Standard warning on the back says some boilers/pumps might be damaged by it.
Is that common? No idea what make my pump is and I've a 9 year-old
Glow-worm boiler - is there any point in worrying at all about it or should
I just lash some in?

Have just spent ages scooping out un-utterable ****e from the bottle of the
heating tank as three full system flushes hadn't got rid of all the brown
(actually ran cleaner originally, but disturbing the sediment by
emptying/filling the tank got it all suspended in the water!). 1/2 the
house on new rads now ... don't want them to be rusting anytime soon ..



a

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
al wrote:

Standard warning on the back says some boilers/pumps might be damaged
by it. Is that common? No idea what make my pump is and I've a 9
year-old Glow-worm boiler - is there any point in worrying at all
about it or should I just lash some in?


On a related issue, I shall soon be flushing out my system and renewing the
inhibitor.

Are there any issues in finding an inhibitor which can cope with:
* cast iron heat exchanger in boiler
* steel panel radiators
* mainly copper pipework
* some (recently added) JG-Speedfit (plastic) barrier pipe?
--
Cheers,
Set Square
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid.

On Sat, 16 Apr 2005 00:10:23 +0100, "Set Square"
wrote:

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
al wrote:

Standard warning on the back says some boilers/pumps might be damaged
by it. Is that common? No idea what make my pump is and I've a 9
year-old Glow-worm boiler - is there any point in worrying at all
about it or should I just lash some in?


On a related issue, I shall soon be flushing out my system and renewing the
inhibitor.

Are there any issues in finding an inhibitor which can cope with:
* cast iron heat exchanger in boiler
* steel panel radiators
* mainly copper pipework
* some (recently added) JG-Speedfit (plastic) barrier pipe?


This is very standard. Fernox MB-1 is a good choice for it.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

In article ,
al wrote:
Standard warning on the back says some boilers/pumps might be damaged by
it. Is that common? No idea what make my pump is and I've a 9 year-old
Glow-worm boiler - is there any point in worrying at all about it or
should I just lash some in?

Have just spent ages scooping out un-utterable ****e from the bottle of
the heating tank as three full system flushes hadn't got rid of all the
brown (actually ran cleaner originally, but disturbing the sediment by
emptying/filling the tank got it all suspended in the water!). 1/2 the
house on new rads now ... don't want them to be rusting anytime soon ..

That sounds like a real reason to use inhibitor - although if the header
tank is full of crud it suggests pumping over at some time.

--
*I must always remember that I'm unique, just like everyone else. *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
That sounds like a real reason to use inhibitor - although if the header
tank is full of crud it suggests pumping over at some time.


You mean the pump rate was too strong and hot water came back into the
expansion tank? Is there any reason for that to happen naturally in a
system if you don't change anything?




a

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
This is very standard. Fernox MB-1 is a good choice for it.


Think the stuff I saw was Wickes home brand. Is there anything in the name
with such a solution?




a

In article ,
al wrote:
That sounds like a real reason to use inhibitor - although if the
header tank is full of crud it suggests pumping over at some time.


You mean the pump rate was too strong and hot water came back into the
expansion tank? Is there any reason for that to happen naturally in a
system if you don't change anything?

It depends on whether it was correctly set up initially.

--
*Dance like nobody's watching.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 08:28:34 GMT, "al"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
This is very standard. Fernox MB-1 is a good choice for it.


Think the stuff I saw was Wickes home brand. Is there anything in the name
with such a solution?


Well.....

I tend to think of it this way....

I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
years ago when I switched to a sealed system and the gel equivalent is
more convenient. It costs £15 about every two years and every
system has been clean and sludge free apart from a few copper
particles from the original plumbing work.

If you consider that you are protecting a system which will cost about
£2k to replace if you DIYed it and at least twice that if done
professionally, then I don't see the point in attempting to save £5-8
by buying an unknown product from a DIY shed.

Fernox and Sentinel are the specialists in this area, and I prefer to
buy what I know works and that I can test.

It may well be that the shed products are OK, but for the stakes and
the small saving involved, I really don't think it's worth the risk.




--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 14:36:52 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

home brand. Is there anything in the name
with such a solution?


Well.....

I tend to think of it this way....

I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
years ago when I switched to a sealed system and the gel equivalent is
more convenient. It costs £15 about every two years and every
system has been clean and sludge free apart from a few copper
particles from the original plumbing work.

I'm fairly sure that MB-1 is NOT compatible with aluminium components.
Fro such a system make sure you use Sentinel X-100.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
years ago when I switched to a sealed system and the gel equivalent is
more convenient. It costs £15 about every two years and every
system has been clean and sludge free apart from a few copper
particles from the original plumbing work.


Fair enough. Only reason I was looking at Wickes brand was convenience, not
price. Do you know any of the big shops/sheds that stock it? Would save me
having to mail order a single item!

I see it comes in 4l and 25l containers. How much is enough for an average
system? I know it's hard to judge, but in case it helps, these are the rads
I have:

4 x small (0.5 - 0.6m) doubles
2 x medium (0.8m) doubles
1 x small (0.4m) single
1 x large (1.4m) single

.... and a wee expansion tank in the attack, the amount of water in which I
could not guess but it's about the size of a kitchen sink (the "sunk" bit
that is!).



a

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message
I'm fairly sure that MB-1 is NOT compatible with aluminium components.
Fro such a system make sure you use Sentinel X-100.


