Benefits of a Powerflush

Benefits Of A Powerflush

It’s a cold winter’s morning and the heating has been on for an hour but the radiators are not getting very warm, particularly at the bottom. Sounds familiar? This is a classic sign that your radiators are full of sludge and it’s time to call in a heating engineer to give your system a good flush. Why does this happen you might ask, well read on and we will help you understand the reasons why this happens.

What Is A Powerflush?

It is a cleansing process where chemicals are introduced into your heating system to remove any dirt, sludge, rust or debris that may have built up within your heating system over a length of time. If the sludge is left in your heating system, it could cause blockages or corrosion and reduce the efficiency of your boiler as it struggles to circulate the dirty water around the heating system. It would also most likely start causing issues with the boiler and breakdown possibly costing hundreds of pounds to repair.

How Long Does It Take And What Is The Process?

The time that it takes depends on the size of your property and how many radiators you have. To give you an idea of how long a powerflush takes, a 3 bedroom house with 10 radiators would take approximately half a day. The heating engineer will connect the powerflush machine to your central heating directly.

He will spend a couple of hours flushing the system in both directions until it starts to run clean. If the system is particulary dirty, he might need to agitate the radiators to loosen the sludge to get it out of the radiators. During the flush there would be a cleaner introduced into the heating system to help break up the deposits. The system will then be flushed with clean water to get the chemical residue out. Once the system is clean, an inhibitor will be added into the system to prevent future build up of sludge and prevent corrosion.

What Are The Benefits Of A Powerflush?

The main benefits are:

1. Improved efficiency – A powerflush helps to remove any built-up sludge, rust or debris from the system, which can cause blockages and reduce the efficiency of the system.

2. Reduced noise – A powerflush helps to reduce any banging, whistling or gurgling noises that can be caused by blockages in the system.

3. Reduced maintenance costs – A powerflush helps to reduce the need for regular maintenance and can help to extend the life of the system.

4. Improved heating performance – A powerflush helps to improve the performance of the system, ensuring that it is running at its optimum level and providing the best possible heating performance.

How Do I Know When I Need A Powerflush?

It’s typically needed when you notice that your central heating system is not working as efficiently as it used to, or if it is making strange noises. Cold spots on the bottom of your radiators can be another sign that you need your heating system flushing. Constantly having to bleed the radiators is another giveaway that your system is dirty.

When bleeding the radiators you see dirty water coming out is a tell tale sign that it’s time for considering to have the system cleaned If the heating is taking much longer than normal to heat up, this would also be a good indication that you need the system flushed. If you are in doubt, call a heating engineer to confirm if you do need your system cleaned.

How Much Does A Powerflush Cost?

The price can vary depending on your location as well as what size your home is and how many radiators you have in your home. Generally, prices would start at around £300 all the way up to over £600. It might seems like a costly expense but when you look at the other option of having to replace your boiler and some radiators, this could sky rocket into the thousands.

Ideally the engineer that services your boiler should check the water quality, which would give a great indication if your heating system is clean or not. Having the system flushed will enhanced the heating system efficiency and this measure could help to prevent an expensive breakdown in the future.

Powerflush FAQ’s

1: Can a powerflush cause a leak?

There is a misperception that a powerflush can cause leaks. Yes the water is passed through the system at a high velocity but at a low pressure.

2: Can you powerflush microbore pipe?

Microbore pipework that has an extremely small diameter, typically just 8 mm, which can cause issues for a powerflush, although it is still possible. Manufacturers advise that a chemical cleanse is carried out on this size of pipework before a flush. The reason for this is to ensure as many tough deposits are loosened and removed before the main flush.

What’s The Difference Between A Powerflush And A Magnacleanse?

Powerflush:

A power flush is a deep clean of your central heating system using various chemicals and high pressure in order in to remove dirt, debris, and rust to improve the quality of your heating water. and help the boiler run efficiently.

Magnacleanse:

MagnaCleanse is the latest central heating system flushing breakthrough from the pioneers of magnetic filtration and the award winning MagnaClean technology. MagnaCleanse transforms traditional power-flushing practice. It is now possible to carry out a routine system flush in as little as just two hours. Here are some benefits:

Removes virtually all suspended black iron oxide in one pass
System flushing could now be achieved in as little as two hours
Effective system flushing results with on-going protection
Cleanser remains concentrated within the system throughout the process
Cleanser remains heated within the system throughout the process
Effective and ongoing protection for the boiler for improved performance and efficiency
No running costs
Speed, efficiency and future protection with Adey MagnaCleanse complete flushing system

Conclusion

Hopefully you have now understood the importance of your heating system being maintained correctly to help your boiler and radiators to work efficiently and ultimately saving you money on your energy bills. It is vitally importany that on your annual boiler service, the heating engineer checks the water quality in your heating system. This will ensure that you will be able to catch an early build up of sludge that could lead to costlly repairs. By having your system flushed every few years, it will ensure the heating system runs efficiently.

If you need your boiler serviced or would like one of our engineers to check the quality of your water in the heating system, please contact us here.