New Boiler and Power Flush?

[lovelyjob]

Had a registered fitter look at my 14 yr old leaking S.Duval this week. As some of you might expect he basically told me not worth repairing and parts difficult to get hold of...etc etc. He seemed a genuine guy and is local, but basically moved immediately onto recommending a new boiler. When I asked about flushing the system properly, as I didnt want to damage the new boiler, he gave me a price to manually flush the system...not power flush it.

With a new boiler, probably a Worcester or Valliant...tho he also suggested a Ferroli to save me money (no thanks)!...is it imperative that the system is powerflushed in order to validate the warranty on a new boiler? What is a 'Manual flush' anyway?
I asked if that meant he would remove the rads and individually flush them out and he said there was no need. He also was talking a 'cash' job and not to worry as his company gave a 5 yr warranty. He is a 1 man operator with a ltd. company name. I asked if his guarantee was underwritten but I just got that blank HOMER SIMPSON face looking back at me!
Also, my radiators are over 20 years old. Is it worth renewing them or is it ok to keep them after a proper flushing?
Yours thoughts would be most appreciated!

 

[ALEC1]

no need for a power flush on a sealed system, in general, a flush through would be a good idea though..

you are better off though with a good quality filter that will always protect your boiler as long as it is serviced...

 

[calorific]

Does your system still work?
Has it been breaking down increasingly frequently?

If no, then leave it alone, other than a manual flush which you could quite easily learn to do yourself.

 

[lovelyjob]

Thanks for replies. Must admit am suprised a powerflush is not required. What is a manual flush?
Re my existing system, it still works...very well actually and has done for 14 years without many services, so even with the S.Duval I cant really complain about it leaking now! Even after all this time all the 5 rads heat up well and no cold spots. ..1 is SLIGHTLY cooler at the base, but you still cant put your hand on that one for more than a second or two...and the hot water runs well and responds to the temperature setting. So all in all, I have been lucky?
I do have a registered guy coming to see me who specialises in repairs and servicing and his mantra seems to be...new system...why? Which I find very refreshing. He agrees that we source the problem first and look at what might be involved to fix it and whether it's viable to keep the boiler running well. A new boiler to him is only 'if necessary'. To me, there will be that cut off point...just how much money do I spend on this old boiler before considering a new one. I wanted to get some fact about flushing etc in case a new boiler/system is required as this obviously relates to the cost of new as compared to repairing existing.
This guy coming to see me I have a lot more faith in. But I wait to see what he concludes on his visit.

 

[ianmcd]

I always power flush any new boiler installation that I carry out, however a proper chemical flush is just as good but takes a lot longer, my personal opinion is that if anyone recommended a Ferolli boiler is I would walk away they are absolute crap I would never install one

 

[oilboffin]

Power flush every time it and fit a fernox total filter on the return line that way you know your new boiler will be protected don't forget plenty of inhibitor some manufacturers insist that this is done the reason being is that the waterways in the heat exchangers are smaller than they used to be and get clogged quicker if there's crap in the system so do yourself a favour and flush also get another plumber to quote the one you've had don't sound right to me just my opinion good luck

 

[ukrobj]

Depends on when draining down and feedback from the customer regarding if a power-flush is necessary, sometimes flushing a system can create more disturbance of settled debris. A filter I believe is a must.

I suspect your second engineer will conclude the same decision as the first, but will go about it in a more consumer friendly way that fits with your thinking.

Registered engineers are in this as a business, their time is valuable so concluding that a 14 year old boiler might just be easier to replace may have been based on several factors, its not for me or anyone else to assume these.

However I am intrigued to why you called him to look at it in the first place as you say its working except for a slight leak?

I think you don't really need our advice, you seem to have it covered in all honesty, you have one engineer who gave you his expert opinion, some have agreed with and some have offered alternative options. So now you have called another engineer who specialises in repairs for which your already happier with.

I really don't see where this is going but hope you feel more re-assured when the 2nd guy visits and tells you what you want to hear.

 

[ALEC1]

Why would a sealed system develope significant sludge issues...assuming its not topped up frequently, then it won't, because air cannot get in to form corrosion

In other countries they pretreat the water, rather than add chemicals, and they have very few OV systems...and they domt have a whole industry doing unnecesary flushes on unsupecting members of the public..

We could learn alot from them!

 

[nickso]

Why would a sealed system develope significant sludge issues...assuming its not topped up frequently, then it won't, because air cannot get in to form corrosion

So we can instantly discount the possibility just because you think its not likely?

 

[hansthebear]

Why would a sealed system develope significant sludge issues...assuming its not topped up frequently, then it won't, because air cannot get in to form corrosion

In other countries they pretreat the water, rather than add chemicals, and they have very few OV systems...and they domt have a whole industry doing unnecesary flushes on unsupecting members of the public..

We could learn alot from them!

The boilers 14 and the system is 20 so it likely hasnt been sealed its whole life.

 

[muggles]

Yours thoughts would be most appreciated!

Find a different installer...

 

[lovelyjob]

Can someone tell me how to drop individuals replies part quotes into my reply so I can respond to some of your questions please. I can't seem to figure it out and it's driving me mad . Thanks for advice so far, it is much appreciated.

 

[calorific]

Can someone tell me how to drop individuals replies part quotes into my reply so I can respond to some of your questions please. I can't seem to figure it out and it's driving me mad . Thanks for advice so far, it is much appreciated.

Click quote at the top right of the box of the person whom you wish to quote, and edit what you want between the quote and /quote brackets.

If you want to quote several people then select the text when editing your post and use ctrl C and ctrl V as required.

 

[Agile]

A new boiler needs to be fitted on a clean system!

It can either already be clean or it can be cleaned.

Just because a system is sealed does not mean that it is clean! It needs to be checked and adequate cleaning carried out.

How it is cleaned is not very relevant and can be chemically cleaned, mains pressure flushed or power flushed. It just needs to be cleaned and then inhibitor added.

Tony

 

[Agile]

Its all very well thinking that a guarantee from a one man business is less valuable than from a small firm.

The reality is that a small firm is probably more likely to close down or go out of business because of its increased overheads.

A one man has to continue to eat and is more likely to keep on working!

The question is which one will actually HONOUR their guarantee if there is a problem! I would have thought the one man!

Read the current thread about a Carillon installation where the owner had to get an independent engineer to attend ( at a cost ) to confirm the pump had been wrongly connected. Only then did Carillon agree to send someone and will ( sometime ) fix it and be expected to pay for the independent. That seems to be a head in the sand attitude which will make a 30 min job into a 30 min job PLUS the independent cost of say £84 and another 30 minutes when their engineer went to inspect but did not correct the problem on that visit! So much for the efficiency of large companies!

Tony