New CH sytem being installed Advice please!

[eastender3]

Hi All,

Just getting a new heating system installed in our new terraced house to replace an old system boiler.

Vaillant eco tech 831 combi boiler
6 new raditors
22mm pipings

The engineer will supply and fit new equipment and remove existing heating system and old pipes.

The concern I have is;

Double panel Radiators - are they all same quality as he will buy them. Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality as he might source them God knows where?

Not sure if the heating system needs to have power flushed or chemical flush as the pipings will be new and if he will need to fit a filter in the boiler?

Your advice would be appreacited.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality as he might source them God knows where?

God knows where Wickes and B&Q get theirs from

 

[Karis]

and remove existing heating system and old pipes.

He’s probably factored in a discount for the price he’ll get on the scrap

The concern I have is; Double panel Radiators - are they all same quality as he will buy them. Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality as he might source them God knows where?

What makes you think the panel rads “from the likes of Wicks and B&Q” are better quality! If you insist on the radiators being supplied from a DIY shed, your likely to get the same rads but probably end up paying twice the price your heating engineer can get them for on his account! What you could do is specify a particular rad make but if you’ve no idea what the difference is, your wasting your time. The rads your heating engineer supplies will conform to a minimum BS specification, they will be fine.

Not sure if the heating system needs to have power flushed or chemical flush as the pipings will be new and if he will need to fit a filter in the boiler?

I think your getting over involved, let your heating engineer do his job it’s what you’re paying him for. Hopefully you got several quotes, sourced him well & checked him out, that's always the critical bit!

 

[eastender3]

and remove existing heating system and old pipes.

He’s probably factored in a discount for the price he’ll get on the scrap

The concern I have is; Double panel Radiators - are they all same quality as he will buy them. Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality as he might source them God knows where?

What makes you think the panel rads “from the likes of Wicks and B&Q” are better quality! If you insist on the radiators being supplied from a DIY shed, your likely to get the same rads but probably end up paying twice the price your heating engineer can get them for on his account! What you could do is specify a particular rad make but if you’ve no idea what the difference is, your wasting your time. The rads your heating engineer supplies will conform to a minimum BS specification, they will be fine.

Not sure if the heating system needs to have power flushed or chemical flush as the pipings will be new and if he will need to fit a filter in the boiler?

I think your getting over involved, let your heating engineer do his job it’s what you’re paying him for. Hopefully you got several quotes, sourced him well & checked him out, that's always the critical bit!

Thanks for your reply.

With regards to heating, he is the cheapest, hence my worry that he might skip flushing and filters on the new boiler.


The problem with traders is that they can bullshit their way if the customer has no clue if they're needed or they're not needed.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Pay peanuts, get monkeys.

 

[Murf520970]

ditto , pay the least expect the most type

 

[Karis]

The problem with traders is that they can bulls**t their way if the customer has no clue if they're needed or they're not needed.

I agree with the other comments in that paying peanuts generally gets monkeys but not always & sometimes you can get lucky. But why pick the cheapest if your going to have panic attacks about it? Did you check out his previous work/satisfaction index? You seem to be very suspicious (rightly so) but your possibly more clued up than most. Do your homework, ask the relevant questions, get a contract & spec for what’s being installed trust you instincts.

 

[petit_pablo]

Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality

Funniest thing ive read today.

 

[Whitespirit66]

Double panel Radiators - are they all same quality as he will buy them. Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality as he might source them God knows where?

Not really much point dictating the source of the rads, better to specify by quality brands if you're worried - although I think you are worrying unnecessarily. Myson and Stelrad make good rads, but your plumber will be repricing the job. Upwards!

The really important part is to ensure that the system is properly flushed out, not power flushed, after installation. Then a corrosion inhibitor is added to the system. You need to maintain the correct concentration of this inhibitor in the system in future. This is the best way to ensure long life of rads, etc.

At least you won't have any worries with your choice of boiler.

 

[GasBod]

Makes no difference what the quality of the boiler/rads etc is if it's not installed or maintained properly

 

[Agile]

Wickes rads are Drayton with screws/plugs added. Same quality but usually badly handled so often dented.

B&Q used to mainly sell Biasi rads but now more seem to use another supplier whose name is so rare I cannot remember it.

All rads are about the same quality. Any will do the job.

As stated its the cleaning and inhibition thats important. New rads should be cleaned with Sentinel X300 but 95% of the others on here dont use any cleaning agent.

I always consider Fernox/Sentinel as the correct best products to use. Many cheap quotes use own brand and unheard of chemicals. Again I always use the best but end up with a higher quote than the cowboys who do a cheap job cheaply. Others on this site think I am mad to want to do things according to the book!

Tony Glazier

 

[Whitespirit66]

Wickes rads are Drayton with screws/plugs added. Same quality but usually badly handled so often dented.

Found this in my local Wickes too. Used to go in hoping to get a rad off the shelf, but well over half of them were damaged. Mainly paint rubbed away on the edges, and generally tatty.

It was obviously poor handling, but the shelf design was doing a lot of the damage.

Bit of a lottery - they would have the size you wanted, but very often it was damaged. Waste of time.

 

[sherbert]

Wickes rads are Drayton with screws/plugs added. Same quality but usually badly handled so often dented.

B&Q used to mainly sell Biasi rads but now more seem to use another supplier whose name is so rare I cannot remember it.

All rads are about the same quality. Any will do the job.

As stated its the cleaning and inhibition thats important. New rads should be cleaned with Sentinel X300 but 95% of the others on here dont use any cleaning agent.

I always consider Fernox/Sentinel as the correct best products to use. Many cheap quotes use own brand and unheard of chemicals. Again I always use the best but end up with a higher quote than the cowboys who do a cheap job cheaply. Others on this site think I am mad to want to do things according to the book!

Tony Glazier

Are you saying that only 1 in 20 heating engineers that come on this forum use X300 or similiar ??

As you state this then please tell us how you know this fact

 

[eastender3]

Double panel Radiators - are they all same quality as he will buy them. Do I insist that he buys from the likes of Wicks and B&Q, to maintain quality as he might source them God knows where?

Not really much point dictating the source of the rads, better to specify by quality brands if you're worried - although I think you are worrying unnecessarily. Myson and Stelrad make good rads, but your plumber will be repricing the job. Upwards!

The really important part is to ensure that the system is properly flushed out, not power flushed, after installation. Then a corrosion inhibitor is added to the system. You need to maintain the correct concentration of this inhibitor in the system in future. This is the best way to ensure long life of rads, etc.

At least you won't have any worries with your choice of boiler.

Thanks for the reply.

We're installing a new heating system with a combi boiler and new 22mm pipings and replacing all old rads, does the system still need to be flushed? This corrosion inhibitor, is that essential? I asked him about fitting a filter, he replied that these are extra and not usually essential

 

[Agile]

Are you saying that only 1 in 20 heating engineers that come on this forum use X300 or similiar ??

As you state this then please tell us how you know this fact

Because everyone on this forum told me I was wasting my time using it. Not a single person supported me by agreeing they use it.

Tony