Help fitting MagnaClean needed (re location)

[kalicoorguk]

Hoping someone can help me.

I've just had my boiler fixed and the engineer said to fit a MagnaClean. I've bought one and it seems simple enough to fit, via 22mm fittings.

However, there seems to be little room beneath the boiler to squeeze it in. It's supposed to go on the CH return.

Take a look at this photo and you'll see my setup:

The CH return is the pipe on the right. It comes in from the left and you should be able to see that there's a T-piece running upstairs and downstairs.

I could put some kind of dog-leg in, but then it might be an air-trap, no?

Open to all suggestions?

Thanks and regards,

[newshound]

If you mean the relatively long horizontal length of 22mm it looks pretty easy. You might need three 45 degree elbows all in the horizontal plane so that it clears the vertical 25mm pipes. No problem that I can see with air traps.

[John Rumm]

That horizontal run on the 22mm return pipe looks ideal. Far enough below the boiler to be able to service the magnaclean, and should be wide enough to get the device's isolator valves in.

If needs be you could introduce a bit more space by rotating the T on the vertical return pipe a bit, and doing the same on the RHS, and swapping that 45 degree bend for another elbow.

[RJH]

I think I'd cut the pipe above the first elbow, fit the Magnaclean with the cylinder mounted to the right (looks to be space), then take the outlet to the return pipe on the left, having cut and joined the existing tee. But I'd get plenty of second opinions first :-)

Can't quite get my head round why the flow and return are connected to the system with tees - how does it make a circuit?

With mine, the plumber mounted it a fair way below the boiler, under the kitchen worktop. Bit of a pain to get to, but out of sight

[Roger Mills]

You could move the tee piece - and hence the horizontal return pipe

*down* in order to have a longer vertical run going up to the boiler, to make room for the MagnaClean. [You may need to move the feed pipe out of the way temporarily in order to get at it].

[kalicoorguk]

Thanks a million for that. I have looked at the Zeetec filters and gone for a MagnaClean Pro 2. I believe it can actually be mounted with the pipes in/out at 90 degrees, so it could be possible to replace the elbow on the CH return (right-hand pipe on photo) with the whole assembly.

That would give me the room above it, to the boiler, though the pipes would not align so I'd have to chop a bit off the pip as it enters the boiler, effectively to bring the pipe forward to line up. It's not clear from the photo that they are not in-line, front to back.

The Zeetec looked good and also has a mesh filter, but it seems that the Adey MagnaClean is the most popular and I have a terrible habit of buying what might be technically better, but then nobody supports (Betamax anyone? Yep, I had one of those).

I cannot answer about why the flow and return are connected with Tees. Pretty much like everything else in this house since I bought it.... looked good but doesn't 'go good'. Anyone seen the film "The Money Pit"? Just saying.

Thanks again for your steer - really appreciate it.

[kalicoorguk]

Thanks Roger. I had thought of that one. Just that space is so tight around that Tee. Sod's Law and all that!

Thank you.

[kalicoorguk]

Here are a couple more photos, showing the front/back difference (offset) and why I thought I might be able to cure it with cutting back the pipe at the boiler input a touch.

[alan_m]

You need a clearance at the top of the magnaclean equal to approx the length of the body as the removable element inside is the full length of the body. You need to remove this element to clean it. The magnetic sludge collects around a plastic core that can be separated from the magnet that sits insides it.

> The Zeetec looked good and also has a mesh filter

When this captures sludge in the mesh does it also substantially block the flow of water in the CH system? The Youtube video suggests possibly it may do.

[Harry Bloomfield]

There are other manufacturers of these gadgets, take a look at the Fernox TF1 Omega - it has the possibility of being able to mount it in horizontal pipe or vertical with the body leaning up to 45deg from the vertical..

It looks as if it should fit between the 90 deg elbow and the first T at a pinch. Probably a bit cheaper than the MagnaClean to, assuming the MagnaClean can be returned.

I have the TF1 squeezed in above my boiler, between boiler and ceiling, the installer wasn't confident he could get the MagnaClean in the space.

My only criticism is the tap to bleed the dirty water out at the bottom

- It uses the cap at the bottom, as the tap spanner. Its far too easy to open the tap, drop the 'spanner' and have the water flooding out. It does take a lot out at first, even though I flushed my system through very thoroughly before the new boiler was fitted. A roundtuit, is to fabricate some sort of a 'stay put' key for it.

Another possibility would be to fit two, one in each leg at the far side of that wall. Alternatively, could the two pipes coming through the wall be joined at the far side of the wall, so you don't have bother pipes through the wall, just one?

[tabbypurr]

Zetec has a mesh filter & magnet, magnaclean only has the magnet. Zetecs are emptied by opening from the bottom, which would not be an issue in the OP's setup. Use a bowl when opening it.

The Zetec can block from debris, but only if an extreme level of debris is present. I fitted a Zetec to a system a fair portion of which was too clogged to heat up at all, and it did eventually clog with large amounts of debris inside. In any normal operation it would never clog.

NT

[DerbyBorn]

Harry Bloomfield [e-mail]> wrote in news:q08v4p $vuf$ [e-mail]:

Looks superb:

[Mr Pounder Esquire]

Snip....

I have one. After every service by British Gas it leaked from the bleed hole at the top.

[John Rumm]

I have the original TF1 on mine... does a nice job and flexible in installation.

[alan_m]

Being top opening the magnaclean has the advantage that you can fill it with 500ml of cleaner/inhibitor/silencer additive. I have one of the early versions without the drain in the base so I use a short length of hose to siphon the water out before tipping in a bottle of additive.

[alan_m]

I would seriously question the claim "easy to clean without dismantling"

While with my magnaclean most of what is collected easily washes off under a running tap over the years some of what is captured starts forming a sticky film that builds up which I clean off using an old toothbrush. My radiators etc. are 20+ years old.

[Harry Bloomfield]

alan_m pretended :

My rads are nearly 35 years old and I'm not seeing anything nearly so bad as in that vid, when I clear it out, even the first time I cleared it. The first 1/2" of what comes out into a litre plastic jug, has just a few bits in it, the rest runs perfectly clean and clear.

[DerbyBorn]

just remember to allow for the displacement by the magnet!

[alan_m]

I've found that a large amount of metalic sludge is collected when I've run a cleaner through the system for a week prior to draining down for a maintenance/replacement task. The act of refilling also seems to further dislodge sludge in the system/radiators which is captured by the filter.

[kalicoorguk]

Just a quick update for all of you that helped me (thank you).

I bought the Magnaclean but had to send it back. It was a big beast and including the valves I just couldn't get it in the space I needed.

I went with the (slightly more expensive) Fernox Omega TF1 and it is MUCH smaller, plus was the only one that you can buy without the valves, which enabled me to put two 22mm full-bore lever valves at difference points in the pipe.

Seems to be working well and after leaving some Sentinel X800 in for a few days, I am clearing a lot of muck from the system.

Thanks again to all who gave advice.