Central Heating Prob

cj10jeeper said:
OK Tim- delighted you're getting an indy to take a look as an alternative. BG annoy me that they overprice based on this perceived brand and are actually just ripping off people for the same spec or less than a decent specialist will do and often for huge savings.

The only thing I would still recommend is that you ask him to quote on the best way forward not just book this powerflush to save a pump. You can get and fit a pump fro £100 and in 15 minutes yourself (close both taps and undo 2 nuts), so why spend £00's to protect it.
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Thanks jeeper, the new pump I had fitted by British Gas would have cost £112 although googling the pump its around 90 quid so glad I didn't have to pay. I'm going to go with a Powerflush as it can't do any harm and the system could really do by now with a clean through. At the same time will ask about getting a Magnaflow fitted. Been speaking to a friend who has just had their 4 bed house done with new radiators and Worcester Bosche boiler for 1900 quid all in including a powerflush by the same company I will be contacting which seems a decent price. British Gas want 2600 to 2900 for the same boiler supply and fit including a powerflush :o They must make a hell of a profit. They are fine for the Homecare stuff but new boilers and powerflushes their prices are extortionate.

Tim.
 
Tim,
I'm going to step back and leave you to it know as you're headed in the right direction and will have a much better end system at a much lower price. I do however simply not understand the point of you spending on a powerflush and magnafilter BEFORE you fit a boiler.
It's akin to changing your oil and filter before dropping the sump off to change the bearings..
It's probable that unless flushed at the time the new boiler is installed the warranty may not be valid.
 
cj10jeeper said:
Tim,
I'm going to step back and leave you to it know as you're headed in the right direction and will have a much better end system at a much lower price. I do however simply not understand the point of you spending on a powerflush and magnafilter BEFORE you fit a boiler.
It's akin to changing your oil and filter before dropping the sump off to change the bearings..
It's probable that unless flushed at the time the new boiler is installed the warranty may not be valid.
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lol sorry I probably didn't make myself clear, I've decided for the time being to leave having a new boiler fitted as my current one is perfectly fine, yes its not the latest type and won't be as economical but its fine for now hence why I'm going for a Powerflush only soon just to deal with the sludgy deposits. It was only the British Gas fitter who got me wandering about replacing the boiler as he said if having a powerflush you may as well get the boiler replaced at the same time but I think that was just pure sales patter. However I'm kinda baulking at spending money on something thats working perfectly well presently. I've gone round the copper pipes with a magnet and the build up of sludge appears to be just around the pump inlet pipe which was confirmed when the pump was removed, all the radiators get lovely and hot bar one which is cool at the bottom so I'm guessing if its end the radiator in the system its caught most of any sludge. Powerflushing has to be a good thing if I've just had a new pump fitted and will help the system and boiler generally. Might look at a boiler a few years down the line but will see how the current one fares.

Tim.
 
OK - then makes sense if you're not going to replace the boiler - good luck and hope it all works out well. Glad you've saved some money.

Talking of which just opened my mail and my DD for gas has just been decreased by £3 month and offered me a refund on my credit balance, so clearly in a time of rising prices all the tech I've connected is starting to pay rewards :)
 
What is the sludge ?
I've seen it but I'm not sure what it is. The talk of magnets on copper pipes confuses me . Is the orange colour of the gunk from ferrous deposits from the internal of the radiators rusting away thro the years ?
 
ronk said:
What is the sludge ?
I've seen it but I'm not sure what it is. The talk of magnets on copper pipes confuses me . Is the orange colour of the gunk from ferrous deposits from the internal of the radiators rusting away thro the years ?
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Hi Ronk, hope you're recovering OK.

The sludge is basically corrosion from the radiators and the iron oxide reacting with the water/oxygen which produces the sludgy deposits, if you try the magnet test on the copper pipes and you get a pull on the magnet then chances are theres sludge in the pipe, its the metal filings in the sludge which attracts the magnet, the magnet doesn't stick to the copper piping. Obviously you can't try it on the radiators as they are steel. The orange is basically rust but then I'm guessing thats the first stage before it turns into a black sludge. I've always had Fernox added to the system but you can't eliminate sludge build up totally. When I had a new pump fitted last week there was sludge in the bottom of the feeder pipe and I have a large double radiator in the living room which stays cold at the bottom which is undoubtably sludge build up. All the other radiators in the house are OK and get nice and hot so I'm guessing that most of the sludge has been trapped in the one radiator.

I've just had a quote from this company http://www.powerflushwizard.co.uk/ for £460 plus £150 to fit a Magnaclean to help keep the deposits down in future so will be booking them in the morning. Hopefully a powerflush should sort it out. British Gas said they would do it for 5/700 quid which is pricey.

Tim.
 
Yes it's going well thanks!

I thought it would be basically sludgy rust but did thing there would be enough iron in it to be effected by a magnet ?

As for sludge trapped in a radiator and having them all flushed , it would probably be cheaper to either take the radiator off its mounts and flush it out or even replace it ?
 
ronk said:
Yes it's going well thanks!

I thought it would be basically sludgy rust but did thing there would be enough iron in it to be effected by a magnet ?

As for sludge trapped in a radiator and having them all flushed , it would probably be cheaper to either take the radiator off its mounts and flush it out or even replace it ?
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Glad you're recovering OK :thumbsup:

Yes I guess you could take each radiator off and hose it through but don't know what the rest of the central heating system is like, pipes, boiler, hot water tank etc so thought I would just bite the bullet and get it done, its not the sort of thing which is done that often. As far as I know special chemicals/crystals are used to loosen the sludge along with a vibrator on the radiator itself to loosen any deposts before its flushed through under pressure..

Tim.
 
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