SYSTEM CHOKED UP WITH SLUDGE?                    WE CAN HELP!                                                           

                POWER FLUSH

                             What is a Power Flush?

A Power Flush is a means of removing sludge and other harmful products from central heating systems with the aid of chemicals and mechanically with a Power Flushing machine. We only use a Kamco CF90 Power Flushing machine. In our opinion Kamco machines are the best units in the industry. The end product being a clean system and boiler water wise. At the end of the job, the system must be treated with inhibitor, so as to protect the system and avoid it returning to its original condition.

Why do some central heating systems require a Power Flush?

It is estimated that 80% of boiler and central heating breakdowns can be attributed to poor water quality. Boilers and central heating systems can suffer from sludge and contaminants restricting flow and efficiency. Common symptoms are cold spots in radiators, excessive requirements to bleed radiators, boiler kettling, and pump failure. Fluxes and jointing compounds used in installing central heating and pipework are highly corrosive. Boiler manufacturers will not carry out warranty repairs for problems caused by poor water quality. They can and do use equipment to do on site tests for system water quality at warranty call outs. 

                   What can a powerflush achieve?

Like an athlete that gets rid of most of their fat and cholesterol, a system that gets rid of most of its sludge and contaminants and be protected by quality inhibitor chemicals will be more efficient, deliver better results, and be less likely to suffer boiler and system breakdowns. With the current cost of energy it is more important than ever to have your central heating system operating at maximum efficiency.

                   What can't a powerflush achieve?

Whilst a powerflush will remove most of the sludge and contaminants from a sysytem it can't achieve 100% removal. That said it gets it to a negligible level, that wont effect the system performance. It can't however make a radiator heat up to its full potential if it is fed with undersized pipework. This is often the case when a large radiator is piped with microbore pipes. Even if the pipework and radiator are totally clean, the flow of water into and out of the radiator will be less than is required to heat up the whole radiator to is maximum potential.

Other common problems that are more due to system design, other than blockages and sludge are. Radiators with thermostatic control valves fitted at top entry level to a radiator. Whilst this is popular with elderly customers to allow adjustment of the thermostatic radiator valve without bending down, the hot water pumped into the radiator will naturally travel in a ski slope motion to the outlet valve at the opposite bottom side, leaving the missed area cold.

Twin entry valves, whilst not so common today are found in a lot of old systems. This is where both the pipes for the flow and return enter the same radiator valve at the same side on a radiator. A powerflush will not overcome these design flaws, and they must be rectified prior to carrying out a full system power flush.

              Can a powerflush damage my system?

If a part of your system has a pinhole with rust holding it together, or a poorly made joint or fitting, then a powerflush may bring forward a leak that will happen in the long run. Customers should consider this possibility, but this has happened on only two occasions in all the 15 plus years we have been powerflushing. As we were on site at the time, the situations were handled with ease.

              How much does a Power Flush Cost?

We often hear people saying that a Power Flush is expensive. Even a small system normally takes a few hours to complete. The Power Flushing machine is very expensive, and the Engineer requires to undertake specialist training to operate it. The process needs to be constantly manned during the Power flush procedure. Our Power Flushing machine is the Kamco CF90, which is capable of powerflushing a system of 40 radiators in a 3 storey property. We offer a no obligation quote for all Power Flushes, however, we normally use the following formula. For a system of up to 6 radiators, we normally charge £250.00 inc. For each additional radiator over this, we would charge an additional £25.00 inc. Please note, hot water cylinders and towel rails are counted as if they were radiators. We don't differentiate between small and large radiators in our calculations.

                                  Quality Chemicals

We only use top branded cleaner and inhibitor chemicals such as Kamco, Fernox, Adey, as recommended by all major boiler manufacturers.