Blocked CH System no Heat

[yonmons]

Hi folks
I have I am told a sludge blockage in my heating system, British Gas are not up for assisting me to clear it under the 5* Service Contract. The Boiler is a combi back boiler 3 years old, and fitted by British Gas, we have been in the house 16 years system was in when we moved in. Because of the nature of the system (I was told the name, but it escapes me) the heating system is only seperated from the house hot water by an airbubble, and chemicals (I am told cannot be added) Best advice BGas engineer can give me is upgrade to a fully pumped system, powerflush, (7 Rads) and price off the top of his head 1500 quid, (gulp!)
I am waiting for a paperquote of them, meanwhile, if I am accepting the system needs upgrading to a fully pumped system, does this price with the power flush seem fair ? Any ideas on a cheaper way of getting the system up and running again...it`s cold !

 

[ChrisR]

boiler 3 years old, and fitted by British Gas, we have been in the house 16 years system was in when we moved in.

You didn't quite mean that

The word you're looking for is Primatic. They work, but they are a pain sometimes. Not being able to use corrosion inhibitors with them leads to the problem you have now. You need a new HW cylinder, and a new feed/expansion cistern in the loft (or somewhere high). Then you do, as the man said, need a powerflush. You'd put a new pump in, maybe replace a few weeping rad valves and yes a couple of valves & programmer/stats to convert to fully pumped. May also need Thermostat Rad Valves's to satisfy building regs.
You can always get a cheaper quote than BG but you won't, say, halve it.

You could try removing bad rads and flushing them in the garden, it depends what your problem is. May be ok til prices drop in the Summer? It would be possible to connect the mains to the CW feed to the hw cylinder, to push water through the ch pipes and out through hoses, but you'd need 2 people for a day to do that , and not cure the original problem. Not a job I'd fancy.

 

[yonmons]

The word you're looking for is Primatic. They work, but they are a pain sometimes. .

Thankyou, an informative post, cleared up some points. Looks like I will give the job to the gasman, Spose this was inevitable on this sort of system just come at the wrong time of year.

 

[ChrisR]

Always get about 3 quotes!

 

[oilman]

I think it's not really a gasman you need for this problem, so much as a heating guy. It would be worth looking around for a small firm who can deal with the boiler when needed (ie corgi registered) and will do the wet side as well. This would mean you can get to know who will look after your heating system, and so look after you. They are likely to do a better job.