

If its not giving any problems and the water bled from a rad is reasonably clear i would suggest you do NOTHING.

Draining and fiddling about will add new oxygen and probably end up doing more damage than good.

Many places like Germany start with a totally clean system and dont add anything.

Tony

 

[seneca]

it's called a 30cdi greenstar. Can't find the blue book just yet. I only kept the manual part and packed all the other paperwork away. We've been in the house for 2 years and the system was fitted the year before we bought the place. Owner gave us a load of stuff at the time.

So, 2 options:

1) it was not added originally
2) it was added, but I'm not sure what it was

we've not had a problem with the system since we've been here and I've never drained, flushed, cleansed or done anything to it. Not really sure what to do

 

[bengasman]

In case of doubt, adding a bottle of quality inhibitor will never hurt.
After that, you have various options.
Get the boiler serviced (needs doing anyway) and ask the chap if he can find signs of corrosion.
Stick a bottle of hyperflux in, let it run for a month, and drain a litre or so after the boiler has been on for a few hours, and is still warm. (not scalding hot, run for the last 10 minutes with boiler stat on 2)
Come back and tell us about what came out.

The safest option is to treat the system as if it is full of flux; might be work for nothing, but it won't hurt the boiler, and you can then be sure all is fine.