Carrying out annual boiler servicing will not only improve the efficiency of a gas boiler, it will also extends its life and coupled with a gas safety certificate your heating engineer can confirm there are no gas leaks. However the protection of your central heating system should not stop there. Over time sludge and deposits can build up in the central heating system causing it to become less efficient, noisier, more expensive to run and decrease the life of its components. The solution is to get the system flushed and maintained by a qualified heating engineer. Black iron oxide (also known as rust or sludge or magnetite) builds up in central heating systems as a result of electrolytic corrosion. You can identify this when you take a sample of your central heating water and if it runs black, dark brown or becomes thicker than water.
Power Flushing
The traditional way of removing this sludge is by powerflushing. Powerflushing is carried out using a mechanised pump which combines mains water with a specialised cleanser. Powerflushing will remove much of the suspended black iron oxide which builds up in the radiators, pipe work and boiler over time. The cleaner is pumped through the central heating system at very high pressures to remove any sludge that has built up.Power flushing can be an effective way of cleaning a central heating boiler and pipe work; however it does have certain disadvantages. The central heating system is exposed to pressures that it would never endure when in normal use and on old pipe work this can mean the process leads to burst pipes that nobody wants. Also, the sludge at the bottom of the radiators is particularly difficult to remove and fast flowing water over the top of it does not address the sludge at the very bottom of the radiators.
Below is the answer to the resolving these issues, system flushing. Atlas Gas recommends the use of a system flushing machine likeMagnaCleanse because we believe this produces better and more consistent results. The non-invasive MagnaCleanse system works by using the central heating pump to move the water around the system, rather than an external pump. This means the pressures in the system are similar to the working pressures of the central heating system virtually eliminating the risk of burst pipes. Also, the VibraClean method used on the radiators removes more lose sludge and in particular more sludge from the very bottom of the radiators. Using MagnaCleanseresults in a quieter and more efficient heating system, faster heat-up of radiators and hot water, protects against rust and offers long-term protection against lime scale.
The benefits of using aMagnaCleanse system over a traditional powerflush system
It tends to be quicker than powerflushing
It is cleaner and does not involve emptying buckets of dirty liquid after each radiator is cleaned.
Reduced water consumption savings: approximately 500 litres as opposed to approximately 3000 litres.
More sludge is removed
Virtually eliminates the risk of burst pipes associated with power flushing
How does the MagnaCleanse system work?
- The MagnaCleanse magnetic filter is connected to your (drained-down) system by cutting out a short length of pipe on the return to your boiler and attaching a couple of compression joints. The system is then half-filled, and the boiler started up to get everything nice and warm, then debris removing chemicals are added. The warmth of the system helps the effectiveness of the chemicals.
- Internal rust spots are removed by concentrating the water flow through individual radiators and vibrating the radiators using the specially developed VibraClean tool and SDS drill until the water in the system is running clear.
- The system's heating coils and all the pipe work is flushed with clean water until the water samples are clear.
- The system is then refilled and a corrosion inhibitor chemical is circulated throughout the system.
- The magnetic filter is then disconnected, the length of pipe replaced (or a MagnaClean central heating filter is fitted as a permanent addition) and the central heating system reinstated.
- Finally, the heating is turned on and all the radiators are balanced to optimise efficiency.
How Often Should You Flush Your Central Heating SystemFlushing and in particular system flushing is an effective way of cleaning a boiler, pipe work and radiators but there are no guarantees that flushing will fix every central heating system’s problems. Its success largely depends on the extent of the corrosion in the central heating system itself. In most cases, the flushing process will fix your corrosive problems, however if the corrosion is particularly extensive, then this may not be the case. In central heating systems that have been badly neglected over time, there may be severe corrosion in the radiators or in the boiler meaning those items have to be replaced earlier than they should be.The validity of most boiler manufacturer warranties is dependent on the central heating system water being relatively clean.
When your boiler is serviced annually ask your gas heating engineer to test the central heating water and recommend if a power flush or system flush is required. It is common for most systems that this should be complete every 3 to 5 years.
