Is power flushing the new drain jetting?

[choco]

One of the most striking changes I've noticed since returning from my 14-year exile from the trade is the advent of power flushing.

I'm not sure if it's just a gimmick or even a means of extracting money from customers for work they don't really need, such as many cases of drain jetting.

It seems to be a mainstay of many plumbers' adverts and customer awareness of this service is high.

Is power flushing that revolutionary? I must admit I've sneered at it a bit, but I guess I might be missing a trick. My advice to customers has been that I could remove all their rads and wash them out with a hose and then run a chemical cleaner through their system instead. But they seem to favour power flushing.

Any advice on whether to invest in some equipment or not would be appreciated.

 

[galaxy_plumbing]

Well, its entirely up to you. But I wouldn't mess with rads removing. Powerflush machine or using rapidflush filter from Adey is giving you more comfort I think. But as I said, you can do whatever you like

 

[PowerFlusher2]

Problem is that manufacturers specify a 'flush' of the system and while they don't specify 'powerflushing' it is my suspicion that doing it any other way would not be acceptable to them.

 

[Ivor Bates]

I see many installations going on across London but very rarely see a power flushing machine, It's no more than a pump in a bucket with hoses coming of it, I have been to several jobs where someone has told the customer that their system needs powerflushing only to find either a defunct pump or a valve shut off or incorrect pipe sizing. If I come across a dirty heating system I find fitting a Magnaclean and adding a cleanser will clean the system sufficently, Ok you have to clean the Magnaclean a few times and maybe add more cleanser but it sure beats humping 1/2 a dozen hose pipes plus machine. Years ago you'd just take the radiator or heater battery out and run a hose pipe throught it and it worked just as well as these machines....

 

[choco]

Yeah, those Magnacleans pick up a lot of crap. They were something else I was sceptical about, but I've seen them in action and they are ace.

 

[Nostrum]

Powerflushing is a con IMO especially when BG sell it.

Admittedly some times it may be a genuine useful addition, but it is oversold and overpriced.

 

[johnnyplumb]

Powerflushing is a con IMO especially when BG sell it.

Admittedly some times it may be a genuine useful addition, but it is oversold and overpriced.

it can be a nice little earner though, especially if the customer gets a quote from bg, then asks you for a price..

 

[Best]

The words "Power flushing" make it sound like a real high pressure, high tech, back to bare metal clean of a system. Also the machine makes it look like it is something special & worth the money on a flush.
I am not impressed with what i see. Rads removed & also pipes flushed well with a hose with perhaps flushing chemicals used, does the job fairly well. Often a con I think.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

i do like the idea of pf , together with manual wash of rads it is perfect restore to ch system

 

[Roger Welton]

I have recently got a power flusher to supplement my magnacleanse and whilst it does shift a bit more muck the main benefit I see is it saves a log of work with the vibraclean which is insanely loud! Also it will clear pipework.

I don't know if I would pay the premium to get one from new (got mine from e bay for les than £200 ) I think it will earn its keep though it's already paid for itself.

 

[johnnyplumb]

you know how powerflushing is supposed to be high flow, low pressure. is it just me, but i dont think the flow rates that high. anyone noticed this ?

 

[Mike Jackson]

It occurs to me that it would possibly work as well to temporarily replace the standard circulator with a small commercial one to give a better flow rate whilst circulating chemicals.

 

[AWheating]

power flushing is popular due to the fact that boilers are now low water content and it takes a very small amount of sludge to block or restrict the boilers heat exchanger output. I think it has its place in the industry and is the best way of flushing a heating system. The problem occurs when its used when its not needed. The lack of training and understanding of when one is needed leads many companies and engineers to decided that a system needs a powerflush when it does not. Large companies that sell insurance schemes seem to use a systems condition to either push a costly flush or refuse a fix without any real proof of the systems condition. My personal view is if they have agreed to take a system on under there business (service and maintenence) then they should be responsible for the systems upkeep.

 

[mike-c]

Most merchants nowadays have the little Magnaclean samples lying around the counters showing how much rubbish they can pull out of a heating system. I remember about 25 years ago, all the merchants had little glass jars on the counter with rusty nails in water. Next to these were little jars with spotlessly clean nails in a solution of Fernox. The advertising for these stated that the Fernox would keep your heating system in the same spotless condition for 60 years. In all my time fitting new systems and seeing others in the merchants buying heating systems or boilers, a bottle or two of Fernox or similar inhibitor has always been bought at the same time. My question now is why are so many systems now in need of a Powerflush?

Also how much does a Powerflush cost and would it be cheaper in a standard 6 or 8 rad system to just fit new rads?

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Most merchants nowadays have the little Magnaclean samples lying around the counters showing how much rubbish they can pull out of a heating system. I remember about 25 years ago, all the merchants had little glass jars on the counter with rusty nails in water. Next to these were little jars with spotlessly clean nails in a solution of Fernox. The advertising for these stated that the Fernox would keep your heating system in the same spotless condition for 60 years. In all my time fitting new systems and seeing others in the merchants buying heating systems or boilers, a bottle or two of Fernox or similar inhibitor has always been bought at the same time. My question now is why are so many systems now in need of a Powerflush?

Also how much does a Powerflush cost and would it be cheaper in a standard 6 or 8 rad system to just fit new rads?

i remember the little glass fernox jars the only reason the nail did not rust is because the lid was sealed and no oxygen could get in,power flushing is a con,end of argument you can do a much better job by sticking a good descaler in and running the system for a few weeks,then remove everyrad,flush out with a hose pipe until clean then flush the pipework through,re fit a quality inhibitor and a magnaclean to catch anything that's left,this is the most thorough way to clean a system but you will only get it 80% clean that's whats the magna cleans for,power flushing cannot​ compare to manual flushing and rad removal its not good enough IMHO

 

[rodders]

In all my time fitting new systems and seeing others in the merchants buying heating systems or boilers, a bottle or two of Fernox or similar inhibitor has always been bought at the same time. My question now is why are so many systems now in need of a Powerflush?

I'd say due to inhibitor not being topped up regularly by customers. How many gas engineers here top up the inhibitor when servicing a boiler...

Many systems run for years on the same water and inhibitor should be changed.

IMO I dont believe taking rads off the wall and flushing them out is the best way to clean the system. The pipes dont get flushed, the rads should be agitated to shake out debris. Letting a hose run through the rad out in the garden only gets rid of loose deris and then the water runs clear. IMO this doesn't mean that radiator is free of all sludge/debris. The water is taking an easy way out its running around 12 litres per minute out of a hose (approx) powerflushing is approx 100 litres per hour?

The proof is ON the magnet at the end of a powerflush, but most companies mis sell this service as a "fix all problems" service and most the time doesn't need doing.

Just my opinion.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

If u pf does 100l per/h u must get a new one !

 

[rodders]

If u pf does 100l per/h u must get a new one !

Sorry! Per Minute lol