Reply With QuoteDon't do it, can cause leaks and other issues.
My heating and boiler system need a powerflush. British Gas have quoted £750!!
This seems quite high. Can anyone in the Middlesex area can recommend me a reliable plumber who does powerflushing.
Thanks
Don't do it, can cause leaks and other issues.
Yes that is spot on....Originally Posted by MonkeyBoy
WHY Does it need flushing ?
It seems only British Gas recommend them, they made it a condition of extending my parents' Homecare cover on the boiler :evil: .
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
It works on new systems and does the trick...
But older ones with weak joints its not a good idea :wink:
I had a new boiler a few months ago and I was advised to get a powerflush by a sales person as we have old cast iron radiators and the likely internal corrosion would cause problems for the new boiler pump. The plumber who fitted the boiler advised that we should have a "magna clean" instead. Powerflush can cause leaks as it removes the internal corrosion and of course increases the pressure on the system pipes etc etc.
It seems for Magna Clean they put specific cleaning fluid into the system leave it for a week or so and then oscillate a magnetic device around the system (I wasn't there when he did it so the details are a bit sketchy). This removes the clag without undue pressure on old pipes and rad's and allows your new boiler to run without getting all the muck that a corroded system carries around.
The magna clean cost around £290 the powerflush was going to be around £350 and I have a fairly large house so the price you have been quoted sounds a bit high but BG is for most things.
Boiler has been fine and no leaks, he says frantically touching wood.
Best
Den
You can do this sort of thing yourself using fernox :wink:
We've had problems with the heating and boiler on and off for 3 years (since we had a new boiler installed!). The hot water work fine now, however, with the heating not all radiators heat up and those that do are not as warm as they should be. The BG engineer said that there is a problem with the return flow of hot water to the boiler, hence the need for a power flush. On the boiler the return pipe is not as hot as the outflow pipe suggesting there is a blockage somewhere. The system was powerflushed when the new boiler was fitted 3 years ago.
A bit baffled as what to do next.
Bugger, wish I'd known that before.
Best
Den
Err... keep the £750 on hand in case you need a new boiler and forget the insurance ?? :D
That is the beauty of the interweb :wink: KNOWLEDGE/INFO at NO expense :wink: .
Bugger, wish I'd known that before.
Best
Den
To be frank, BG have form for up-selling powerflushing. On a normally performing system the return temperature should be lower than the flow temperature. It is not an indication in and of itself that the system is malfunctioning. The difference will probably be in the 12-20 degree range depending on the system type.
The problems you are experiencing could be due to a number of possible causes. (eg the boiler's settings may need to be adjusted or the system may need balancing).
If the system was correctly flushed 3 years ago and has been run with a suitable additive then there should be no need for a further flush now.
I would consult a local recommended independent heating engineer for an opinion.
regards
jeff
That's one of most idiotic comments I've ever come across and I'm no heating engineer.
Hot water leaves the boiler, heats up multiple radiators around the house and yet, miraculously, returns to the boiler at the same temperature it left. Errr, I don't think so...
They don't help their reputation trying to justify work with such nonsense.
If the return was the same temp as the flow you would only need to run the boiler once :DThat's one of most idiotic comments I've ever come across and I'm no heating engineer.
Hot water leaves the boiler, heats up multiple radiators around the house and yet, miraculously, returns to the boiler at the same temperature it left. Errr, I don't think so...
They don't help their reputation trying to justify work with such nonsense.
Fernox make good stuff that does the job without straining the system, and at a very tiny fraction of the piss-taking £750 British Gas quoted for a Powerflush.
Fernox here too!
We had nothing but trouble with the dreaded power flush.
British Gas did ours and six months later their service report said that we needed a power flush . So they did it again under the guarantee .
Six months later we hd a service and , guess what , we needed a power flush . so .........
This just keeps repeating itself.
Try to find a plumber who knows what they are doing.
Powerflush is not always the answer. Had ours done years ago and had to have the corrosion inhibitor (Dearborne) expert out to advise as to why the system kept making gas (and showed high Cu content in the system (it was basically eating itself). We poured 3 litres of X100 inhibitor into the system before it stopped.
Having said that it's working OK now but the inhibitor finds its way out through the plug threads on the rads. We get a crud build up. I suppose it'll stop one day or the system will die or both.
If only the Uk used Hydronic systems where its a closed system and its the same water being heated over and over again, so fill it up with distilled water and no corrosion :)
Thumbs up for fernox. I put 5 litres of their inhibitor in the header tank every year.
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