Descaler in heating system - how?

sully123

Hi guys,

I plan on changing an old rad in the house in a couple of weeks.
So before that id like to add descaler to my system so that i can flush it out when changing the rad.

Can anyone tell me what would be the best way to get it into the system.
Its an open system.
Will it get around the system if i put it in to the expansion tank and run the heating a bit? This time of year it wont be on so much.

Cheers.

Dtp1979

sully123 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I plan on changing an old rad in the house in a couple of weeks.
So before that id like to add descaler to my system so that i can flush it out when changing the rad.

Can anyone tell me what would be the best way to get it into the system.
Its an open system.
Will it get around the system if i put it in to the expansion tank and run the heating a bit? This time of year it wont be on so much.

Cheers.

If you put descaler into your system you must flush the entire system to get it out

greasepalm

how easy is it to drain system,when i was getting new rads i got a drain valve fitted on hall rad in the need to drain system as it used to be on oil boiler in kitchen long gone now.

Robbie.G

greasepalm wrote: »

how easy is it to drain system,when i was getting new rads i got a drain valve fitted on hall rad in the need to drain system as it used to be on oil boiler in kitchen long gone now.

To flush system you need to drain heating and refill 2or3 times to flush system half right.

greasepalm

bugger more water usage,how often is it advised to do it or not flush system?

Dtp1979

Yes what Robbie said. Maybe circulate the water for 10-15mins each time. And as Robbie said, that's only doin it half right

danswivme

You need to drain down your system , add descaler ,fill and circulate - then fill and drain two or three times - adding it direct to the f&e tank won't be as effective

sully123

I flushed my system last year when replacing another rad.

I did it using mains water.

I drained the system, then isolated the system from the boiler and expansion tank and fed the mains water in through the flow and out the return opening one rad at a time until all the water went clear.

I was going to do it again but was hoping to have had the descaler working for a while before flushing it again.

Dtp1979

sully123 wrote: »

I flushed my system last year when replacing another rad.

I did it using mains water.

I drained the system, then isolated the system from the boiler and expansion tank and fed the mains water in through the flow and out the return opening one rad at a time until all the water went clear.

I was going to do it again but was hoping to have had the descaler working for a while before flushing it again.

That's not a flush I'm afraid.

GoTheDistance

Quick question related to this topic. I had a look into the cold tank in the attic today. There seems to be a lot of lime around the edges of the tank and some general dust/dirt.

Is it a simple job to clean the tank? I know I will have to empty the tank either by bailing water out by bucket or switching off the mains and letting the tank empty via bathroom taps or something.

Dtp1979

GoTheDistance wrote: »

Quick question related to this topic. I had a look into the cold tank in the attic today. There seems to be a lot of lime around the edges of the tank and some general dust/dirt.

Is it a simple job to clean the tank? I know I will have to empty the tank either by bailing water out by bucket or switching off the mains and letting the tank empty via bathroom taps or something.

Turn off mains, turn on bath taps until tank empty, except for 1-2 inches of water in the bottom. Get a wet vac and Hoover the lime out