Make your own magnaclean

[numpty1]

you could use a y strainer with a few magnets sat in it,isolation either side and you have a trap.
go one further and add a 28mm male iron with a bit of tube and a few magnets lever valve on the end and you have a full flow valve to flush.
me i would rather use a spirovent with magnet

 

[dextrous]

I have occasionally thought about fitting an ordinary small radiator "upside down" with Top Top Opposite Ends valves as a sediment trap. Then all the heavier sediment would tend to fall to the bottom and you could squirt it out from time to time if you felt like it.

This may have some mileage in it - what's the cheapest, smallest rad available? Plus, if you think about it, you could stick a few magnets to the outside to make the whole thing have magnetic attraction, and a couple of drain-off valves at the bottom to flush it through once in a while.

 

[mattylad]

Now we are getting somewhere

Stick loads of rare earth magnets to it, magnetise the whole thing - can that be done with one of those scrap yard magnetic hoist thingies?

 

[mogget]

Stick loads of rare earth magnets to it, magnetise the whole thing

No need to do that, just separate the live and neutral from the supply to the boiler, wrap around the rad in opposite directions and presto! one electro-magna-trap!

 

[Deleted member 105431]

a 22mm line strainer is a cheaper alternative to a magnaclean and surprisingly effective.

 

[GeorgeBramwell]

I have occasionally thought about fitting an ordinary small radiator "upside down" with Top Top Opposite Ends valves as a sediment trap. Then all the heavier sediment would tend to fall to the bottom and you could squirt it out from time to time if you felt like it.

This may have some mileage in it - what's the cheapest, smallest rad available? Plus, if you think about it, you could stick a few magnets to the outside to make the whole thing have magnetic attraction, and a couple of drain-off valves at the bottom to flush it through once in a while.

A good idea. I thought what is a magnaclean for? It is to protect the boiler. A plate heat exchanger that only has the flow and return of the boiler through it and the rad system the other side of the plate will stop any magentite getting into the boiler. Every now and then remove the plate and flush out, or install a filling loop to do it easy enough from the mains. The cost must be about the same, or less than a magnaclean and total boiler isolation with total protection. This plate heat exchanger will need two pumps and then I saw you could have an Alpha pump on the rad side with TRVs all around and the integral pump on a system boiler. The boiler will always be on full flow through the boiler heat exchanger. I might actually do this on some systems. Mmm just thought...a flow switch is needed on the rad circuit to switch out the boiler when all TRVs are all closed.

 

[dextrous]

A good idea. I thought what is a magnaclean for? It is to protect the boiler. A plate heat exchanger that only has the flow and return of the boiler through it and the rad system the other side of the plate will stop any magentite getting into the boiler. Every now and then remove the plate and flush out, or install a filling loop to do it easy enough from the mains. The cost must be about the same, or less than a magnaclean and total boiler isolation with total protection. This plate heat exchanger will need two pumps and then I saw you could have an Alpha pump on the rad side with TRVs all around and the integral pump on a system boiler. The boiler will always be on full flow through the boiler heat exchanger. I might actually do this on some systems. Mmm just thought...a flow switch is needed on the rad circuit to switch out the boiler when all TRVs are all closed.

Right, I'm off to my garage! I may be some time

 

[stevw451]

A couple of years ago i made my own powerflushing filter with soil pipe a screwed cap end with magnet fitted to it and a couple of bosses to 22mm cost about £120 cheaper by far than £300+ wanted by manufacturers

 

[Axel]

With most things, if a manufacturer is producing hundreds of thousands of them, they ought to be able to make each unit very cheap. But if your production run is in the hundreds or only a few thousand, the costs come closer to that of a prototype.

Get the chinese to start knocking them out...with a USB port and a few flashing LEDs on them too!

 

[GaytonTonner]

A couple of years ago i made my own powerflushing filter with soil pipe a screwed cap end with magnet fitted to it and a couple of bosses to 22mm cost about £120 cheaper by far than £300+ wanted by manufacturers

So you have a short length of soil pipe. A cap on one end, a screwed cap on the other. Two bosses (tees) to 22mm to run the water through. What magnet? Size of magnet? Inside or outside of the screwed cap? How was the magnet fixed? How do you flush out the magentite?

I like the idea on this thread of the plate heat exchanger to protect the boiler. £80 to £100 to protect a very expensive boiler is well worth it. The Alpha pump idea is neat as well, solving many problem with nuisance thermostats.

 

[bengasman]

But what is the point of a filter on a powerflush kit?
The acid will loosen the debris, which is then pumped out of the system.
The filter will add flowresistance (maybe not a lot, but some) and it does nothing to improve the working of the chemicals.
Seems more like a gadget than a useful tool to me.

 

[stevw451]

you can source rod magnets with a 10mm hole in the top on the net
10mm bolt through screw cap end to hold magnet
unscrew top to remove magnet and clean
outside you could as i did set up a set of valves with bypass so you can clean as you go
SIMPLE!!

 

[GaytonTonner]

you can source rod magnets with a 10mm hole in the top on the net
10mm bolt through screw cap end to hold magnet
unscrew top to remove magnet and clean
outside you could as i did set up a set of valves with bypass so you can clean as you go
SIMPLE!!

That a sounds a cheap way of making a Magnaclean. But the basic Magnaclean does not filter solids. The Magnabooster does and is easy to flush out being a DIY operation.

 

[muggles]

I have occasionally thought about fitting an ordinary small radiator "upside down" with Top Top Opposite Ends valves as a sediment trap. Then all the heavier sediment would tend to fall to the bottom and you could squirt it out from time to time if you felt like it.

This may have some mileage in it - what's the cheapest, smallest rad available? Plus, if you think about it, you could stick a few magnets to the outside to make the whole thing have magnetic attraction, and a couple of drain-off valves at the bottom to flush it through once in a while.

An interesting idea that could actually work, you can get a 300×500 K1 Stelrad for under £12, would restrict the flow a fair bit though and would need lagging to reduce heat loss.

 

[Norcon]

Ideally you need large bore pipe entering a collection vessel to reduce turbulence. Thats how some of the european thermal store manufacturers do it.