How To Add Cleaner To Central Heating System

Hello guys,
I've been having bug with my radiators not heating up upstairs. I've tried everything from bleeding the radiators to balancing them.

Someone suggested doing a power flush but another plumber suggested that it may non be necessary. I would similar to try and clean my central heating system before going for the power flush.

Can someone please recommend some cleaning chemicals I tin can buy over the counter?

and is it as simple as calculation the chemical via a valve somewhere?

Tin can someone also delight permit me know what are the risks involved?

Thank you in advance.
Power flushing is a quick style to make a load of money, & information technology puts a lot of stress on a system,especially if it'south old.
If your system does non have a filter,then first job would exist to fit one,Magnaclean Pro 2 amongst the best & easiest to fit, the filter will collect any grime dislodge by the cleaner.
So dose organisation with Spotter X400 cleaner & get out it a couple of weeks,upwards to four weeks maximum to practise it's chore,will need to check filter regularly first week for grime.
Drain down, throughly flush organisation, refill & add inhibitor like Sentinel X100.

https://www.adey.com/product/magnaclean-professional2

https://www.sentinelprotects.com/great britain/products/x400-system-restorer

https://www.sentinelprotects.com/u.k./products/picket-x100-inhibitor

Last edited: October 19, 2019
1. If the radiators are hot at the lesser but cold at the top, the issue is more than likely to be air than sludge in the radiators.
two. If they are cold at the height, but hot at the bottom, then more likely to be sludge.
3. Probably the most constructive way to clean about of the muck from the system is to remove each private radiator (possibly ane at a time), removing its valves, then hosing through (outside!), reversing the flow from time to time and tapping with a condom hammer. However, to exercise this you will probably need to drain down the organisation.
4. A good cleaner is Lookout X400, or X800 which is somewhat more aggressive. X400 can be left in the system, but will cease to loosen sludge after about four weeks. X800 should be circulated and the arrangement tuckered and refilled several times to remove information technology. Fernox and Kamco are reputable makers of similar products.
v. How you add the cleaner depends on the type of organisation you have:
5a. If an open organisation you will accept a small (iv gallon) tank in the loft. Turn off the boiler and h2o feed to the tank. Remove all the water (which is probable to be filthy) from the small (Feed and Expansion F&E)) tank. Drain some more h2o from the organization (3 or 4 litres) and add the chemical to the tank. Plough on the water feed and let the tank fill up until information technology stops usually. Plow on the boiler, and run the system. After a suitable period (max. 4 weeks for X400, say a solar day for X800) drain the system, refill and repeat two or three times.
5b. If a sealed system (combi, or non-combi but with no F&E tank but with an expansion vessel either inside the boiler or external to it) you volition need to add together the chemical some other mode. Often a tall towel type radiator volition do. Plow off the boiler. Bleed water from a radiator bleed point until the boiler pressure drops to nada. Take the whole bleed plug (not just the square headed bleed screw) out of the top of the radiator, syphon out one.5 litres of water and supersede with the chemical. Replace the plug, peak upward the system h2o to normal banality pressure level (say 1.three bar if you don't know what that is). Run the organization equally above. You will still have to practise a full drain downwardly and repeat a few times as to a higher place. If you lot don't have a suitable towel type radiator y'all tin go the chemicals in various "like shooting fish in a barrel add" versions. I've never plant these easy to use.
half-dozen. Provided yous follow the instructions for the chemical you select, and take the power to do simple plumbing tasks at that place are no real risk involved.
Have you tried closing all the downstairs radiators to run across if it helps
Hi is this a new problem, or an existing fault.
Practise you take a separate zone valve for the upstairs rads
Does the filter go on the return to the boiler ? Seems all-time option to me every bit old only stainless and back flushing information technology removed nothing at all then it would be a shame to pump some in.
We have some black crud lining the inside of some piping. Non sure about radiators every bit only drained ane for replacement and what came out was pretty make clean.

John
-
Hello guys
Apologies for my delayed reply. My business relationship got blocked as the assistants team suspected my posts to exist spam. Anyways I finally got them to unblock information technology.

