Magnaclean 2

[transatlantic]

Has anyone got one of these? What are your experiences?

I believe my radiators are really gunked up, the tell tale hot at top and cold at bottom signs, so was going to pick one of these up. But I suspect that before it can work, I'll need to break up the sludge so it can freely float to the boiler return where this will be installed. Not sure I have the confidence to drain my system though to add the cleaner, so will probably get a plumber for that.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/adey-cp1-03-0 ... 22mm/49961

 

[Gary]

Yeah, I've got one.

It was installed about three years ago when the new boiler was put in.

On the old system the heating pump packed up and had the who system powerflushed when it was replaced. The new system is a combi and the filter gets cleaned with the boiler service.

 

[themackay]

I am just fitting similar myself along with my new boiler think they are a good idea

 

[Yorkshire Sam]

Good idea for new systems but no good if your system has already been used. Had a similar problem recently and had to have my system flushed which consisting of putting some fluid in for 24 hours then power flushing the system which took nearly all day! You would not believe the amount of metal gunk that adhered to the magnets. Cost a lot but the difference is remarkable

 

[transatlantic]

Good idea for new systems but no good if your system has already been used. Had a similar problem recently and had to have my system flushed which consisting of putting some fluid in for 24 hours then power flushing the system which took nearly all day! You would not believe the amount of metal gunk that adhered to the magnets. Cost a lot but the difference is remarkable

How much did you pay for that work out of interest? what size house?

 

[scholar]

It is a big job requiring proper equipment to do the power flush and as said earlier takes a good part of the day (I think you can hire the kit).

However, beware of British Gas who wwanted to charge us something like £750 for power flushing even as part of installing a new boiler. My plumber just included the whole thing in the overall exercise and was much cheaper by more than that amount anyway.

The Magnaclean is a good product and we have been pleased with it - there are various others that do the same job.

Defo worth doing though.


Cheers

 

[transatlantic]

How much do you think I should be looking at for power flushing a small 2 bedroom bungalow? 7 average sized radiators.

 

[RogerS]

Magnaclean - definitely worth getting. Am I right in thinking that this whole issue of magnatite has only really come to the fore in the last 5-6 years? I know all about sticking inhibitor in systems but the black gunk that is attracted to the magnet ? I really wish I knew about it all those years ago when we put our system in. Would have stopped this happening.

Not helped by the early Hep2o pipe being porous to air.

Don't get too optimistic about a power flush. You have to have some throughput of the water otherwise it does SFA. If the pipe is blocked then no amount of power flushing will shift it. DAMHIKT. Very easy to use...remove the CH pump and connect up the power flush.

You can hire them from Travis Perkins although if you do, make sure that some silly person has not wrapped Duck tape over the ferrule edges that are specifically there to stop the pipe coming off. That's what happened to the one they supplied me with - hot power flush fluid in the face, clothes, wrecked the elm door surround, the elm door, the floor. Ended up taking Travis Perkins to the Small Claims Court but part way through the process they paid up.

 

[gwaithcoed]

I changed my boiler 3 years ago installing a Ultracom 18HXI condensing boiler using a Magnaclean. About 2 weeks before, I drained some water to lower the level in the header tank and put in half a bottle of fairy liquid and left it running in the system. When it was drained 2 weeks later the water was filthy. I then removed all of the radiators (10) took them outside and flushed them with the hose pipe. When the boiler was in place I filled and emptied the system a couple of times and on the final filling put in system inhibitor.
When the system had been running for a month or so I decided to have a look at the Magnaclean and was gobsmacked at the amount of muck that it had collected, and still collects as I check it each time that I have a service. A heating engineer that I play golf with says he would never think of installing a system without one.

Alan

 

[RogerS]

Thanks for reminding me, Alan. Removing the rads and taking them outside to reverse flush with a bit of mains water pressure is a damn sight easier than power flush.

 

[Gary]

It's the screwfix deal of the day today.

