Should i bother with inhibitors right now?

[fuzzyone]

Hi guys,

I dont know if there are any inhibitors in my rads but I'm looking to add X100 to it soon.

Would this loosen any gunk or pin hole any pipes/coils? My heating works fine, though downstairs take longer to come on (recently found out the pipes downstairs are smaller than upstairs!) and my kitchen rad is last to come on (this seems to have a drain valve). There no air as I've bleed all the rads.

With the cold weather going should i bother putting any inhibitors in or wait till near winter again for drain/refill then inhibitors?

I have an open vented gravity fed system, open to suggestions, i'm not a pro but a diyer

 

[dcawkwell]

No inhibitor in my system and it's fine has ben for years.
My mums has never had any in and it's 40 years old.

Enough said.

 

[petertheplumber12]

You will find that all open vented systems vary depending on how often a radiator has air bled out of it, how often a rad is taken off for decorating etc. I know someone who drains his system EVERY year, sticks a container of inhibitor in it. then refills it, EVERY year, he never has a sludge problem. You can only decide how bad the sludge is by feeling a fairly long rad in the middle at the bottom, if it is cool and the rest hot, that is sludge.

 

[fuzzyone]

from memory, all my rads get hot but takes time for the downstairs one because the pipes are smaller.

It takes approx 20-30mins for the rads to get hot, but up to an hour for the last rad in the kitchen to get hot.

My thoughts were to dump 1 litre of X100 in and leave it until i had problems with any rads. Also was worrying if by putting inhibitors in, will it clear some gunk away (dont think mines that dirty) and create pin holes in the pipe work?

 

[JohnD]

X100 is not a cleaner, it is an inhibitor. If you suspect your system is dirty (which it probably is) then tie up the float on the ballcock in the F&E tank, draw a couple of buckets out of the drain cock, bale out the mud and dirty water from the F&E and sponge it clean with a bit of bleach, tip in the X400 and untie the float so it is drawn down to refill what was drained out. Adjust the float so the water level is only two inches above the outlet pipe at the bottom.

If the water goes jet black with dislodged sediment, you'll know the cleaner is starting to work.

Leave it circulating for four weeks, then drain and rinse it out to remove the dislodged sediment, and use the X100 at final fill.

X400 will not cause leaks, though if the rads already have holes in them, it may clean away the dirt that is blocking them. It is not an aggressive chemical like the acid cleaners.

 

[75pete]

You could, hang on till spring then wip a cool rad off and give it a flush with a hose to see how much sludge runs out.
Pete

 

[fuzzyone]

yes i could hang on till spring, do i need to take all the rads off to hose down or just the 1?

Is there an easier way to flush the system without taking the rads of? the rad in the kitchen has this connector which looks like for a hose to be connected to - drain valve?

Wanted to add inhibitors as we use the hot water everyday not so much the radiators espcially as its not as cold anymore.

 

[JohnD]

flushing one with a hose will indicate if you have severe or slight sludging, and therefore tell you if you need to hose out all the others.

if it was me I would get on with adding the X400 and make a start now. It is less work than taking off and hosing through.

If there is anything remaining in spring, it will have been loosened and will hose out more easily.

you probably have (at least one) drain cock like
http://www.screwfix.com/p/drain-coc...=Search-_-SearchRec-_-Area3&_requestid=969707
or
http://www.screwfix.com/p/angled-radiator-valve-drain-off-15mm-x/70408

there is a chance you have a full-bore valve something like
http://www.screwfix.com/p/pegler-prestex-809t-washing-machine-valve-tee-15mm-x-15mm-x/76344

a full-bore one empties the system faster, and as the water gushes out it is better for washing out the sediment. On this one, a garden hose connector will screw on.

 

[fuzzyone]

I have the angled drain in kitchen, i think this is the last rad to get hot water as its always the last one to get warm.

I think i have the full bored but this is for the washing machine.

So correct me if i get these steps wrong, i probably do this once it gets a bit warmer.

1. tie up ball joint in header tank
2. attach hose to kitchen rad
3. unscrew the drain cock to let the water out, enough so the header tank's water goes down so I can clean it.
4. empty x400 in the header tank then untie ball joint. - How long do I run this for? by running i'm assuming using the central heating? I turn on HW every day for an hour anyway.
5. Once run in, empty the same way as steps 1-3 but empty it completely, so i just open all the valves to max and open drain cock, then once water slows, I unlock the bleed valve on each radiator one at a time?
6. Then close off all the bleed valves and drain cock, untie ball joint - will this refill the whole system properly? I suppose once the header tank stops, turn boiler on to circulate for an hours or so.
7. empty the water or as much time is needed depending on how soiled it is, then finally before refilling with water, dump a litre of x100 in the tank and let it refill and run the boiler for another hour or so?

Thanks

 

[Phill Peck]

Step 3.5 close drain cock again

Step 6.5 open air release valves on rads one by one until all air is removed

Don't run the boiler till all the air is out of the system

 

[JohnD]

yes, that all sounds correct.

I would add that it will help, once the system appears to be full of water, to run the CH so the pump runs, but with the boiler stat turned to off or its lowest setting so it does not fire. This will tend to blow remaining air bubbles along the pipes and into the radiators where you can bleed it out.

It is often helpful to leave the system overnight after filling, and some air will rise out on its own.

If you can do simple plumbing and can afford an extra £100, add a system filter. You will be surprised how much circulating particles it traps.

 

[fuzzyone]

Step 6.5 open air release valves on rads one by one until all air is removed

Think i might has mis-worded something, i said bleed valve, is this not the top part of the rad where i can use the key to release air?

thanks all!