Fitting system filter before cleaning/flushing

[gball]

I've noticed some low flow rate errors on my boiler which normally means I need to give the system a clean/flush/redose. Having just bought a Sentinel Eliminator (magnetic+nonmagnetic), I was wondering whether to fit it now before I clean the system... or if I should wait until after the clean.

(The reason I'm delaying the flush is that I have a DPS Heatbank, which consumes a huge amount of cleaner & protector each time - I will replace some sticking TH mixing valves at the same time, which makes it a bigger job. But fitting the eliminator is easy as I can easily isolate sections of the pipework in-situ.

Q: Does anyone know of a downside to fitting an eliminator to a 'dirty' system (e.g. too much sludge actually reducing the life of the unit) - or is that precisely what these beasts are supposed to handle?

Thanks, Gordon

 

[Weedrip]

That is akin to cleaning the house before the cleaner comes

Let it do its job and clean the system you will get a better idea as to the general condition by the amount of C@@p it removes. and plan for future system needs accordingly.

good luck

 

[Agile]

Fit it and see if it solves the problem!

Not everyone finds they are as good as expected.

Yesterday I saw a Magnaclean AND a TF1 both fitted. I asked the owner why and he said the M/C only removed the magnetic dirt and he wanted the non mag dirt taken out!

First time I have seen two togther!

Tony

 

[silverback]

It does amuse me how lots of the public and installers think filters are a problem solver, they are not, they merely mask the problem, if you have corrosion in your system, solve the problem, don't mask it, a well installed system will not suffer from corrosion, I have been to many open vented systems installed in the 70's by obviously good installers that are spotless, it is all to do with design, inhibitors are not needed, they also just cover for poor design, if your system suffers from corrosion, get your heating water checked, fitting filters is like telling a cancer sufferer not to have treatment for it, but giving them pain killers to cope with the pain

 

[McCombi]

I would say they are more of a preventative rather than something that masks a problem.
I think they're great tbh, obviously it won't cure a sludge problem that's already there but it can keep it out of the inners of a boiler if fitted correctly.

I find one of the biggest causes of the problem are people draining water from a system and not inhibiting after, one of my old employers went mad at the volume of inhibitor I used to go through for that reason.

 

[JohnD]

on a dirty old system, most of the detritus will have settled and there will not be much circulating. It is very striking, when you first add your cleaning chemical, how the water will usually go inky black with loosened dirt. Only then will the filter be able to trap it, and there will be a lot.

If you do the clean and drain first, it will get out a lot of the dirt, but there will always be more remaining, and having loosened it, the filter will then trap whatever is still circulating, and prevent further accumulations. IMO this is especially useful if you are doing a DIY chemical clean, which in many cases, combined with a filter, will avoid the cost of a powerfush.

You do of course have to empty the filter of dirt it has captured, this will be very frequent at first but you can reduce the frequency as the amount collected reduces.

I presume you have an old open-vented system, so bale out all the mud from the F&E and sponge it clean before you start, no point in letting all that extra dirt wash down into the system.

 

[gball]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am always amazed about the stuff that settles to the bottom of the F&E tank over the years.

The system is a mix of rads and pipework between 2 years and 40 years old! I've only lived in the place for 10 of the years, so I don't know how well the previous owners took care of it. But I do know the system's been dosed correctly with 6L of inhibitor in a 600L total capacity system, as I did it myself!

The idea of using the filter to catch debris during a cleaning run is a nice one. I was not planning to spend the money on powerflushing the system - especially if the powerflush is so good that it reveals some pinholes leaks in the few ancient rads left in circuit! Some sediment is best left stuck at the bottom of the rad, as long as it stays there