Power Flush Central Heating

One of the easiest ways to tell if a heating system needs a power flush is that the system becomes noisy. Obvious signs are noisy pipes and radiators. Another common sign is that your radiators do not heat up properly and you find cold spots on them when your heating is on.

Common Symptoms That Indicate A Power Flush Will Help:

• Radiators have cold spots, are partly or completely cold
• Radiators need frequent bleeding
• Radiators with pinhole perforation and leakage
• Repeated pump, valve and other part failures
• Corrosion deposits in pump casing
• Strange and unpleasant noises from the boiler, pipework and radiators, particularly when it is working at its hardest
• Cold feed pipe blocking up with corrosion or scale deposit
• Dirty colouration of the heating water (evident in the F and E tank in the attic typically)

When we install replacement boilers a power flush is usually carried out, unless the client specifically asks us not to perform one, or if we think that the system is too old or weak ( see ‘What happens when a ‘power’ flush may not be possible?’) to handle pumped water being put through it.

As part of a replacement boiler installation most manufacturers recommend a power flush in order to increase the lifespan of the boiler. In fact it is quite common for manufacturers to require a power flush as part of qualifying for warranties on new boilers. In fact some are deemed invalid without a power flush being performed as part of the boiler installation process.

We use a power flushing machine, which is essentially a device with a pump that is then attached to the central heating system at a particular point. Once connected, the machine is used to pump fresh water and cleaning chemicals (Fernox) through the whole central heating system to clean and flush all the dirt and debris out of the pipes and radiators and released out of the system. Depending on the condition of your heating system, a power flush may need to be performed several times to thoroughly clean the system throughout. Finally, once the heating system and boiler are cleaned, we then fill the system up again introducing Neutralising crystals and Inhibitor to protect your central heating system for the long term.

At Plumbing Wise a power flush is a typical power flush process usually takes between 4 and 8 hours to do, and there is absolutely no mess.

In certain situations it might not be suitable for a Power flush to be carried out. If, for example, the pipework, the radiator valves and/ or the radiators are so old that performing a  power flush might lead to potential leaking issues. In this event a chemical flush (without the pump machine) and the installation of a Magnaclean unit might be more sensible. Our plumbing and heating engineers will advise when this is deemed necessary.