 

[NikNak]

Gary just beat me to it.... (hammer)

http://www.screwfix.com/p/adey-cp1-...22mm/49961?cm_sp=homepage-_-promo-_-dotd49961

 

[Gerry]

Get yourself a washing machine water pipe, the screw on ones. This will fit directly to the fitting on the radiator.
Turn off the radiator valves and open the vent to release residual pressure. Close the vent when the pressure is gone.
Crack the rad valves from the radiator about a turn then you can lift the radiator up a few millimeters to release it from the brackets and then while it's still attached swing it down flat to the floor.
Put a rag under each valve and unscrew them. you will loose no more than a few drops of water and you can now carry the radiator outside upside down without making a mess.

Put one end near a drain and screw the washing machine filler on the other, connect the other side of the washing machine pipe to a hose (cut/join/jubillee clip or whatever)
Now turn on the hose and repeatedly agitate the radiator with a rubber mallet for several minutes until the water runs clear.
Refit, repeat and add inhibitor.
Use an inhibitor and magnaclean to keep the system clean.

Gerry

 

[transatlantic]

Get yourself a washing machine water pipe, the screw on ones. This will fit directly to the fitting on the radiator.
Turn off the radiator valves and open the vent to release residual pressure. Close the vent when the pressure is gone.
Crack the rad valves from the radiator about a turn then you can lift the radiator up a few millimeters to release it from the brackets and then while it's still attached swing it down flat to the floor.
Put a rag under each valve and unscrew them. you will loose no more than a few drops of water and you can now carry the radiator outside upside down without making a mess.

Put one end near a drain and screw the washing machine filler on the other, connect the other side of the washing machine pipe to a hose (cut/join/jubillee clip or whatever)
Now turn on the hose and repeatedly agitate the radiator with a rubber mallet for several minutes until the water runs clear.
Refit, repeat and add inhibitor.
Use an inhibitor and magnaclean to keep the system clean.

Gerry

I saw something like that on youtube. Do you mean a pipe like this http://www.screwfix.com/p/washing-machi ... m-x-/10955 ?

And should I be attaching that to the lower valves? (return/flow) or the upper valves (bleed)?

 

[Gary]

Get yourself a washing machine water pipe, the screw on ones. This will fit directly to the fitting on the radiator.
Turn off the radiator valves and open the vent to release residual pressure. Close the vent when the pressure is gone.
Crack the rad valves from the radiator about a turn then you can lift the radiator up a few millimeters to release it from the brackets and then while it's still attached swing it down flat to the floor.
Put a rag under each valve and unscrew them. you will loose no more than a few drops of water and you can now carry the radiator outside upside down without making a mess.

Put one end near a drain and screw the washing machine filler on the other, connect the other side of the washing machine pipe to a hose (cut/join/jubillee clip or whatever)
Now turn on the hose and repeatedly agitate the radiator with a rubber mallet for several minutes until the water runs clear.
Refit, repeat and add inhibitor.
Use an inhibitor and magnaclean to keep the system clean.

Gerry

I saw something like that on youtube. Do you mean a pipe like this http://www.screwfix.com/p/washing-machi ... m-x-/10955 ?

And should I be attaching that to the lower valves? (return/flow) or the upper valves (bleed)?

You'll do well to attach it to the bleed valve.

 

[transatlantic]

Get yourself a washing machine water pipe, the screw on ones. This will fit directly to the fitting on the radiator.
Turn off the radiator valves and open the vent to release residual pressure. Close the vent when the pressure is gone.
Crack the rad valves from the radiator about a turn then you can lift the radiator up a few millimeters to release it from the brackets and then while it's still attached swing it down flat to the floor.
Put a rag under each valve and unscrew them. you will loose no more than a few drops of water and you can now carry the radiator outside upside down without making a mess.

