Ferroli say 3yo system needs power flush?

[Paul5454]

Hello to all.
At my wits end here. Ferroli engineer been out to various faults 6 times since November - mostly system pressure pouring out of boiler like a sieve. ( Been about a dozen times in 3 years. Great boiler!)
Boiler not worked at all since 17th Dec. (lovely Xmas/New Year!) despite engineer having 4 attempts. Now they say it needs a power flush or a Fernox filter fitting before they'll come again, as engineer said all seals were rock-hard and covered in metal particles.
The system was fully new 3 years ago with PVC pipes. It's been drained fully each year and inhibitor added.
A local engineer services it every year and said the system was lovely and clean in November, only several weeks before the Ferroli engineer's diagnosis.
As he left, the Ferroli engineer said the system should be power=flushed each year. Surely not?
My local engineer is coming to fit a Fernox filter in a couple of days, which hopefully will satisfy Ferroli. 18 days with no hot water or heating is a long time, considering the boiler has a 6 year warranty, which Ferroli won't honour unless I comply.
My questions are -

Should ANY system need an expensive power-flush yearly in your experience, let alone after 3 years?

Boiler at last house was 10yo, never had inhibitor, only drained twice. (Vokera) After 8 years British Gas came to a fault, repaired it, tested system - copper pipes - and said no power flush was needed.
Huh?
Thank you.
Paul

 

[Dan Robinson]

Ferroli are a total joke.

They will do anything to get out of a warranty.

How Watchdog haven't sunk their claws into them yet I don't know.

 

[Paul5454]

Hi. I agree. Read loads of complaints everywhere I look on Net about Ferroli boilers and service.

Does it, or any other boiler, need a yearly power flush though, as they've told me?

Regards, Paul.

 

[denso13]

No, not yearly.

 

[spareshunter]

Office of fair trading worth a go. The more people that complain about all boiler manufactures dubious trading practices the better.

First email Ferroli of your intentions that you are going to the OFT and also will be getting independent reports, your service engineer will suffice. Also ask for copy of the conditions of the guarantee. Plus the maker of the inhibitor you use Ferroli are intimating its rubbish. If they fail to respond to both requests the office of fair trading will take a dim view.

Some say OFT are toothless not so in my experience, definitely a good ally when you take Ferroli to court if you feel that strongly about it.

Or you just roll over as most people do. Be the first.

Ferroli produce substandard boiler,s I would not recommend them to anyone.

Go into any spares dept and say you have a Ferroli what are the spares like to get and you will get a big groan from them. Nuff said.

 

[holty]

the problem why your system is breaking down is due to the fact the effin boiler leaks out of the box. merchants and companies round here have dropped them like a fly. same as they do with there customers. the 31c optimax was awful.

 

[Whitespirit66]

Ask Ferroli to put their demands and recommendations in writing. Then go to your local trading standards department at the council.

Also, when a friend had one of Potterton's POS boilers, he badgered the Potterton CEO. They agreed to install another model of boiler for him, FOC. No real problems since.

Like many things in life, you need to make the right noises in the right places. Quiet bairn gets nowt.

 

[Slugbabydotcom]

What is the model of your boiler and how many rads are in the system? Sounds more like a pressure vessel issue to me. Maybe you need an additional vessel.

On a different note Ferroli have rescued themselves from the brink of doom with their new Modena C which I think is a cracking boiler and I'm chucking them in all over the place. If you dont have one of these then you will find that they don't really care much probably because they know they're fighting a losing battle with any of the older boilers.

To suggest that a system needs a powerflush annually basically proves that you were in the company of an idiot at that time. However fitting a magnetic cleaner is a valid and worthwhile venture on any system but I would recommend a magnaclean as these have a stronger magnet and a greater capacity for removing crud from your system with the benefit of being able to see the work it has done.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The Modena?

So fricking good their website doesn't hold a brochure.

Ferroli are crap.

Their boilers are crap.

their customer service is crap.

Their warranties should be printed on absorbent paper.

Annual Powerflushing? FFS. Even the BG engineer said it wasn't necessary. BG Engineer !!!! They can't fart without saying Powerflush.


Slug mate - your credibility has been blown now

 

[Terry lambert]

I have to admit to fixing a Ferroli

What a waste of a three amp fuse

 

[spareshunter]

Its the after sales and the indifference to supply spares that is the demise of Ferroli and shows no sign of improving.

Others manufactures have equally if not worse boilers out there but spares and after sales keep them going in the eyes of the public.

Most Ferrolis are easy to work on but one cant get the right spares, they keep changing the part numbers and specifications to parts / serial numbers. Nightmare for customers and engineers alike.

I see the new Modena no differently, I wont be fitting one, end.

 

[spareshunter]

Paul let us know how you get on with your problem to see if anyone can help.

Good luck.

 

[Paul5454]

Thanks for all the replies. So many!
My local service engineer came out and installed a Magnaclean the other day.
Reason I was going for the Fernox was I read they did both sludge and metal filtering, whereas the Magnaclean only did metal.
However, the engineer said the new Magnaclean does both, which it does according to the info with it.
As a bonus, he also got the boiler working! He's not sure how, but says he's got 'magic fingers', which I believe.
So, no need to get Ferroli out again.
Although, I have every confidence the boiler will leak and flood the en-suite again in the not too distant future.
That's the time I'll start kicking off to all the places mentioned on here.
Thanks again to all.
Paul

 

[dcawkwell]

How fixing a leak in the boiler requires a powerflush I don't quite understand.

 

[transam]

I assume that the pvc pipes u refer to is the barrier type & not the single wall type kit ?????


Remember the ferroli service fella is most likely a service agent , which means he is not directly employed by ferroli ?

In which case ferroli are probably not legally responsible for any advice that he gives you ? neither are they responsible or liable for his actions ?

(may be?) There warranty is probably not worth a bag of beans

Incidentally IMHO ferroli are a total shower to deal with a total nightmare , not un-like that other mob Biasi UK