At the risk of it sounding like a dumb question ... how does one find out?
I know I've got copper pipes and steel rads, but I've no idea what the
boiler is made from (9 year old Glow-worm).





a

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:22:18 +0100, Ed Sirett
wrote:

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 14:36:52 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

home brand. Is there anything in the name
with such a solution?


Well.....

I tend to think of it this way....

I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
years ago when I switched to a sealed system and the gel equivalent is
more convenient. It costs £15 about every two years and every
system has been clean and sludge free apart from a few copper
particles from the original plumbing work.

I'm fairly sure that MB-1 is NOT compatible with aluminium components.
Fro such a system make sure you use Sentinel X-100.

I didn't think so, Ed, although I've never had a boiler with aluminium
heat exchanger.

Unfortunately Fernox's web site is down at present, although a couple
of sites I found with spec sheets say it is OK, eg.

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/info-41

DS3 descaler isn't compatible with aluminium. Were you thinking of
that?





--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 07:23:57 GMT, "al"
wrote:

"Ed Sirett" wrote in message
I'm fairly sure that MB-1 is NOT compatible with aluminium components.
Fro such a system make sure you use Sentinel X-100.


At the risk of it sounding like a dumb question ... how does one find out?
I know I've got copper pipes and steel rads, but I've no idea what the
boiler is made from (9 year old Glow-worm).


Depends on the model. I would call the manufacturer and ask.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:02:05 GMT, "al"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
years ago when I switched to a sealed system and the gel equivalent is
more convenient. It costs £15 about every two years and every
system has been clean and sludge free apart from a few copper
particles from the original plumbing work.


Fair enough. Only reason I was looking at Wickes brand was convenience, not
price. Do you know any of the big shops/sheds that stock it? Would save me
having to mail order a single item!

I see it comes in 4l and 25l containers. How much is enough for an average
system? I know it's hard to judge, but in case it helps, these are the rads
I have:

4 x small (0.5 - 0.6m) doubles
2 x medium (0.8m) doubles
1 x small (0.4m) single
1 x large (1.4m) single

... and a wee expansion tank in the attack, the amount of water in which I
could not guess but it's about the size of a kitchen sink (the "sunk" bit
that is!).

4 litres will be enough for that.

In his other post, Ed mentions that he didn't think that MB-1 is
compatible with aluminium. I thought it was, but Fernox's web site
is broken at present so I can't check there. Some other sites have
manufacturer data sheets indicating it's OK. He mentions Sentinel,
which is another known good product.

I've seen Sentinel products in B&Q and Fernox in Homebase (but
expensive).

You could try the plumbing merchants like Plumbcenter, Travis Perkins
etc.



--

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
In his other post, Ed mentions that he didn't think that MB-1 is
compatible with aluminium. I thought it was, but Fernox's web site
is broken at present so I can't check there. Some other sites have
manufacturer data sheets indicating it's OK. He mentions Sentinel,
which is another known good product.


I looked at their site last night and I *think* I remember seeing it say it
was suitable for all pipe and boiler types. Will have a look out for it in
the sheds. It's £15 on Plumbworld .. presumably for a 4l bottle, so will
use that as a benchmark. Thanks for all the suggestions.




a

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:02:05 GMT, "al"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
. ..
I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
SNIP

In his other post, Ed mentions that he didn't think that MB-1 is
compatible with aluminium. I thought it was, but Fernox's web site
is broken at present so I can't check there. Some other sites have
manufacturer data sheets indicating it's OK. He mentions Sentinel,
which is another known good product.

I've seen Sentinel products in B&Q and Fernox in Homebase (but
expensive).


MB1 used to be incompatible with Aluminium but I have an idea its recipe was
altered to overcome this problem. However since Sentinel X100 "is"
compatible I tend to use it for all jobs nowadays

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 10:00:36 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:22:18 +0100, Ed Sirett
wrote:

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 14:36:52 +0100, Andy Hall wrote:

home brand. Is there anything in the name
with such a solution?


Well.....

I tend to think of it this way....

I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
years ago when I switched to a sealed system and the gel equivalent is
more convenient. It costs £15 about every two years and every
system has been clean and sludge free apart from a few copper
particles from the original plumbing work.

I'm fairly sure that MB-1 is NOT compatible with aluminium components.
Fro such a system make sure you use Sentinel X-100.

I didn't think so, Ed, although I've never had a boiler with aluminium
heat exchanger.

Unfortunately Fernox's web site is down at present, although a couple
of sites I found with spec sheets say it is OK, eg.

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/info-41

DS3 descaler isn't compatible with aluminium. Were you thinking of
that?

I'm pretty sure that I saw the warning on some inhibitor. It was some
years ago and I might be wrong.

Given the amount of emphasis given by Sentinel that their product is
compatible with Al, it's likely there was at least one product on the
market that was not compatible.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html

On Mon, 18 Apr 2005 16:53:41 +0000, John wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:02:05 GMT, "al"
wrote:

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
I've used MB-1 in every system that I've had up until a couple of
SNIP

In his other post, Ed mentions that he didn't think that MB-1 is
compatible with aluminium. I thought it was, but Fernox's web site
is broken at present so I can't check there. Some other sites have
manufacturer data sheets indicating it's OK. He mentions Sentinel,
which is another known good product.

I've seen Sentinel products in B&Q and Fernox in Homebase (but
expensive).


MB1 used to be incompatible with Aluminium but I have an idea its recipe was
altered to overcome this problem. However since Sentinel X100 "is"
compatible I tend to use it for all jobs nowadays

Which just shows how long it is since I used any Fernox MB1.


--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at http://www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html