TM Hughes & Son gas engineers offer power flushing to our customers in Chelmsford. Power flushing clears sludge (rust and debris) in your central heating system. Having Sludge in your system is like having mud in your radiators, pipes and boiler. Over time sludge will build up in your central heating system. Sludge causes inefficient heat output and can even cause blockages. Preventing any heat getting through at all. If left alone sludge build ups can lead to boiler breakdown. In the worst cases, heavy build ups of sludge can even cause irreparable boiler damage, and a costly boiler replacement. All this is avoidable. Have your boiler serviced every year. Have a power flush every five years. This procedure will keep your central heating system running smoothly. Protecting your system from blockages, corrosion and boiler failure. When you have a new boiler installation, power flushing’s carried out beforehand.. This ensures a clean system, so your new boiler runs properly.
Do you need a power flush?
If your central heating system has any of the following symptoms, you may need a power flush.
Pinhole leaks in radiators
If any of your radiators spring a small pinhole leak, this is down to corrosion caused by sludge and debris. As the debris passes through your system, it will but corrode pipes and radiators from the inside out. Radiators are usually the first component to spring a leak. If you have a radiator leak, the radiator will need replacing. Your system should be power flushed to avoid any further corrosion.
Radiators cold at the bottom and in the centre
The heavier sludge particles will sit and build up in the bottom of your radiator. Over time this build up will get higher and higher. If any of your radiators are not getting hot at the bottom, then you have a build up. If the radiators are not getting hot at the bottom or middle, then there’s a heavy build up. In both instances, you should get a power flush to clear this build up. You may find that some radiators get hot all over while some are cold at the bottom or middle. Some radiators warm up fast while others don’t. Sludge build up isn’t always the same across all radiators in the system. Extremely dirty radiators won’t get hot at all. (Even though the pipes are getting hot) and are so badly blocked they won’t let water escape on bleeding. If you have any of these symptoms, then you should get a power flush done as soon as you can. Boiler and system damage could occur if you leave it.
Heating warms up slowly
A clean, central heating system powered by a boiler that’s serviced yearly, will heat your home quickly. If your heating takes a long time to warm up, this is a sign of a dirty system that needs a good power flush. Dirty Water. The colour of the water identifies problems in the system. Take note of water colour when bleeding your radiators. Grey coloured water is normal. Black coloured water is a sign of sludge in the system. A rusty brown colour means there’s corrosion in the system. If your waters black or brown a power flush’s a good idea. Boiler keeps shutting down. Sludge restricts water flow and can cause your boiler to keep shutting down. There a many reasons why your boiler’s shutting down repeatedly. Sludge could be one of them.
Unusual Noises
Sludge build up can cause loud noises from your boiler, pipes, radiators and pump.. If you’re a Chelmsford resident we will be more than happy to analyse your system. Detecting any minor issues before they become bigger (and more expensive) problems. Our plumbers are fully qualified and highly experienced in flushing domestic heating systems. They will determine if a power flushes required to get your system running at full capacity. Reducing the risk of boiler failure in the process. Often a power flush is all that’s needed to remedy these issues.
How A Power Flush Works
Power flushing is also known as Jet Flushing or Hard Flushing. The process involves pumping water mixed with chemicals through your central heating system. over a period of a few hours. As the water and chemicals circulate sludge, debris, rust, oil, limescale and any other unwanted substances are removed from your system. Water’s pumped at low pressure to ensure pipes or fittings will not come loose or burst. Power flushing should always be undertaken by a professional. Our engineers have many years experience in power flushing heating systems around Chelmsford. We use a professional Kamco power flush machine and chemicals. Specialist tools designed to flush central heating systems. Kamco machines are the industry standard and used by many professional heating engineers. The machines have very high flow rates (up to 170 litres a minute) for the best possible cleaning power. Kamco chemicals penetrate, loosen and dissolve corrosion, debris and sludge into fine particles. Unwanted particles are then expelled by the machine.
The time a power flush takes’s determined by the age/size of the system and how dirty the system is.
Powerflush Procedure
Before the power flush begins, radiator heat’s measured. To show the increased heat output after power flushing is complete.
One of our engineers connects a power flush machine to your central heating system. For Combi boiler’s the machines connected at the head. If you have a system boiler, it’s connected at the pump. The machine pumps a special mix of chemicals through your pipes, boiler and radiators.
The chemicals (which include a descaler) circulate the system. Sludge, rust and limescale’s removed. Our Plumber collects all the dirty water from the system and safely disposes of it. Your system’s refilled with clean water and a corrosion inhibitor. The inhibitor will keep your system clean for a long time. Preventing similar problems from occurring in the future.
Badly blocked systems may have some very difficult blockages. Sometimes these blockages need dislodging from the outside of the pipe or radiator. We have tools to do this with minimal disruption to and no damage to your system.
Powerflush Benefits
Once the power flush is complete, we measure the new temperature of the radiators. You’ll find the improvement impressive, and you’ll instantly receive the following benefits.
- Increased energy efficiency
- Lower fuel bills
- Radiators’ heat output restored to full working order
- Your system will heat up quickly
- The whole central heating system is cleaned
- Aggressive water is removed; further water treatment prevents corrosion
- No more noise in boiler, pipes or radiators.
- Sludge removal and de-scaling in one visit
- Helps boiler warranties
- Protection from boiler breakdowns
A boiler and pump have to work harder to push water through a dirty backed up central heating system. Water also takes longer to heat up, needing more gas. Once the system’s flushed the water can flow freely and heat up fast. Meaning lower fuel bills. Energy bills rise year on year in Chelmsford. The increased energy efficiency will protect you from rising bills. You will notice every radiator in your house has full heat output. All radiators are hot over the entire surface and heat up quicker than they did before. Your boiler, pump pipes and radiators will be quieter. Any annoying (even alarming) noises you had before are gone. Power flushing is good for Boiler warranties and breakdown insurance. New boiler installation’s need power flushing beforehand to validate the boiler warranty. (Not having one can invalidate your warranty). The last thing you want going through your brand new boiler is dirty, corrosive water. Our engineers always carry out power flushing before installing new boilers. After power flushing the event of a boiler breakdown’s far less likely. You have piece of mind you’ll enjoy a nice warm winter. With no unpleasant surprises from your heating system.
Book Your Power Flush
Power flushing will provide many benefits to your home. If you have any questions about this service, please feel free to get in touch. We have friendly engineers on hand to visit your Chelmsford home at any time convenient for you. To perform a free no obligation survey. For your power flushing requirements. The engineer will also write a free quote.
If you would like to discuss your powerflushing requirements, want a free quote or want to book a heating engineer please contact us using the phone numbers or contact form below