Power Flushing

Look after your central heating system

Many of us depend upon our central heating systems to make our homes habitable during the long British winters (and sometimes during the British summers as well!).

It, therefore, only makes sense to look after them through regular servicing and power flushing etc.

Here’s why:

• conventional central heating systems (i.e. those that use hot water radiators to distribute heat) may be prone to certain problems due to a combination of the use of heat, water and metal;

• wherever you have these three things together, there is a virtual certainty that corrosion will arise at certain points in the system – particularly if you are using older iron radiators or components;

• the obvious problem is a chemical reaction in between the dissimilar metals in the system (ie. steel, brass and copper etc) creating magnetite (sludge)  which builds up inside radiators and pipes;

• this sludge can become a real nuisance as it may seriously degrade the efficiency of your system. That may lead to higher fuel bills and less effective heating or even cause leaks in the boiler’s heat exchanges or in the radiators as a by-product of sludge formation;

• excessive gas formation in the system will also arise and that may create yet more inefficiencies, cold spots and sometimes noise in your system – there are several potential causes and another classic symptom is if you find that you constantly need to bleed your radiators;

• the solution to the above problems involves regular maintenance and possible power flushing  – and maybe even replacement of certain components too;

• power flushing involves essentially connecting a powered machine capable of pumping water through your system at high velocity to flush out the magnetite sludge and other residues;

• these waste products can then be disposed of and an inhibitor used in the water to reduce future occurrences;

• note that the inhibitor itself will not eliminate the need for such flushing and it may be advisable to have it repeated every so often (subject to the size and type of your system);

• it may be possible to fit a magnetic trap filter into your system, which may make future sludge accumulation much less of a problem – our expert engineers will be only too happy to advise you on this;

• in today’s cost-conscious world, none of us like to spend more money on central heating systems fuel than we have to – pressurised flushing and regular servicing may help you keep spending down.