Boiler overheating - Do I need a "powerflush"?

[Fooicus]

Hello,

Firstly, I'm going to start by saying I'm no plumber or engineer or whatever. In fact I would limit my knowledge of this area to...boilers give me hot water and heat my house. But I have 2 degrees in science related subjects so I'm no moron either.

Recently I've started noticing that my boiler overheats and cuts out on high temps.

Called out the British Gas fella today, who spent some time looking at the system and the pump, then got a little magnet out and stuck it around the pipes around the pump. He then bled the radiator in the kitchen (closest to our boiler) and stuck the magnet in the resulting water, which is when it picked up some some black stuff (I'm assuming this is what he later referred to as sludge).

He then went on to say that the reason my boiler is overheating is because the sludge is preventing the return of water. So far everything was making sense to me.

He then went on to say that the system would need a powerflush to fix the problem. For my system, a non-sealed system with 6 radiators (although he quoted me for a sealed system with 6 radiators because he said it was cheaper?) he said that came to £460. He said that covers all the costs, even if they need to replace pipes, find any leaks, etc etc.

Sounds sensible...

But I have a few questions:

1. Is he talking bull?
2. If the answer to 1 is false, can the sludge be fixed by a different option, e.g. adding one of those funky additives like "Fernox" (I'm sure there are other additives available)?
3. If the answer to 2 is false, is that a rip off for a power flush of 6 radiators?

The boiler is a baxi boiler, I've heard they're crud but it was in the flat when I moved in and we don't plan to live in our flat long enough to make replacing it worth our while. It's not a combi boiler.

I'd be very grateful for any advice/comments you have for me.

P.s. I work lots of long hours and don't really have time for any DIY options unfortunately. I don't mind paying someone for this kind of thing to be done, I just don't want to get ripped off.

 

[HERTS P&D]

The best thing to do first is to fit one of these:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/fernox-tf...tracking url&gclid=CKmdp7GdnLwCFWLHtAod7EgASw

And fill and flush the system with:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/sentinel-x800-heavy-duty-sludge-remover-1ltr/84921?_requestid=174701

Once the water is clear then add:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/sentinel-x100-central-heating-scale-inhibitor-1ltr/79683


Andy

 

[Gas2Air]

Oh this ripped off thing keeps coming! If BG have correctly diagnosed a Powerflush that you pay for, then doesn't cure the fault, where do you think you stand?

 

[HERTS P&D]

Oh this ripped off thing keeps coming! If BG have correctly diagnosed a Powerflush that you pay for, then doesn't cure the fault, where do you think you stand?

They will keep going until it is fixed, my neighbour had them in for a powerflush which didn't work. They ended up taking apart their upstairs to trace all the pipework to change one section that was completely blocked.

Andy

 

[Fooicus]

Thanks for your responses guys,

I haven't paid them for anything yet and judging from your responses and what I've read elsewhere I'm not going to. They must have though "Hmm, young couple, nice flat, nice area, must have more money than sense?".

Andy, that sounds like a good idea:
-Would you say it's worth it if I only plan to stay in my current flat for a couple of years to fit one of those funky filters?
-What would be a reasonable price for a plumber to charge to do those things?

 

[Terry lambert]

Actually I don't think £460 is expensive to power flush your system, especially if they go on to correct any issues you may have.

I wouldn't fit a tF1, I find the Magnaclean a more efficient filter.

The filters cost about £100 and about the same to drain down and fit, depending on fittings required.

You could always get a local independent in to see what he diagnoses the problem as, or how much to power flush if that's what is required

 

[dcawkwell]

Open the drain valve connect to a hose pipe and let it flush most of
the dirt out. Do that two or three times after allowing circulation in between.
Turn your boiler down to minimum setting.

The add some flush/chemical cleaner in the system and run that
around as per the directions.

Flush again.

 

[chantelle]

It may be a thermistor or pump fault.Don`t bother with BG they are programmed to try and flog you a new boiler.They have to be sales reps now as well as engineers,not their fault.Get a reputable engineer privately to test components.