Unblocking 10mm CH Pipes with 12V Air Compressor

[ribalta]

Hi there,

I need please some advice with our heating system...

We moved in a house this summer and we are having issues with cold radiators. The CH piping is 10mm plastic and some of the neighbours say that the pipes fitted are not the correct ones and that is why they get blocked. The houses were built some 22 years old and we have 21 radiators (5 on the third floor, 8 in the second floor and 8 in the first floor) and the boiler is in the second floor.

So my first question is, can the pipes fitted be "the wrong type"? Or is this a common problem taking into account the age of the house? One of the neighbours decided to change all pipes to 15mm but it cost them a fortune and the hassle was huge so I was wondering if there is a way of avoiding that, which leads to my second point... I need some advice to be able to unblock the pipes...

When we moved in this summer I decorated most of the rooms and flushed all the radiators. A lot of sludge came out of them. This winter we had issues with a couple of the radiators and I had a plumber come and try unblock them with a wet vacuum cleaner. It worked for some but others got blocked again so I decided to use Sentinel X400 for 4 weeks and then drain/flush the system. I managed to unblock the radiators that were cold (flushing them with the mains water valve together with the CH pump) but now I we have other radiators going cold.

I want to use Sentinel again (X800 for the sake of time) and try to flush the sytem but I would like to try and ublock the pipes in the first place. I have seen videos and read about using 12V air compressors to unblock pipes. I have one for the car tyres but I have no idea how to connect it to the pipes?

Thanks for the comments...

Juan

 

[gas112]

Stick with x 400 .
Dont use x800 because if its not completely flushed out and i mean even a bit left it will knacker the pump
Wrong type of pipes will be referring to barrier pipe and non barrier pipe which yours sounds like

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I want to use Sentinel again (X800 for the sake of time) and try to flush the sytem but I would like to try and ublock the pipes in the first place. I have seen videos and read about using 12V air compressors to unblock pipes. I have one for the car tyres but I have no idea how to connect it to the pipes?

I would not expect such a compressor to do much more than force a small route through the murk. These compressors use low volume, high pressure - once a tiny route has been forced though, pressure will decline to nothing. Both volume and pressure are needed, to clear blockages, which is where proper flushing comes in.

 

[bernardgreen]

Using compressed air to clear a blockage can be hazardous. When ( if ) the blockage is moved then the material can come out of the pipe propelled at high velocity by the compressed air ( think air rifle ).

 

[ribalta]

Stick with x 400 .
Dont use x800 because if its not completely flushed out and i mean even a bit left it will knacker the pump
Wrong type of pipes will be referring to barrier pipe and non barrier pipe which yours sounds like

yes I think you are right, they mentioned non barrier pipes. What would be the best option to change the pipes you reckon? Thanks

 

[Exedon]

Don't use compressed air! as said above very dangerous.
I've used a water test pump to clear minor blockages on 10mm
The pipe is designed to stand high pressure for short periods,
We test first fix install at 18 bar for max of 1 hr.,water not air!

 

[kidgreen61]

If you have non barrier pipe fitted in your house, then that will be the cause of your problems. I've never really understood the process by which it occurs, but non barrier pipe somehow allows atmospheric oxygen to enter the pipework, causing corrosion in the radiators, which in turn leads to sludge in the system causing blockages.
If you are sure you have non barrier pipe, then you're best option is to re-pipe, otherwise you'll have the same problem again.

 

[ribalta]

Don't use compressed air! as said above very dangerous.

I've used a water test pump to clear minor blockages on 10mm
The pipe is designed to stand high pressure for short periods,
We test first fix install at 18 bar for max of 1 hr.,water not air!

Thanks, do you think a cheap one will do??

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Manual hydraulic water pressure test pipeline tester. Application: Normal tap water pressure of 0.3MPa, high-rise residential 0.4MPa, water pipe pressure pressure generally pressurized to 0.8MPa-1.0MPa.

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how is the proccess? Just connect the pump to the pipe valve and pump water until I get 2.5 bar? Shall I do something about the pressure in the system in the first place?

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Thanks, do you think a cheap one will do??

I would expect that to only work, if a pipe is completely blocked, where the pimp can build up pressure against the blockage. That pump can build up pressure, but not much volume/flow.

Rather than buy a pump, might it be worth trying mains water pressure first? With a none return valve in place of course. If the pipe is completely blocked, a cheap alternative to buying the above pump, would be to use an ordinary, cheap, car foot pump, submerged in a bowl of water.

Water is used in pressure tests, rather than air, because water is not compressible. Air, or a gas - is compressible and can store lots of energy. If that stored energy is suddenly released, is can do lots of damage.

 

[baldykev]

Loads of video's about using pumps to unblock pipes .
But be carefully

 

[ribalta]

Loads of video's about using pumps to unblock pipes .
But be carefully

Thanks! I will try it (carefully)