Should plumber add inhibitor when replacing rads? And do I need system flush

[robodelfy]

Hi
I just had a plumber fit two new radiators to my system (Worcester combiner's boiler in a victorian terraced house in Bristol, uk). He drained the system and did the work

I emailed after to ask if he put inhibitor in and he said he had run out but could come back to put it in, but it will cost me more. Is it fair for me to say he should come back and put it in for free? Its not my fault he ran out or didnt bring any, and I was under the assumption it was standard practise to add inhibitor when you drain and refill the system? Especially after replacing old rads

Secondly do I need a chemical system flush? I imagine these old rads have been on for 20 years or more without any flush, and now all the rads are new within the last year. Would this be beneficial?

Thanks, sorry for any silly questions!

 

[Mottie]

Personally I think he should have added the inhibitor at the end of the job as part of the job. Chemical flush, if required, would involve a separate visit to put the stuff in and allowed to be circulated for up to a couple of weeks before draining. If you are going to do a chemical flush, you should put it in first and allow it to circulate for however long it says in the instructions. Then drain, refill, drain again and then refill with inhibitor. That’s what I’d do anyway!

 

[Wayners]

I was on job and British gas serviced boiler and added inhibitor £80. They tested and inhibitor was too weak so recommended it was added.
Aluminium heat exchanger in boiler I guess. Inhibitor protects.

Following day local plumber ( cheaper than British gas) swapped rusty radiator for new one and drained system to allow for new rad swap but never added more inhibitor when there filled back up.

Barking mad! Customer and plumbers. Just glad it's not my house and glad I'm not employing these idiots

To answer most plumbers could not care if you have inhibitor in or not. They could not care if its a requirement or not. They will do what you ask to the regs and that's it. Inhibitor is not a requirement for safety

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

To answer most plumbers could not care if you have inhibitor in or not. They could not care if its a requirement or not. They will do what you ask to the regs and that's it. Inhibitor is not a requirement for safety

Which is why you should always keep a close eye on anyone doing work for you - it shouldn't be necessary, but unfortunately it is. When you eventually suffer issues, due to their omission then it's just more money in their pocket.

 

[Wayners]

Oh.

Re flush..

Yeah it's a good idea if required.

I actually think it's better to take all rads off and wash out then fit back on.

Power flush from what I've seen is useless.

Just be aware that radiator water with strip toilet or bath enamel and stain plastic plus kill grass. Wicked stuff!

 

[Madrab]

2 New rads ... topping up inhibitor should really be part of that IMO. I would expect the plumber to mention that it would normally be required as part of the job and then costed as such. If not then I don't think the jobs being done properly.

I wouldn't consider a flush as a normal part of fitting new rads, when inspecting as part of the site visit then a check of the system condition should be normal practice and if that indicated that the system needs flushedm then it would be brought up.

 

[oldbuffer]

1. Agree with Madrab, particularly as system was drained.
2. I would expect plumber to charge for inhibitor (£15 to £20) but not for his / her time in putting it in the system.
3. Inhibitor is a staple requirement if working on heating systems and should always be carried.

 

[Londoner2]

I buy the inhibitor every year, when engineers services boiler i tell him to empty contents into teh cleaned magna filter.

 

[robodelfy]

Ok thanks so I'll be firm with them about inhibitor

I'm a bit confused about the power flush now, and if I need to do any kind of bigger flush/chemical clean? All rads are new within the last year or so, these ones just being done are the last remaining ones. But I've never had a power flush/chemical clean before and I've lived here 7 years. I hadn't even heard of it until today!
I dont want to get him back to do the inhibitor and then find out I actually need to clean the whole system! You mentioned testing whether it needed cleaning, what would this entail?

thanks for the help

 

[Mottie]

If you had no cold spots on the rads and it was all working fine, together with the fact that it’s a sealed system and all your rads are less than a year old, I’d just be tempted to add inhibitor and leave it at that. It may be fair that he charges you for the inhibitor if it wasn’t charged for on the original job but you shouldn’t be expected to pay labour for something that should have been done at the time. The fact that he said he had no inhibitor at the time is his problem, not yours. It’s a basic thing for a plumber to do if the system has been drained.

If I did a service on your car, didn’t change the oil (and didn’t charge you for it) it would be out of order for me to come back and charge you labour for something that should have been done in the first place.

 

[robodelfy]

If you had no cold spots on the rads and it was all working fine, together with the fact that it’s a sealed system and all your rads are less than a year old, I’d just be tempted to add inhibitor and leave it at that. It may be fair that he charges you for the inhibitor if it wasn’t charged for on the original job but you shouldn’t be expected to pay labour for something that should have been done at the time. The fact that he said he had no inhibitor at the time is his problem, not yours. It’s a basic thing for a plumber to do if the system has been drained.

If I did a service on your car, didn’t change the oil (and didn’t charge you for it) it would be out of order for me to come back and charge you labour for something that should have been done in the first place.

Thanks yeah this is exactly what I was thinking. Lets hope he can see it this way...eventually!

 

[Justin Passing]

Deffo Not "part of the job".
You could argue he could have mentioned it, but not that he should have done it free, much less has to now.
I wouldn't "power flush" without good reason. Normal dirty water goes round too. If you have circulation troubles, then of course but you won't with all new rads. If the boiler's sludged it'll probably make a racket, bumping and singing, but that may need different chems.

 

[kidgreen61]

As A pro, I wouldn't hesitate to chuck a bottle of X100 in any rad I'd changed, it's all built into the price, and I really don't want to be cause of filthy systems which I look after year after year, and have to rectify.

 

[robodelfy]

Well I got this reply. And it doesn't feel right because he quoted for a days work, and it took a day exactly. Also I offered he could do it on an hourly rate if he was unsure how long it would take, as it was a fiddly job for one rad.

Hi Alex,

The job took much longer than anticipated and as I said he had no inhibitor in the van. If you'd prefer and it's easier you can just put some inhibitor in yourself otherwise I can book him in to pop back at some point next week.

Many thanks,

 

[Mottie]

It's not that easy for the average Joe to add inhibitor to a sealed system. You'll need to depressurise the system, drain some fluid out, find a point to add the inhibitor (usually a towel rail or remove the plug from the top of the highest radiator in the system) and then refill and pressurise the system. Just say "Fine, I assume I will be only paying for the inhibitor as it should have been added last week when filling the system". It would have taken precisely NO extra time to do this when refilling a drained system.