What's the worst case if I leave Sludge Remover in permanently ?

[Rick the Spud]

To cut a long story short, after a BG callout to replace a blocked/scaled pump (didn't see the pump myself so not sure) i was quoted £1200 for a power flush and new pipe work (because it was so sludged apparently) to which i said 'balls' and investigated it myself.

After cleaning the expansion tank, several system flush throughs until the water ran clear (it was pretty black), and a drain down and refill to fit a Fernox TF1 filter (can't recommend them enough) the system has been running fine all summer on hot water only with inhibitor added just to be sure. the TF1 has been emptied several times with only the first emptying containing any decent amount of crud, since then it's just been about a tea spoon full of black oxide.

I waited until more recently when i needed the heating on, then added a descaler (which can be left in) and a sludge remover, which says to leave in a maximum of 3 weeks on a normal heating cycle. since adding it, my filter has not really been catching any extra crud which i assume means the system is fairly clear.

Now my question is what happens if i leave the sludge remover in the system for longer? Obviously without a filter the sludge remover is designed to break down the oxide and get it moving in the system to be flushed out at a later stage, but if there's no more sludge left in the system, and my filter is catching what little there is, can i just leave it in there, or will the chemicals it's made up from start eating away at certain parts of my system, etc?

 

[FD Powerflow]

No. Inhibitor prevents future corrosion. Cold spots are areas on a radiator that don't get hot because of sludge and magnetite blockages. To breAk down corrosion and sludge in a system you need a system cleaner which you have used previously and seems to have worked. Just leave the inhibitor and the inhibitor tf1 to do their job

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

Good inhibitor's ie. Fernox and Sentinel have a small amount of cleaner to prepare the metal surface for passivation (the process of inhibitor minerals coating the metal surface) this means that even if a cleaner has been circulated you will still have a small amount of debris brought into solution over time, hence why in my opinion TF1's and Magnacleans should be mandatory!

 

[Rick the Spud]

Hi all

Heating still up and running and going strong, but i've got a couple more Q's...

1. There seems to be a 'droney' hum coming from the pipes in the downstairs ceiling. Everything seems to be bled so don't think it's air, any suggestions?
2. What speed should the pump be on? BG fitted it and put it on 3, i've set it to 2 so it wasn't quite so loud and used less power. Seems to be fine. Wondered if it should be higher as it's microbore and therefore more resistance?
3. Without any special thermometer tools is there a rough way to balance the rads?

cheers

 

[RoryD]

Rick, why didn't you just take the original advice? After BG advised you why do you say you "weren't sure because you didn't see it yourself?" If you doubt anyones integrity or honesty, leave BG and go somewhere else. You are not a heating engineer and you'll have what you deserve for meddling. If you don't want BG get an independent professsional in.

 

[Rick the Spud]

cheers RoryD, but what original advise? no-one has ever mentioned getting a pro in, and so far i've done it all myself and everything is fine except from a 'humming' pipe, saving me £1,200. I don't have a quarter of that hence why i'm doing it myself.

anyone else got any suggestions on humming pipes and pump speed?

 

[flyboy]

The higher the pump speed the more heat can be passed round the system. Put it on the lowest setting and if its warm enough leave it there. If it cannot cope on a cold day (freezing point outside) then you need to increase the pump speed.

 

[Rick the Spud]

cheers.

oddly just noticed that on 3 it's a lot quieter!

 

[RoryD]

Well, If you were all about, you wouldn't be in here asking the professionals for hard earned and well studied for advice. Why am I a little unhappy? well sound advice was given but you actually doubted it and have opted for a short term fix mate. Sludge and scale just doesn't go because you add gear and drain off. It'll get straight back to work when you're up and running

 

[Rick the Spud]

Sorry RoryD, not sure what you're on about mate. Not sure what this advice is that i've been given and not taken, apart from what the BG man said, all of which i've done, apart from doing the powerflush which i have been told to do and not do in equal measure. I also wasn't going to spend £1200 on doing so.
BG said i needed a magnaclean - i fitted a TF1 because i was told they were and seem to be better.
BG said i needed a system flush - which i've done.
BG said i needed a powerflush, and in order to do one i needed to change all the twin entry valves to single valves on each end of the rad and extra pipe work in between. - because i was also advised the powerflush may make things leak and a system flush with good cleaners would do the job just as well, thats what i did, also negating the need for more pipe work and new valves. powerflush is not a cure all problems, and what did people do before powerflush came along? what i've done?

I didn't come on here asking for a step by step guide on how to do everything the BG guy said needed doing, i came on here asking for a few pointers which i've been given, and advice on what was said to me by BG, which according to the helpful guys on here, seemed to be a standard expensive response to every job BG goes to.

And what is the short term fix i seem to have opted for? nothing has been bodged or short cutted, i've spent a lot of time and effort on it and my system now has clean water going round it instead of 'black coffee with bits in'!

I'm just left with a humming pipe, which was humming before, and a query on pump speeds. is that ok?

 

[RoryD]

Rick the spud: Are you missing a 'P' in there somewhere?? Already told you why! All of us in this industry are a little bit fed up with customers "not being sure" or doubting. Rogue traders do a good job, but the vast majority of heating engineers have earned their spurs so don't like to hear such "doubts". Are you ok with that?

 

[Rick the Spud]

who are you talking about? which heating engineer have i expressed my doubts to and have supposedly upset?
The BG bloke quoted for the job to my wife and i never even met him, then or since, and everyone's advice on here i have thanked and adhered to.

confused.com?