I have 18 radiators on an old system to which I have fitted a Magnaclean. I understand that it can be a practical proposition to close all radiators bar one and then run the system to flush out that one radiator - at the sam e time as banging it with a rubber mallet to dislodge any sludge. Any comm ents?
A magnaclean should help keep a clean system clean, its unlikely to cope with getting all of the crud out of a badly sludged system. You would probably do better with fresh water flushing to a drain to start with.
(also take care if you have a modern boiler - you don't want to drive sludge into its HE since they will block very quickly)
I understand that it can be a practical proposition to close all radiator s bar one and then run the system to flush out that one radiator - at the s ame time as banging it with a rubber mallet to dislodge any sludge. Any co mments?
The best way to clean radiators is to remove them, take outside and jet the m out with a pressure washer. Good opportunity to fit new valves. A bit tedious. Almost worth fitting new radiators. The magnetic device is intended to keep crap out of your new exotic alloy b oiler, not clean the whole system. If start bashing old radiators you may make a hole.
I cleaned out my filter last week and not too much found (water heating only). I then turned on the central heating for an hour for the first time since last winter and checked the filter again. Quite a lot of crap had been captured, mainly very fine particles.
The last time I took a 20 year old radiator off and flushed it with a garden hose the amount of sludge dislodged would probably have filled the filter :(
Many thanks for your, as ever, helpful post. However the radiatiors are no t heavily sludged - I replaced them about 9 years ago. However, I now real ise I have had some air being drawn into the system for about that time and that has obviously caused some corrosion. I really just wondered how long to flush each radiator, and how much tapping with a rubber hammer might be necessary.
9 years in a oxygen rich environment could result in a fair bit of corrosion. Much will depend on how often the inhibitor was topped up. It contains an oxygen scavenger, but obviously if there is a continuous source of new O2, then that will get used up.
I would suggest 5 mins each way or until it runs clear - whichever takes longest.
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