JonD Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi All, As previously posted heat exchangers are being fitted to my boiler to resolve an issue. Anyway, they have quoted £600 for a powerflush and as the property will be on the market soon i was wondering if there is something I can add to the system to help get rid of the scale etc in there. I have already been draining and refilling the system daily but wondered if there is a cleaner available. How long do i leave it in for before flushing? What's the best inhibitor to use afterwards? I know this is a short cut but £600 is money i don't have, if i was staying here i'd replace all the pipework and rads for less than £600. Cheers, Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KPV4 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) I would use something like furnox, you can buy it in 1 gallon containers, about £25-£30 I think. If you drain some water our of the system then add the fernox run the system for a week and then flush the system with clean water. Refill the system and add more furnox to prevent any future issues Edited February 23, 2011 by KPV4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 YHPM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolfinator8000 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Hi im a central heating engineer i agree with KPV4 use fernox in the system for a week and then drain it out and add a fernox inhibitor, its the cheaper option. Power flusing is over rated, yes it cleans the water through but any hard sludge and scale that has been in the system for years it struggles to move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Using a furnox or similar product is a good idea. Fitting a magna clean type device will also do great things to preserve the gains from cleaning the system. I fit them on all installations now and they really keep the system clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 i have to do the same - am i right in thinking, you jam the headertank ballcock up first, then drain some of the system, add the inhibitor to the header tank then release the ballcock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vampire Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 i have to do the same - am i right in thinking, you jam the headertank ballcock up first, then drain some of the system, add the inhibitor to the header tank then release the ballcock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 silly question - but where can i buy Furnox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerettaSV10 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Local plumbers merchant or places like B & Q http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?isSearch=true&fh_search=Furnox&x=12&y=11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSPUK Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Local plumbers merchant -- B&Q expensive - or Screwfix Dave Edited February 23, 2011 by DSPUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Make sure you get the system cleaner, not the inhibitor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex C Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 If the house is going in a couple of weeks just leave it alone. I have heard that sometimes that Furnox can cause problems with corroded joints ? I used some stuff called Sentinel and it made not a jot of difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 If you've been draining and refilling the whole system every day and there's still a problem, I doubt a bottle of jollop is going to cure anything - or a powerflush come to that! What's the actual problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) I have also had a MagnaClean to my system and it is excellent at keeping the water clean and stops metal particles (corrosion) from getting into the boiler. Nick, I know you're in a new place, well worth considering! Edited February 23, 2011 by Cosd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myzeneye Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 power flushing, if done right, can work very well... however if the system still has a resonable amount of circulation a manual flush may do the job for you... use sentinel X400 sludge remover... drain some water form the system and add the x400... run it round the system preferably hot for at least two weeks... then drain system including EVERY downstairs drop of pipework to each rad...refill with water, run and get hot... give rads a gentle bashing with a rubber mallet...then drain again,again, all downstairs rads and drops.......flush like this untill clear.....then close all drain off points, add sentinel X100 inhibitor and refill the system.... as i said, if your system still has a resonable amount of circulation this method should work fine.... however if youve got legs which the circulation is completley gone... well, only a power flush or choppping bits off pipe out is gonna cure that... (easy rule of thumb,solid blockages can be found using a magnet) final advice to any one..... magna clean filters as mentioned above, are worth there weigt in gold........ the kak they will pull out off a system is unbeleivable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1966 Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I've just done this to our system before a new boiler is fitted next week, i emptied the system took off all rads and flushed them out with a hose, filled the system with furnox F3 cleaner, ran system for a week and flushed it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 My mother recently had her central heating boiler serviced and system power flushed. It took the guy best part of a day, He'd added Furnox a week previously, then on the day came back and had some kind of SDS drill with a big rubber or nylon block attachment which he went round all the pipework and radiators and vibrated the rads and pipework systematically whilst power flushing. The colour of the water that comes out was awful, and the sediment was collected having been filtered out from the water that went down the drain, I have to admit having been a bit sceptical I was amazed to see the dirty brown/black/rust coloured sludge which had coarse granular feel to it. One week later she had her central heating pump jam up, which was cured by a quick whack with a hammer (technical fix) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Thanks all, When the engineer replaced the plate heat exchanger this morning it wasn't sludged but had magnetic particles in it so advised that a power flush is not required but a Magnabooster would be advisable. Good news is it's less than half the price of the powerflush and I now have hot water again Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 make sure you top up the inhibitor as well, those particles form when its too weak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Kelly Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 If it's the plate heat exchanger it's often a build up of limescale that causes them to lose efficiency. Do you have a scalemaster, calmag or similar fitted to the incoming main? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonD Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 If it's the plate heat exchanger it's often a build up of limescale that causes them to lose efficiency. Do you have a scalemaster, calmag or similar fitted to the incoming main? Yes i do, i had it fitted at the same time as the boiler. The stuff that came out of the heat exchanger was black and magnetic but was causing the DHW to shut down due to lack of flow. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSPUK Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I am impressed by the Magna clean filter after reading the link to it - Wish I had known about it last year when did all my system but will buy one in summer when get new double rad for bathroom - single just isn't enough. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myzeneye Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 I am impressed by the Magna clean filter after reading the link to it - Wish I had known about it last year when did all my system but will buy one in summer when get new double rad for bathroom - single just isn't enough. Dave good move mate, i cant rate them highly enough... the other types on the market involve you dropping an amount of c.h water through the filters outlet to clean it out...thus having to add fresh water to top it back up....this in turn weakens the concentrate of the system inhibitor... the magna clean filter is very simple to use, isolate the two valves, unscrew the lid,remove the magnetic filter and clean the sleeve which sits around it..replace filter/lid,open iso valves bleed filter via bleed screw on top...job done in two mins... no loss off sytem contents apart from the crud you dont want...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardo Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 at last.... complete new central heating system installed - went for a Worcester Bosch 37CDi HE with their weather sensing control system. Goodbye noisy tanks above our bed, having to plan when we want hot water, and horribly inefficient old school boiler. i can't tell you how much i enjoyed having a shower this morning with decent pressure. Replaced all the snapped off and dodgy radiator valves as well (the lowest radiator was so full of sludge it didn't even work - the highest would fill with air every week). Furnox TF1 magnetic filter installed as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 nice one Nick, was it a local guy you'd recomend as I'm going to be looking for someone shortly for a similar job. I have to say once you've fitted a decent combi its hard to go back to poor showers and water not hot at the right times etc etc. The plus point as well is the last house it was costing about £20 a month over the summer period with 4 of us living there. Thats when I struggle to see the benefits of solar water heating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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