magnaclean filter for choked boiler?

[beatboaby924y]

Hi guys

I'm a spark not a plumber or heating engineer so sorry in advance if I seem dim but hoping one of you guys could help me.

Parents 7 year old boiler keeps losing pressure and stops working but luckily have boiler cover with scottish gas. Anyway this has been happening for a few months and each time a engineer comes out seems to say something different. At first they though they had a leak which would explain the loss of pressure but after sealer stuff was added to system to plug the leak and the problem didn't go away. They now say it's sludge causing a blockage so system has been flushed, still no joy. When the boiler stops working there was water coming out of the overflow pipe. They now are saying that they will have to fit a magna clean filter at a cost of £200 which will "defo" fix the problem. I was wondering if £200 is reasonable for this and does it sound like this is the problem or will it work?

cheers in advance

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Magnaclean filters are very effective in removing sludge from the central heating system, I have one on my system and can confirm their effectiveness. The RRP of the units normally fitted to a domestic system range from £130-166, depending on the type fitted, so the price quoted seems to be reasonable.

 

[alli]

A couple of problems I've encounted are:

If the system is fitted with a pressure vessel, check if there is any air in it, I am not to sure but I think it should be around 1 Bar. If there is water in it then it is U/S. This can cause the Pressure relieve to lift, but as the water is hot you may not notice the discharge through the overflow pipe.

If the system is fitted with a pressure relieve valve that somebody has tested by rotating the top, sometimes grit gets into the seat and continually lets water by.

 

[Mark_Burgess]

A couple of problems I've encounted are:

If the system is fitted with a pressure vessel, check if there is any air in it, I am not to sure but I think it should be around 1 Bar. If there is water in it then it is U/S. This can cause the Pressure relieve to lift, but as the water is hot you may not notice the discharge through the overflow pipe.

If the system is fitted with a pressure relieve valve that somebody has tested by rotating the top, sometimes grit gets into the seat and continually lets water by.

I am with alli, if it is a combi boiler my money will be on the pressure vessel, a neighbour of mine had all sorts replaced by registered gas safe people. After the problem not being fixed and a few hundred quid down the drain they asked me if I know anyone to fit a new boiler. I had a look and all that it needed was the pressure vessel being pumped up, with a foot pump, I did that 18 months ago and it is still running fine.

 

[UNG]

Got to agree with the last two posts on this had a couple of expansion vessels that had to be replaced as after repressurising them they failed again a few days later. If you try repressurising it i would recommend dropping some of the water out of the system and putting 1 bar pressure in the expansion vessel with a foot or high pressure hand pump and then refill the system to it's normal working pressure. If the expansion vessel is faulty when the heating is on you will notice an increase in pressure on the gauge which will peak at the point the relief valve lifts and releases water from the relief pipe when the system cools the gauge will be at or just slightly above zero. From what you are saying you have a rogue tradesman trying to sell you stuff you don't need a new expansion vessel is about £50 - £80 for most boilers plus fitting if you are not to handy

 

[oldtimer]

By the way a word of warning here when BG or even SG cannot find a fault they always play the "sludge" card plus be advised these guys are under a lot of pressure to sell as my understanding is they are on a 5% commission one of their lads told me that some of his workmates are in not to fine a point ruthless when it comes to sales and the elderly plus pressure flushing is not on their maintenance contract and my understanding is it comes in at £700. Sadly they used to be a good company like the AA (just dont ask them to take you to a garage when you break down) but both are now sales driven so good policy is to get another opinion.

Forgot to add I flush my system out every 5 years and then add new inhibitor

 

[cjp1]

I had a mate on the gas board and he said to me before about represurising the vessel with a foot pump will sort a lot of problems and is also a cheap and quick fix.
I agree with UNG you will need to release the system pressure before upping the pressure inside the vessel and then repressure the system.
I have a magna clean on my own system and can also confirm they are effective I must have had a bucket full of sheet out of it in the last couple of years and thats after flushing the system 2 -3 times.

 

[CES Heating]

If the charge has gone from the expansion vessel then see if it will recharge, if there is water coming out of the schraeder valve on the vessel then the diaphragm is burst and you will need a new one. You might also need a new safety valve if the one fitted has blown off a few times as dirt can get trapped under the valve seat.
Magnacleans are great but not a solution to a sludge problem that already exists. Get a price from a local installer or buy one from the merchants and fit it yourself.
If you still have problems then check that the hose/pipe connecting the expansion vessel to the system is not blocked with crud. Ive seen this a few times especially after adding leak sealer.

 

[JohnBoyZ]

I agree, it sounds like the expansion vessel needs pumping up. I had to deal with a similar situation and found the expansion vessel didnt hold pressure for very long after recharging. I thought it was a faulty vessel but it turned out to be just the valve and all it needed was the valve insert tightening up. The valves are just like car tyre valves and the inserts can be unscrewed and if need be replaced, a lot cheaper than buying a new vessel .