Considering Flushing Your Central Heating System?
Posted: Thursday, October 01, 2009
by Tal Potishman
Heating Central
Your central heating system may start showing signs that it needs to be flushed. This is something you should strongly consider before you decide to install a new boiler. Some of the signs are outlined below:
You notice that your heating system is slower than before in starting up
You hear unpleasant noises coming from your boiler
You begin to notice that your radiators need frequent bleeding
The treatment of your water will largely affect how efficiently your boiler runs. The treatment of your water is so important that it can even affect your heating system and boiler's longevity. Most people are not actually aware of this and an investigation carried out of 90 mains central heating systems showed that less than half were treated correctly and some of them hadn't had any element of chemical flushing at all.
The poor treatment of water has not been helped by reports which suggest that many new boilers that are installed in the UK are often installed within existing heating systems where old radiators and pipework are commonplace. The differences in overall efficiency between flushed systems and non-flushed systems can be demonstrated by some tests that were carried out. Unsurprisingly, the results indicated that the systems that had been flushed showed a 6% improvement in efficiency in the heating system in comparison to an old system.
It is important to be aware of the fact that most central heating systems are exposed to the atmosphere allowing oxygen to enter the water. This results in sludge building up in the pipework, which can result in a wide range of problems if left untreated.
Therefore it is important to note, that just installing a new boiler is not enough if you do not make sure that your water treatment is up to standard. In order to maximise the full efficiency of your boiler you need to ensure that you focus on your water treatment otherwise your investment will be wasted.
So what are the benefits of flushing out the central heating system?
Flushing cleans the whole system, including underfloor pipework
If your boiler is making excessive noise then this will be cured
The treatment should prevent future corrosion
The negative aspects of using the flushing system
How successful the power flush is will depend on various factors. In some cases, the level of corrosion in the central heating systems will be quite extensive. In these circumstances the flushing process is unlikely to solve the problem.
Furthermore, if your system has been neglected for a great length of time it is very likely that there will be severe corrosion in the pipework, or the boiler. Therefore, even after some flushing it is possible that the radiators will not work properly.
Tal Potishman, editor of Heating Central, writes articles about condensing boiler, central heating, Putney plumbers, underfloor heating and solar thermal. He specializes in helping save money by advising on efficient heating.
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