Alloy heat exchangers

[Simon 45]

What chemicals would you recommend for Alloy boilers, cleaning and protection, also how long do they last before leaking. I have used fernox mb-1 on 2 Baxi boilers and they both leaked within 5 years. Have I been unlucky or is it the norm. What I would call the penny washers failed on both occasions, the boilers are mainly alloy but the penny washers are tin , why do they not use stainless steel or an alloy blend for the penny washers, I am sure the boiler would then last a very long time. I know its not in manufacturers interest for the boilers to have a long life, the old cast boilers lasted some times over 50 years. Can we not make a boiler these days that will last over 15 years on average, instead of the 7.

 

[Harvest Fields]

X800 mate

 

[king of pipes]

Its sentinal or adey products for me not a big fan of alloy heat exchangers but its the way most uk boiler manufacturers are going i always flush them through and thoroughly Clean the sump out on the service . Cheers kop

 

[gmartine]

Cast iron is great material for storing heat (once up to temp) but not so good at conducting, for longevity (although it's no guarantee) look to buy a boiler with a stainless hex.

 

[Simon 45]

Hi just purchased the new Baxi EcoBlue Advance heat, not installed yet but it looks as they may have addressed the problem of the leaking heat exchanger, they have fitted a proper drain down cock directly fitted to the copper pipework instead of a bleed screw that were fitted to a manifold on the heat exchanger on my previous boilers. If the heat exchanger/ electronics are made with quality components then I see no reason why these boilers should not last in excess of 20 years. I have not looked at the rest of the design / components, if I spot anything of note I will report back.

 

[Chalked]

Hi just purchased the new Baxi EcoBlue Advance heat, not installed yet but it looks as they may have addressed the problem of the leaking heat exchanger, they have fitted a proper drain down cock directly fitted to the copper pipework instead of a bleed screw that were fitted to a manifold on the heat exchanger on my previous boilers. If the heat exchanger/ electronics are made with quality components then I see no reason why these boilers should not last in excess of 20 years. I have not looked at the rest of the design / components, if I spot anything of note I will report back.

So basically, and hey have made the same alloy heat exchanger easier to drain down?
The same one that leaks!

 

[Old Account]

Cano my agree with sentinel or adey products ..

 

[Simon 45]

So basically, and hey have made the same alloy heat exchanger easier to drain down?
The same one that leaks!

Hi Very good comment, you may be right only time will tell, in my opinion the original design was poor. We have very little choice most manufactures are going over to alloy heat exchangers, I think the modification is a move in the right direction, but it may not solve the problem.
I am going use Adey chemicals on this installation, I already have a MagnaClean fitted. The first condensing boiler I fitted was a Glowworm with a copper boiler it lasted 15 years before it leaked, we are moving backwards not forwards.
The positive side is its keeping boiler manufactures in business and heating engineers employed.