Am I being ripped off? Powerflush realy necessary?

clairol · 22 Feb 2012

I had a new boiler, vailant ecotec 415 in August 11. Had a chemical flush & magnaclean as part of installation and on day of installation.
Boiler now making funny noise.
Vailant engineer says the water in the system is dirty, possibly too much inhibitor? it's a soft of pale yellow colour and they won't do anything untill it is much cleaner.
Original installer says we now need to have a power flush (£380 + Vat).
Is this correct or am I being taken for a ride please? By either engineer?
Are there any other options?
Thank you for any help.

dcawkwell · 22 Feb 2012

Not quite giving us the whole story.

So you had a boiler installed and now Vaillant have come out
because there is a fault with the boiler? Yes?

I haven't seen water come out of central heating system a pale yellow before.
Rusty brown, black yes. Never pale yellow.

Chances are the system wasn't cleaned enough or has blocked up for some reason. Find someone who will do a powerflush or a mains flush
to clean the system up. Chances are they will also be able to
get the vaillant going at the same time.

£380 is a bit on the expensive side.

doitall · 22 Feb 2012

I would argue that the boiler was under warranty. and let the installer do it before you remind him.

plumbplumb · 22 Feb 2012

Pale yellow sounds a bit like flux debris in the system. Never heard of too much inhibitor

doitall · 22 Feb 2012

One of the inhibitors is a yellow colour.

The OP's contract was with the Installer, it's down to him to get it sorted.

Jordon · 22 Feb 2012

Sounds like most I hear of, the vaillent engineers are fair so not going the directly blame the installer, but it is his fault. Golden question how much did you pay? The original installer should do a powerflush free of charge its his fault imo he cut a corner on a very dirt intolarant boiler but then I don't do jobs if the client won't pay for a powerflush without a signed agreement.

clairol · 22 Feb 2012

dcawkwell said:
Not quite giving us the whole story.

So you had a boiler installed and now Vaillant have come out
because there is a fault with the boiler? Yes?

I haven't seen water come out of central heating system a pale yellow before.
Rusty brown, black yes. Never pale yellow.

Chances are the system wasn't cleaned enough or has blocked up for some reason. Find someone who will do a powerflush or a mains flush
to clean the system up. Chances are they will also be able to
get the vaillant going at the same time.

£380 is a bit on the expensive side.

What information am I missing out please?
The fault with the boiler - it is making a whistleing noise intermitently. it still works fine.
what is the difference between a mains flush and a power flush please?

clairol · 22 Feb 2012

doitall said:
One of the inhibitors is a yellow colour.

The OP's contract was with the Installer, it's down to him to get it sorted.

Should I have to pay for this though please?

clairol · 22 Feb 2012

doitall said:
I would argue that the boiler was under warranty. and let the installer do it before you remind him.

should he do this free of charge?
I suspect he will say it was clean before he fitted the boiler?

clairol · 22 Feb 2012

Jordon said:
Sounds like most I hear of, the vaillent engineers are fair so not going the directly blame the installer, but it is his fault. Golden question how much did you pay? The original installer should do a powerflush free of charge its his fault imo he cut a corner on a very dirt intolarant boiler but then I don't do jobs if the client won't pay for a powerflush without a signed agreement.

We paid £2,300. we didn't sign a disclaimer. Would it be a requirement of vailant? he is a vailant approved fitter.

vicvapour · 22 Feb 2012

plumbplumb said:
Pale yellow sounds a bit like flux debris in the system. Never heard of too much inhibitor

Exactly what i was thinking when i read the post.

vicvapour · 22 Feb 2012

clairol said:
dcawkwell said:

Not quite giving us the whole story.

So you had a boiler installed and now Vaillant have come out
because there is a fault with the boiler? Yes?

I haven't seen water come out of central heating system a pale yellow before.
Rusty brown, black yes. Never pale yellow.

Chances are the system wasn't cleaned enough or has blocked up for some reason. Find someone who will do a powerflush or a mains flush
to clean the system up. Chances are they will also be able to
get the vaillant going at the same time.

£380 is a bit on the expensive side.

Click to expand...

What information am I missing out please?
The fault with the boiler - it is making a whistleing noise intermitently. it still works fine.
what is the difference between a mains flush and a power flush please?

A mains flush is main pressure running through the system for a period of time in the hope to clear as much debris, etc from the system. (the cheap alterternative)

A power flush is a specialised machine and used with chemicals under a higher pressure and using forward and then reverse flow cleans the system, at various points thoughouthe system. (very thorough and the most expensive option).

clairol · 22 Feb 2012

The system had fernox leak sealant (2 containers worth) added as well as inhibitor (don't know the brand name) as done by installer. The leak sealant was added to address a leak that was subsequently identified and fixed.

Assuming these additives are clear
Could the chemical flush have left the water dirty enough to upset the boiler?
Is it possible the water has got dirty after the chemical flush?

vicvapour · 22 Feb 2012

clairol said:
The system had fernox leak sealant (2 containers worth) added as well as inhibitor (don't know the brand name) as done by installer. The leak sealant was added to address a leak that was subsequently identified and fixed.

Assuming these additives are clear
Could the chemical flush have left the water dirty enough to upset the boiler?
Is it possible the water has got dirty after the chemical flush?

It is possible after the chemicals have been used, that a "clean" flush may not have been done, but i would be surprised if they had done that.

doitall · 22 Feb 2012

clairol said:
doitall said:

I would argue that the boiler was under warranty. and let the installer do it before you remind him.

Click to expand...

should he do this free of charge?
I suspect he will say it was clean before he fitted the boiler?

What ever he does should be under warranty, if Vaillant say the system is dirty either it is, or it's a typical Vaillant con trick to get out of the warranty.

You have a magnaclean filter I would very much doubt the system is that dirty if at all.

Drain some water into a bottle, and seal it up, you will soon see whether there's any bit's floating about.

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Am I being ripped off? Powerflush realy necessary?

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