Is There A Plumber In The House?

[Bigjeeze]

Have you tried the Powerflush kit at all?

 

I used it last year when my new boiler was installed - I hired if from Brandon Hire - it cost around

[Masked Marauder]

Trouble is the woman wants it all doing on the cheap. Hiring kit is not going to happen. When she found out that the hire of the freezing kit was going to be

[Bigjeeze]

Trouble is the woman wants it all doing on the cheap. Hiring kit is not going to happen. When she found out that the hire of the freezing kit was going to be

[El Dingo]

Well OK, drain and fill with Sentinel X300 cleaner, run the system for 10 days, then drain and fill with X100 inhibitor.

[Masked Marauder]

Well the day was crap.

 

The system was last serviced over 10 years ago. The drain cocks were jammed and would not budge.

 

The header for the central heating was part of the hot water tank. Inaccessible. No isolator valves. So turn the water off in the kitchen on the rising main. Only that has not been touched for years either. The tap snapped off in my hand.

 

Out into the street and turn it off there. So I then had to loosen off the compression fitting to the valve and drain it from there, a one pint container at a time.....

 

Then 10 minutes after it is drained I refill the system. Bleed the rads and the hot water system. All is good, her heating has never worked better.

 

Tidying away I hear dripping. It is in the airing cupboard but nowhere near the valve. The flange on the header tank on her ancient hot water "box" (it was square, not a cylinder) is leaking. Verdigris all round it so not a new leak, but now disturbed and dripping. She says not to worry for now, she is going out. She puts a bucket under it.

 

I get my money and start to leave and she asks how much for a new tank. I tell her

[NikpV]

nightmare :wacko: :wacko:

[Bigjeeze]

It hurts to say it but sometimes plumbers do earn their money!!

 

 

By the way - Great site on PayPal - How nice to know it not just you!!

[Masked Marauder]

Well the woman kept saying that she wants her whole heating system sorted out. The boiler is fine as are the controller and valve (now) the rads are in good nick as is the pipework. It needs new Rad valves and locksheilds as they are weeping and a new indirect cylinder and tank in the loft. Also there is no automatic bypass valve. If she wants it doing then I can do it and save her mega bucks over the price of a proper plumber.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Changed it yet? On some makes, eg Honeywell, the electrics and the mechanical parts can be separated. Usually it is the electrical part that fails, so you can buy a new "box" and change it without having to touch the water part of the connections. Personally, if you do need to change the "wet" bits, I would drain the system down rather than trying to reeze it.

[Masked Marauder]

Done already. The drain valves were all seized solid so I only partially drained it. The valve body was leaking and the motor was knackered, so the who thing had to be changed.