PowerFlushing Your Heating System

Why Powerflushing should be done the Right Way.

Don’t cut corners when it comes to Powerflushing your central heating system either when a new boiler installation is going to take place or Powerflushing of an existing system, do it right the first time.

Shaw’s plumbing and heating engineers in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire have been called out on a number of occasions to carry out Powerflushing of new and existing central heating systems which had been done 1 – 2 years prior, on investigating the heating systems we had found that a number of corners had been cut.

Headers tanks not be cleaned out, Cold feeds still blocked up with sludge, Incorrect system design, rushing the job due to cheap pricing and Inhibitor not added to system.

Shaw’s Plumbing and Heating Have Listed some basic steps to a good Powerflush:

1. Training: There is no point in offering a Powerflushing service if you dont have the right Training and knowledge to carry out a Powerflush safety and correctly.
2. Equipment: The correct equipment is vital without it a Powerflush is not a Powerflush it is just a flush, Shaw’s plumbing and heating have all the correct equipment and are fully trained to carry out Powerflushing on all types of heating systems correctly and safely.
3. Choosing Where to Connect Powerflush machine: There are two common places to connect a Powerflush machine, either via the central heating pump or via a radiator, it is best if possible to connect via the central heating pump as this will give you the best flow results but sometimes this cannot be done easily and therefore a radiator connection will be the next option, best to choose a radiator that is close to a water supply and drainage supplies.
4. System Type: Powerflushing different types of systems means covering different aspects of the Powerflush, open vent systems require the header tank to removed and cleaned out and the feed and vent pipe either capped off or linked together, where as sealed systems and combi boilers are more straight forward.
5. Carrying out the Powerflush: Isolate the boiler power, once the Powerflush machine is all set up you need to make sure that all radiator valves and zone valves are fully open, fill machine with water and then pump around system checking for leaks and making sure all radiators and system is free from air, then add the cleaning chemicals to the machine and let that circulate around the system for a while, then you need to Powerflush the heating circuit by turning off one side of all radiators except one and closing the hot water zone valve, carry out this procedure with all radiators to remove all sludge from the system, the hot water circuit will need to be cleaned too via the coil in the hot water cylinder, for combi boilers you can sometimes Powerflush the heat exchanger plate by opening a hot tap if this does not work the plate may be completely blocked and may require removal or replacing. The Powerflush is complete when the chemicals have been dumped out with clean water and the water running through the system is clear.
6. Protecting your heating system: Once the Powerflush is complete and you are happy with the results the system needs to be protected with a Inhibitor and the correct dose according to the size of the system needs to be added and topped up when required.

Shaw’s plumbing and heating always advise our customers on the process of a Powerflush before any works are carried out and a lot of our customers are telling us that when the Powerflush was carried out before a lot of what has been advised was not carried out.

Beware of cheap and unqualified engineers carrying out Powerflushing in your area to be safe CALL Shaw’s Plumbing and Heating on 0800 8 247 585 – 01296 208 247 for your free Powerflushing quote and advise.

Our Plumbers only use the Fernox Powerflushing equipment and accessories and we are fully trained to use the Fernox Powerflushing Equipment.