POWER FLUSHING MY CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM

[pogo]

Hi There,
I Have Had Someone Take A Look At My Boiler And They Told Me I Require My System Having A Power Flush To Remove The Sludge And Build Up. I Have Been Quoted £450 Which Seems Quite A Hefty Price. I Have Found Out I Can Hire A Power Flushing Machine From My Local Hire Shop. Can Anyone Give Me Any Advice On This, Like Is It Simply To Do. I Am Confident About Doing It Myself As I Fitted My Own Central Heating System ( Except The Gas) Which I Had Checked And Tested By A Corgi Registered Fitter Who Was Impressed By My Work.

Thanks

 

[ollski]

Why has it sludged up?, incorrect pipework configuration or lack of inhibitor?...ie does the cost include a repipe to prevent reoccurance?.

Hire one yourself for the week end about 80.00, chemicals about 30.00 and a day or twos hard graft...no guarantee of the work of course.

 

[bster]

You will not be able to power flush the system correctly unless you are a professional plumber/heating engineer - to do it properly with a tank fed system ithe tank needs to be iso'd and capped or removed and cleaned if badly sludged. Also there are minimum sizes of pipes you can connect onto, may require pipe stabs cut in, rad removal or pump removal etc... plus another load of tech issues.

attempt it yourself and youy will flood your house or not do it properly...get a pro!!
The people i work for in South Wales charge around £400 (usually an all day job for a system with 8-12 rads).

 

[Nige F]

Well, that counts me out for giving advice then I`m just a dinosaur plumber, that used to do lead, and unblock urinals.etc.....never been an engineer.......never charged £400 for a day`s work either

 

[chrishutt]

Pogo, What's With The Capital Letters? Looks Like A Lot Of Effort Just To Look A Prat.

To answer your question, check out mains flushing in the FAQ topic above.

 

[bster]

Nige F- are you being saracastic? its only my honest reply

 

[bster]

Most importantly if you powerflush your system yourself - Protect the main cold water supply from any potential CAT 5 contamination due to backflow/siphonage, this protection may well be built into the machine (its not if you dangle a hosepipe into it).

 

[ChrisR]

Try:
http://www.kamco.co.uk/powerflushing.htm

 

[Agile]

Pogo, you seem to think that you made a good job of installing your own central heating.

However, I would ask you why has it now become sludged up?

Also, since you do not seem to have grasped the hang of when to use capital letters ever after 30, 40 or 50 years, how do you think that you are going to grasp the techniques of power flushing without several years of experience?

How will you know which are the appropriate chemicals to use and where to connect the power flushing pump?

Tony Glazier

 

[geoff@cetltd]

Pogo, you seem to think that you made a good job of installing your own central heating.

However, I would ask you why has it now become sludged up?

Also, since you do not seem to have grasped the hang of when to use capital letters ever after 30, 40 or 50 years, how do you think that you are going to grasp the techniques of power flushing without several years of experience?
How will you know which are the appropriate chemicals to use and where to connect the power flushing pump?


TBH - powerflushing is not a black art and being an ignorant female body part on the internet doesn't mean that you don't have a clue when it comes to power flushing. Chemicals to use ? isn't that partly what this forum is for ?

OP - FX2

btw

 

[oilman]

Nige F- are you being saracastic? its only my honest reply

But you are an apprentice, Nige F was just not relying on your advice and giving a second opinion

 

[ChrisR]

I don't see why anyone who has done even some plumbing on a heating system, should have much difficulty powerflushig his own system. As long as he reads instructions andknows what he's doing before he starts. It isn't a precise science and doesn't do a 100% clean, but with just the basics right it should make a considerable improvement.

Fernox ds40 and kamco FX2 are at the stronger end of the options, more likely to cause leaks and need neutralising. Presumably you won't want to leave the system on to circulate chems for a week in this weather, so Sentinel Ferroquest , designed for use at time of flushing only, could be a good option.

 

[ollski]

or salamander fast cleanse, 2 hours optimum time at max circulating temp.....and cheap.

 

[Nige F]

Nige F- are you being saracastic? its only my honest reply

Yes, but you didn`t say you were an apprentice Way I read it was that you were giving wrong advice. Either from a lack of knowledge or to mysstify the poster and persuade them to spend money. Apologies. BTW I know 3 engineers from machinist to toolroom guy.so I don`t need to be one , I just get them to make things for me ...

 

[bster]

note to self- know your limitations,

sorry if i gave bad advice, i respect all comments.