Power flushes / rads not heating up - HELP PLEASE!

[Mandy Cowlishaw]

Hiya
We recently moved into a 25 year old house and all the rads were working except for the kitchen one which was stone cold as was the pipework leading to it.
We got a plumber in who fixed it but then our bathroom upstairs and small bedroom rads didn’t heat up. The plumber returned put some cleaning stuff through the system. After a few hours the rads upstairs were getting hot (all the ones downstairs were turned off at this point) and when we turned them back on, the rads appeared to be working.
We then had the heating off for a day or so and now it’s back on our living room and downstairs hallway rads, although get slightly warm, are not hot like they were before.
We’ve been told we may need a power flush but they seem expensive so we really don’t know what to do.
We dont mind paying it if the power flush will definitely work but I’ve read stories on the internet saying they are around £4-500 and a waste of money as they are not very successful?
Help! Does anyone have any advice or experience of this please?
It’s been non stop paying out with issues in our house since we moved here so it’s getting a little frustrating now.
Many thanks in advance.
Mandy from Hertfordshire

 

[Mandy Cowlishaw]

Is anyone competent enough there to crack open one of the radiator valves and see if the water is mucky

Definitely not LOL!

 

[gmartine]

Find another plumber, make sure he tests the pump and all the TRV's before deciding to go ahead with a powerflush. A heavy duty cleaner (if that is the issue) should be able to get your system going without the need for a powerflush in my opinion.

 

[Riley]

If it’s just downstairs then pump would be my bet as long as water is clean

 

[ShaunCorbs]

i would change the pump as its lasted well, i would say its the same pump as when they put the system in

 

[RoryD]

Small bore pipework will block very much easier than 15mm pipe. Clearing it is so difficult. A heavy dose of cleanser is required and also a Magenetic Filter to collect the deposits as they are loosened. Clearly a flush is needed. That damned microbore again!!

 

[ballvalve]

Small bore pipework will block very much easier than 15mm pipe. Clearing it is so difficult. A heavy dose of cleanser is required and also a Magenetic Filter to collect the deposits as they are loosened. Clearly a flush is needed. That damned microbore again!!

Small bore is 15 mm pipework.

 

[Riley]

Was always of the impression that small bore was up to 12mm

 

[Mandy Cowlishaw]

Was always of the impression that small bore was up to 12mm

Yep, it looks like we have microbore upstairs and 15mm copper pipe downstairs.....sounds a bit weird for a 25 year old house. I guess we’ll never find out the reason why!

 

[Frog67]

Can you get to the small tank in the loft and photo the water that's inside it? Dirty water inside the tank can help diagnose problems.
Also with the heating on, run your hand over the radiators, They should be warm / hot all over. Any cold spots will indicate a build up of sludge within the system.

 

[Mandy Cowlishaw]

Can you get to the small tank in the loft and photo the water that's inside it? Dirty water inside the tank can help diagnose problems.
Also with the heating on, run your hand over the radiators, They should be warm / hot all over. Any cold spots will indicate a build up of sludge within the system.

That’s a good idea, I’ll go up and take a look when I have some good light...thanks for the idea

 

[shocking mod]

The drain cocks seem in good condition should be quite easy to drain the system after you have cleaned it, but a magnetic filter would be a good idea, than add inhibitor. It would make the water hotter I mean more efficient if that is the problem.