Magna Booster - Do I need One??

[swiggers]

Hi

My mum has had a recommendation from a British Gas engineer to fit a Magna Booster to her central heating - which apparently removes lime scale from your central heating system and 'stops it from blocking up'. The charge for this is =A3250 parts and labour. She lives in SW London - the water is quite hard.

Is this Magna booster a good idea - or a useless gimmick? My mum has a Potterton conventional gas bolier fitted about four years ago and is on a service contract with BG.

Thanks for you advice.

Simon

[geoff]

In message , swiggers writes

If she believes in magic and is trying to get rid of excess money, then yes

Conventional as opposed to condensing ?

That would most likely be illegal

There's a mistake for a start

[Bob Eager]

Useless gimmick IMO. Dr Drivel will no doubt differ, but he's a nutter (really).

If you do decide to go ahead, get quotes from local plumbers. Will be a LOT cheaper than BG, and the workmanship will be better.

Example: I asked BG to quote for a boiler replacement a couple of years ago. I also asked for a quote from a local, trusted plumber/heating engineer. The local chap's quote actually included some additional bits, as it turned out.

BG (with £600 discount included) - about £3250. Local man - £1900.

And that was with a better boiler as well.

[The Medway Handyman]

Useless gimmick at a rip off price. Get rid of the BG service contract, they have a nasty habit of claiming the boiler needs replacing because spares are unavailable - when they are.

[Bob Eager]

Aftre my previous followup - they rendered our old boiler unserviceable and were surprised when I got the new one from soemone else.

[Dave Liquorice]

Utter bullshit. With a conventional boiler and indeed with a condensing one the central heating water just circulates. The system should have inhibitor(*) in this water to prevent corrosion. Even in a very hard water area the amount of lime bought in for filling the system is not remotely anywhere near being problem.

The only problem is if fresh water has to be introduced regulary to counter leaks but even then the problem will be mainly from the oxgyen in the fresh water leading to increased corrosion not any lime.

Tell 'em to go take a running jump.

(*) But as this system is under a BG "service" contract I wouldn't like to be on that.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember swiggers saying something like:

250quid for snake oil. I bet the so-called 'engineer' is on a bonus for recommending such s**te.

[Man at B&Q]

From the Daily Telegraph "However, recent industrial unrest has led to many engineers posting their experiences on internet forums, including the =93Gas Leak=94 forum on the GMB Union website, and on the Telegraph website [in response to Harry Wallop=92s report of March 23]. They claim British Gas management will not admit that its engineers are given commission for selling, but prefers to describe the process as =93earning time bonuses=94 for =93giving best advice=94. If an engineer =93= gives best advice=94 that a customer should buy a new boiler, for example, he is allegedly rewarded with a time bonus equivalent to =A312, and is given a management target to give this kind of advice at least 24 times a year. If he =93gives best advice=94 that a customer needs a powerflush, or to buy a magnaclean filter or carbon monoxide detector, the alleged time bonus is equivalent to =A39 or =A310 each time."

Avoid BG engineers like the plague.

MBQ

[John Rumm]

Could that have been "Magnaclean" rather than booster? If so, it only really seems to treat a symptom rather than a cause of a problem anyway.

[whisky-dave]

My mum has had a recommendation from a British Gas engineer to fit a Magna Booster to her central heating - which apparently removes lime scale from your central heating system and 'stops it from blocking up'. The charge for this is £250 parts and labour. She lives in SW London - the water is quite hard.

------------------------------------ I've heard water conditioning magnets can help too, so has anyone any advice on these, cheap emough to try I guess.

it is worth the effort ? and long term would this build up a potential blockage in the pipe, if the water is 'well 'ard' as in East ludun init !

[dom]

guess.http://www.first4magnets.com/water-conditioning-magnets-33-c.asp>> but it is worth the effort ?

I thought these magnet-based water softeners were pure snake oil - but this report from Southern Water says the effect is real (e.g. less crusting), though very variable:

[John Rumm]

guess.http://www.first4magnets.com/water-conditioning-magnets-33-c.asp>>>> but it is worth the effort ?

kind of pointless - the water in a heating system is stagnant - once all the scale has precipitated out there is no more to come. Scale in hard water areas affects the domestic hot water side of the system where the supply of water is fresh and ever changing. These devices could only collect scale on the sealed primary side of the system.

There is some argument for having a particulate trap on the return to the boiler to prevent any debris reaching it (and the magnabooster appears to include one of these - although at many times the price of a basic strainer), but the primary requirement is to prevent the generation of corrosion products in the first place by proper flushing and cleaning followed by regular maintenance with inhibitor. Letting the system rust and mopping up the result seems like its solving the wrong problem.

[Doctor Drivel]

My mum has had a recommendation from a British Gas engineer to fit a Magna Booster to her central heating - which apparently removes lime scale from your central heating system and 'stops it from blocking up'. The charge for this is £250 parts and labour. She lives in SW London - the water is quite hard.

Is this Magna booster a good idea - or a useless gimmick? My mum has a Potterton conventional gas bolier fitted about four years ago and is on a service contract with BG.

Thanks for you advice.

[Doctor Drivel]

This dope and handyman who puts doors on cupboards. Take no notice of him.

[Doctor Drivel]

Utter bullshit. With a conventional boiler and indeed with a condensing one the central heating water just circulates. The system should have inhibitor(*) in this water to prevent corrosion. Even in a very hard water area the amount of lime bought in for filling the system is not remotely anywhere near being problem.

The only problem is if fresh water has to be introduced regulary to counter leaks but even then the problem will be mainly from the oxgyen in the fresh water leading to increased corrosion not any lime.

[Doctor Drivel]

It protects the heat exchanger as it is on the return. It also prevents radiators sludging up.

[Doctor Drivel]

>> Seems kind of pointless - the water in a heating system is stagnant - once

The inhibitor wears off and water is reintroduced at various time. If using a vented F&E tank, fresh water is introduced regularly,.

They collect magnetite from the corrosion process. Sludge can ruin a system. many system are running very inefficiently because the rads are full of sludge. The sludge collects in the rads and the heat exchanger.

Basic strainers are not good enough. The Magna Booster collects the harmful magentite and solids in the system. Most systems are not flushed well enough on a boiler change and sludge ends up in the new boiler's heat exchanger. They are "essential on a boiler change using existing rads.

I have seen sludge and solids collect in a Magna Booster filter after a year, in a flushed new system with the correct amount of inhibitor.

[Bob Eager]

To sweetheart - as noted, this is the nutter I mentioned. Ignore him.

[Doctor Drivel]

Fuck off amateur idiot.

[Doctor Drivel]

My mum has had a recommendation from a British Gas engineer to fit a Magna Booster to her central heating - which apparently removes lime scale from your central heating system and 'stops it from blocking up'. The charge for this is £250 parts and labour. She lives in SW London - the water is quite hard.

Is this Magna booster a good idea - or a useless gimmick? My mum has a Potterton conventional gas bolier fitted about four years ago and is on a service contract with BG.

Thanks for you advice.

Simon