Benefits From Power Flush & Radiator Balancing ?

[WhiteVanJack]

Hi,

What benefits could be realised by carrying out a power flush on our gas central heating together with radiator balancing?

For example, would it improve the efficiency of the boiler in that it did not have to work so hard to generate the same amount of heat or would there be a saving on gas costs etc?

If I wish to have the work done is it just a question of phoning around for a quote or are there any specific questions I should ask when requesting quotes?

Lastly, what would be a reasonable cost in the Surrey area for this type of work in a house with 10 radiators?


Jack

 

[mickyg]

It can be beneficial to alot of systems and there may be an improvement in efficiency and radiator output, but unless there's a specific reason why you think it needs doing then it might make alot of difference. I only carry out around half the flushes Im asked to mainly because many people get wrong information. Have you suffered any breakdowns that could be attributed to sludge/magentite build up? Are any of your radiators cold at the bottom? are they still cold if you turn the others off? Is the boiler noisy? Have you drained any water out of the system recently? what colour was it ?
If you do decide to have a powerflush make sure that its by someone who specialises. Ask them what chemicals they use and what guarantees they give.
I do many flushes for customers who have already had it done previously, obviously not properly.
Expect a proper job to take most of the day and cost in the region of £250-£500

 

[WhiteVanJack]

mickyg,

Thx for the reply.

Currently our boiler is not working and is awaiting a part for repair. If we let the boiler run at its maximum output selectable via the radial dial then it is prone to cutting out or breaking down, this has probalby happened 2 or 3 times in the past few years.

The boiler does makes "kettling" noises and a few other noises regularly when it is working. The water pump was changed 7 years ago and the radiators do seem to take some time to warm up, the largest radiator takes around 20 minutes to get warm.

The system was drained down about 3 or 4 years ago when we had some work done on the hot water tank but it was just a gravity drain by opening the outside drain valve. I did not check the water colour at the time as it was done by the engineer.

I will be able to check the other points you raise later this week when the boiler is working again.


Jack

 

[neil7744]

Hi,

I had a 40 year old radiator in my kitchen that was cold at the bottom and only Luke warm at the top. It's a double skin one which is about 1400mm long. At the weekend I removed the radiator and flushed it through. The amount of black sludge that came out was amazing. There was loads of it. I had it flushin for about 45 minutes. I re plumbed it and bled it. The results were amazing. It gets very very hot and blasts out lots of heat. I've also replaced 2 other radiators and the difference in output has been amazing! I'd say it def helps! I have since done a bit of balancing as one of the radiators I replaced is opposite my thermostat. It was getting soo hot I think
It was turning the central heating off, but the whole house was not hot. I balanced it and now the system seems to be working better.

I have 2 other 40 year old rads that need the same doing. I think though I'm going to replace them, but so far has made a big improvement.

Honestly though unless you are confident there is a lot of sludge in the boiler and pipework, I'd just do the rads. It seems to be working for me!

 

[mickyg]

if its overheating then it would be handy if you could monitor the outlet temp of the boiler nearby where the oheat stat phial is located to get an idea if its genuinely overheating or an out of cal oheat stat, circulation problems can also be caused by a weak pump or poor system design. Has it always kettled or is this something thats got progressively worse? It does sound like a powerflush might be beneficial but not necessarily essential.