Blockage Cleared - Yahoo!

[TheScullster]

Thanks again to John Rumm and Set Square

After trying all conceivable permutations of hoses on radiators, pressurising using mains water etc my final inspiration came Sunday morning. On the strength that the blockage had moved, I hoped that it might have moved as far as the "low flow" rad valve. So I opened the valve and "broggled" through the valve and down the pipe with a tie wrap. Successive rodding operations and some spraying of the bedroom wall resulted in full flow being resumed!

The blockage was found to be caused by a build up of black granular material, rather like finely crushed coal. This was not the normal thick liquid sludge flushed from the rads.

Is this debris from the boiler, if so what? and does this signify the end of life for the boiler?

TIA

Phil

[John Rumm]

Well done mate! Bet you are pleased that is sorted.

Probably rust. Perhaps with some scale and other crud mixed in.

Sounds like you could do with a strainer fitted in the return pipe to the boiler (stick a couple of full bore leaver valves either side of it to make emptying easy). That way it would catch some of this stuff before it gets to clog up something important.

[Pete C]

If it's some sort of heavy scale deposit from the boiler as opposed to sludge I wonder if it'd be better to have the strainer in the flow from the boiler.

Also if there is a lot that needs filtering out an oversized 1" strainer could be fitted using reducing bushes, which would need emptying less often.

cheers, Pete.