Give thanks y'all all for your advice, I have tried to practice what I can to resolve the heating problems I have been having. So just to paint the picture I will layout the mistakes I have fabricated as somethings that should have been obvious just wasn't to me.

i.) I turned off the boiler past the mains
2.) I closed the thermostatic valves
three.) I opened the lock shield valves
4.) I bled the towel radiator in the bathtroom and so siphoned some water out so I could pour in 1L of Sentinel X800
5.) I then poured in some water to fill up the bath radiator
vi.) I then opened all of the thermostatic valves on all 7 radiators, turned on the banality past the mains and turned the temperature up to 25 degrees by the thermostat
seven.) I topped up the force per unit area to ensure the pressure level gauge on the banality was between i.5 - ii
8.) I left the central heating system running for about 2 hours
ix.) I came back and close down the radiator by the mains
10.) I located the bleed valve just outside the belongings and opened information technology to drain the central heating system - left it for about an hour
11.) I read online that I should have open the bleed valves a bit whilst draining the system. Then with this new information I started haemorrhage the radiators downstairs starting with the one closet to the boiler, which caused more water to come out of the drain valve
12.) I went upstairs and started bleeding the radiators there too which caused water to come up out of the bleed valves on the radiators downstairs that I had left open
13.) I rushed downward and quickly closed all of the down stairs radiator bleed valves (had existent fun mopping up all the spilled water
14.) Continued to bleed the radiators upstairs until no sound could be heard
15.) Continues bleeding the radiators downstairs, starting with the closet to the boiler until no water or sound could be heard
xvi.) A abiding flow of water kept on coming out of the radiator that is the cupboard to the drain valve which confuses me as no more h2o is coming out of the external and only drain valve
17.) I used use to the cease c0ck to stop the water supply and again opened the bleed valve mentioned in 16.) but again water just keeps on coming out and the bleed valve has nothing coming out of it

Can someone please indicate out the obvious things I should have done or what the consequence could be?

I am besides planning on cleaning the magnaclean filter, could this also exist role of the root cause to my issue?

FYI - I am trying to clean my key heating organisation as I suspect something may exist blocked and is preventing the upstairs radiators from heating upwardly.

Thank you all
If you accept a filter fitted, then add some Sentinel X400 to arrangement through the filter & leave it in two-iv weeks to work,commonly see results in just a few hours.
Might demand to cheque filter several times a day for first calendar week.
Thank you, I'm non currently living at the property every bit information technology's besides cold upstairs. Practise you lot recommend I yet recommend I add together some sentry X400 via the magnaclean filter despite already putting the sentinel x800 through the radiator?
.
X800 is a ane hr wonder product,I prefer X400 which is slower working production, had more success with X400 hither,noticed an improvement with the radiators in a few hours,than with the X800.
https://www.sentinelprotects.com/si...heets/sentinel_pfs_x400_uk_v6_june_2019_0.pdf
I would propose leaving x800 or x400 in the arrangement for longer, equally KIAB stays the x400 left for a prolongued period may be ameliorate in this case.
Another thing you tin can try, as you appear elevation have a mains filling loop, is to apply this to affluent water through the organization but be careful in example there is a blockage. Basically you fit a hose to one of the drain points, open the filling loop to flush water through then go round endmost off all radiators ecxept one - that will strength the water through i radiator at a fourth dimension.
Featherbrained question only what would yous do differently if you suspected a block?
Only problem is I don't really have two weeks to look every bit I tin can't move in until I sort out this heating nightmare.
Sad to meet an a**, but these 2 statements kinda contradict one another
ii. should read '...cold at the bottom but hot at the top...'.
I'd check your central heating pump to make sure it's working properly. Loads of bug with common cold radiators are downwardly
to the pump being on its final legs.

If it'south more than ten years sometime, it will certainly be worth changing information technology.
the entire radiator upstairs are common cold, information technology's not a example of 1 half of a radiator beingness cold if that make sense.
I'd estimate at an airlock then.
Hello guys only wanted to share an update. I got a 2nd opinion from another plumber who has identified the issue as existence cause by a weak or broken pump. So a new pump is on order and volition exist installed on Monday. I'll permit y'all all know the outcome every bit soon as I know. Thank y'all to everyone that has responded and tried to help out.
I'll exist interested to hear if it IS the pump (and clearly, I very much hope so!)
Please do keep united states posted.
Sorry for the belatedly update but better tardily so never. The upshot was two fold. I had a worn out pump and I too had sludge blocking the hot water from going upstairs.