Put one end near a drain and screw the washing machine filler on the other, connect the other side of the washing machine pipe to a hose (cut/join/jubillee clip or whatever)
Now turn on the hose and repeatedly agitate the radiator with a rubber mallet for several minutes until the water runs clear.
Refit, repeat and add inhibitor.
Use an inhibitor and magnaclean to keep the system clean.

Gerry

I saw something like that on youtube. Do you mean a pipe like this http://www.screwfix.com/p/washing-machi ... m-x-/10955 ?

And should I be attaching that to the lower valves? (return/flow) or the upper valves (bleed)?

You'll do well to attach it to the bleed valve.

I didn't mean the actually valve, I meant the thread around it.

 

[Gerry]

yes that's the one, it will screw straight to the rad where you uncoupled it from the valve.

Gerry

Get yourself a washing machine water pipe, the screw on ones. This will fit directly to the fitting on the radiator.
Turn off the radiator valves and open the vent to release residual pressure. Close the vent when the pressure is gone.
Crack the rad valves from the radiator about a turn then you can lift the radiator up a few millimeters to release it from the brackets and then while it's still attached swing it down flat to the floor.
Put a rag under each valve and unscrew them. you will loose no more than a few drops of water and you can now carry the radiator outside upside down without making a mess.

Put one end near a drain and screw the washing machine filler on the other, connect the other side of the washing machine pipe to a hose (cut/join/jubillee clip or whatever)
Now turn on the hose and repeatedly agitate the radiator with a rubber mallet for several minutes until the water runs clear.
Refit, repeat and add inhibitor.
Use an inhibitor and magnaclean to keep the system clean.

Gerry

I saw something like that on youtube. Do you mean a pipe like this http://www.screwfix.com/p/washing-machi ... m-x-/10955 ?

And should I be attaching that to the lower valves? (return/flow) or the upper valves (bleed)?

 

[RogerS]

Get yourself a washing machine water pipe, the screw on ones. This will fit directly to the fitting on the radiator.
Turn off the radiator valves and open the vent to release residual pressure. Close the vent when the pressure is gone.
Crack the rad valves from the radiator about a turn then you can lift the radiator up a few millimeters to release it from the brackets and then while it's still attached swing it down flat to the floor.
Put a rag under each valve and unscrew them. you will loose no more than a few drops of water and you can now carry the radiator outside upside down without making a mess.

Put one end near a drain and screw the washing machine filler on the other, connect the other side of the washing machine pipe to a hose (cut/join/jubillee clip or whatever)
Now turn on the hose and repeatedly agitate the radiator with a rubber mallet for several minutes until the water runs clear.
Refit, repeat and add inhibitor.
Use an inhibitor and magnaclean to keep the system clean.

Gerry

Nice tip. Gerry. Unfortunately it only works if the feed pipes are horizontal. Our radiators have inline valves and the pipes come up vertically from the floor. So rotation is not an option.

 

[RogerM]

Another good product is a Trappex Centramag which some plumbers prefer to the Magnaclean on the forums. Probably not much to choose between them, but I opted for the Trappex purely because there was a good deal on at the time.

To save the cost and hassle of a power flush, I fitted the Trappex, then turned the pump up to max speed and isolated all the rads but one. This put a far more rapid flow than usual through that rad. I then tapped the base of each radiator rapidly with a rubber mallet to loosen any deposits. I went through the house running the pump through each radiator in turn with all the other rads turned off, and then cleared any collected gunge from Trappex. It is a good idea to wrap the head of the rubber mallet with a clean cloth to prevent black rubber marks from the mallet appearing all over the radiator. DAMHIKT.

That was 3 years ago. This thread has prompted me to check the Trappex again, which i do about once per year, and this is what it looked like today.

There is a modest collection of gunge, but nowhere near as much as there was straight after fitting it. There is less each year so it would seem to indicate that the system is being kept clean.

 

[transatlantic]

It makes you wonder why there hasn't always been some kind of filter, something fitted as standard. I mean, the concept of filters has been around for a long time?