Sludge in heat exchanger affecting temp sensor ??

[davidzzx99]

No, not leaking - but engineer is saying (I think) that if it's sludged up (not completely, as heating/water is working) or limescaled then need to power flush entire system, or rpleace boiler, which to me sounds excessive.

Proper powerflush will do the job, absolutely no need to change the boiler by the sound of it.

The question I would ask myself: "If it takes me this long to come to a questionable solution, do I want this company to powerflush the system?"

Thanks for your kind reply. Apologies for troubling you further, but assuming the problem is correctly identified as sludge in the heat exchanger, isn't the best (and cost effective solution) just to focus the cleaning effort on the heat exchanger ?? Or is it a massive job to remove & refit heat exchanger, and so more expensive than power flushing the whole system (for £600) ?? Thanks & best wishes !! David

 

[bengasman]

You need to clean the whole system.
We don't do price advice here for several reasons.
More important than paying one or two hundred quid less: if they are crap at diagnosing the problem and offering solutions, how good will they be on actually doing the job?

 

[adlplumbing]

see if you can get magnet attcahed to your stop tap to prevent it happing again or happing at all if he`s wrong

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

So did they or did they not check whether the cold feed to the heating is blocked ?

 

[davidzzx99]

So did they or did they not check whether the cold feed to the heating is blocked ?

Thanks for your reply. I don't think the engineer did check that, but his boss is coming round this afternoon, so I'll mention it.

But that is different issue to what we already found, as I already said - the temperature sensor in the boiler heat exchanger does not get hot (the water coming out of the boiler is most certainly hot) so the boiler thermostat is not cutting out & so the boiler is overheating the water, leading to the overflow into the header cistern thru the vent pipe.

Why isn't the temp sensor getting hot ?? Most likely because the heat exchange pipes are partially clogged. What to do about that ?? Clean the heat exchanger, or power flush the whole system ??

Thanks & best wishes !! David

 

[davidzzx99]

see if you can get magnet attcahed to your stop tap to prevent it happing again or happing at all if he`s wrong

Thanks for your reply. Is the magnet for limescale, or iron oxide sludge ?? If for sludge, what happens to the sludge ?? Thanks & best wishes !! David

 

[davidzzx99]

You need to clean the whole system.
We don't do price advice here for several reasons.
More important than paying one or two hundred quid less: if they are crap at diagnosing the problem and offering solutions, how good will they be on actually doing the job?

Thanks for your message. I wasn't looking for price advice, just whether removing, cleaning & refitting a heat exchanger is a big job, or a quick routine "undo a couple of clips" job. Full system powerflush seems like it's for when you don't know where the problem is. If you know the problem is in one component then surely just clean the component ?? Thanks & best wishes !! David

 

[adlplumbing]

never seen in practice just theory it appently can change shape of lime scale partical so the don`t settle only seen the theory

 

[Agile]

Why isn't the temp sensor getting hot ?? Most likely because the heat exchange pipes are partially clogged. What to do about that ?? Clean the heat exchanger, or power flush the whole system ??

Thanks & best wishes !! David

I dont know why you prefer to come to your own conclusion rather than listen to those who deal with boilers every day.

What I suggested would be a good reason for your problem. I dont know if it is but I suggest its the first thing to check!

Tony

 

[davidzzx99]

>I dont know why you prefer to come to your own conclusion rather than listen to those who deal with boilers every day. What I suggested would be a good reason for your problem. I dont know if it is but I suggest its the first thing to check! Tony

Hi Tony, thanks for your message - I haven't come to any "conclusion" but in discussion with the heating engineer who has seen the system we most certainly found that the temp sensor was not getting hot - the engineer said that was a problem & would cause the vent overflow we are experiencing - we have temporarily placed the temp sensor where it will get hot (against the outside of the metal casing near the flame) and the vent no longer overflows - this seems a good indication that this could be the problem - it's really nice to hear all the other things to check for, but it would also be great to hear comment on this specific fault already identified, possible causes, whether it's a common fault, and the possible solutions to fix it. Thanks & best wishes !! David

 

[bengasman]

.... If you know the problem is in one component then surely just clean the component ??

The problem is not in just one component; it is only showing in one component.

 

[davidzzx99]

.... If you know the problem is in one component then surely just clean the component ??

The problem is not in just one component; it is only showing in one component.

Thanks for your reply, but the problem may well be in just one component, and indeed I believe that is likely in this case. Having identified a faulty component, that would lead to the symptoms observed, I believe it makes sense to focus on this first. I'm only hearing replies suggesting other things to check, rather the already identified fault. Thanks & best wishes !! David

 

[bengasman]

.... If you know the problem is in one component then surely just clean the component ??

The problem is not in just one component; it is only showing in one component.

Thanks for your reply, but the problem may well be in just one component...

I guarantee you it is not.

 

[Agile]

Thanks for your reply, but the problem may well be in just one component, and indeed I believe that is likely in this case. Having identified a faulty component, that would lead to the symptoms observed, I believe it makes sense to focus on this first. I'm only hearing replies suggesting other things to check, rather the already identified fault.

For the second time you are demonstrating your desire to ignore advice from professionals and to come to your own conclusions.

I also suggest that you check what I suggested before you go chasing blockages.

You mention discussions with your heating engineer. Obviously you consider he is intellectually inferior and in just this instance I think that you are right. You would not be having to ask these questions about a very basic problem if he knew what he was doing.

Tony

 

[davidzzx99]

For the second time you are demonstrating your desire to ignore advice from professionals and to come to your own conclusions.

Tony

Hehe ... imagine your car was skidding in the wet, and you noticed the tyres were worn low, and you went on a car forum to ask for some "friendly" advice about where to buy new tyres, and they just kept asking you if you'd had your steering checked

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