Rads stopped working after Magnacleanse

Sounds like you've been robbed,if they worked before they should be working now,sounds like the plumber is clueless.

 

If the rads were working fine before, then they should be working better now.

The only ways I can see rads stopping working is if the valves stuck in the closed position after they turned them off, so they remained closed even when they turned them back 'open' (TRVs are bad at this). That wouldn't be their fault - the valves were clearly ready to seize and simply now need replacing, which should be done at your cost (they are bound to have lots of valves in their van...)

The other possibility is that they dislodged a lot of crud which has now blocked a pipe or even one of the rad valves, or similar. I would consider that their 'fault', at least something they should now sort out. They cannot expect you to accept they simply moved one load of crud from one part of your system to another and caused a blockage!

Another possibility is what the guys said - there's an air-lock.

It's impossible for us to say what the actual cause is from here.

However, these guys should be on the case - they should be actively seeking the solution. The obvious first thing, I'd have thought, is to slacken off both valves as they enter the 'cold' rads and then open the valves to see if water is flowing freely out of each. If that seems ok, then whip the rads off and take them outside (the valves are disconnected, so just lift the bludy rads off their brackets!) - flush them through with a hose. That'll at least show if they are blocked.

So, if the rads are free-flowing, and the valves are free-flowing, then the problem is elsewhere in the pipework - either a crud blockage or an air-lock, surely?

It ain't rocket surgery.

As for the Magnacleanse - I haven't seen that thing in operation, so I don't know what the proper process is. However, I'd always assumed that the 2 magnetic filters (the two cylinders in the brief case...) were used in conjunction with a flushing pump, and not rely on the boiler's own pump - but I don't know (That was chust an assumption of mine based on what my bro was describing when they did his system; he seemed to describe this machine with the two cylinders being connected to each rad in turn, and pumped through whilst they agitated that rad with a drill attachment. Man, I could hear the racket over the phone...)

In a situation like this, I always wonder what I would do myself to sort it - as a DIYer. And if I end up thinking that I would be doing an obviously better job than the 'pros' in identifying the cause of the cold rad, then I'd want to buy a cricket bat.

But, I don't want to do these guys a disservice. Yet. It may be they are 'on the case'.

I would, however, expect them to be able to ultimately TELL you, for absolute CERTAIN, why a rad isn't heating up. It's got to be one of 3 things, surely? And easy to identify.

If the rads were blocked before and couldn't be cleared, then - fair enough - you should pay for new ones - that was the case for at least 2 rads at my bro's place. But, a working rad should now be a better working rad...

Possibly, these rads had a huge pile of crud sitting where it normally does, right in the middle/bottom of the rad. Can you recall if these rads felt cold along the bottom-middle edge? And then these chemicals - and the agitation - loosened a large chunk of semi-solid crud and it is now blocking the outlet of the rad. That is quite possible. But, surely easy to identify if this is the case?!

If this is the case, and taking it outside for a hose-through doesn't help, then I guess you do need to replace it, and that would be at your cost - your system was obviously 'full of it'...

Rads are cheap, tho'

 

The magnacleanse works off the heating pump,if they have worked on your working system it should be still working,its not good enough to shrug their shoulders and say could be an air lock,cowboys.

 

I'm saying nowt, you know my views on powerflushing,chemicals and filters, its sad and a travesty that folks can get conned by modern day highwaymen who don't even need a mask, I'm not gonna say I told you so, shoot,,,,,I just did, aw well,

 

Drilled? What do you mean? Presumably not putting a hole in the rad!

 

He means an attachment on an SDS drill that hammers the cr@p out of the radiators, sounds good but doesn't really work.

 

To be clear, TomP thinks magneclean and powerflushing are snake oil.

 

sounds to me on reading it again, they where unable to shut the small valve on the end of the rad, Bleed screw? on the two rads that arent working! theyve shut the valves off cos they couldnt stop the leak of water? just a thought.

 

yes it is overpriced circus act in your own home, ticket price is £600, but with a little bargaining they will take £250, (that tells its own story), Some say it improves the heating efficiency, I've only heard this said by, the makers,the sellers and the operatives,
I've never heard any customer say, " wow since I had my system powerflushed, it works more efficently" to be fair, how can they tell?, the only guide is the gas bill, but there's too many variants, weather,hours of use,people in house,movement in house going in and out, windows open/shut, Its very hard to prove one way or the other and they like it that way cos figures can lie and liars can figure,

 

What size rad is this, SSS? Yes, it sounds a bit pricey. And fitting it - provided it's a near exact fit - isn;t any more work that what they are currently doing; they may well need to remove it to check if it's blocked anyway.

It's a toughie. In one sense it's not their 'fault' if a rad becomes blocked because your system was full of sh*, and what happened can be considered beyond their control. On the other hand, as a customer/layman who just doesn't have to 'understand' what's going on, you simply paid for a job; "clean my system, fit a new boiler and TRVs, and leave me with a nicely running CH system - thank you very much. Done that? Cool - here's the money".

Grey area - in my bro's case, a couple of rads were absolutely blocked solid and no amount of agitation would sort it. I have no doubt that the guy there tried his best. So, these rads needed replacing and my bro trotted down to the local builder's merchants with the dimensions written by the guy (who'd come to do the job in a day and didn't carry rads) on a piece of paper, and my bro paid for them - fair enough. Not sure if the guy charged for fitting them, but it was a token amount if so.

In your case these rads weren't blocked, but if they subsequently became blocked due to excessive crud in your pipes being shifted around by the cleaning process or from other rads (or even the central lump of crud slipping and blocking the same rad's exit...) then I think I can have some sympathy with the installers.

However, what I absolutely would not accept is that they simply shrug when asked 'why is my rad not working'?! I would expect them to work out where the blockage is, and would also expect them to take these rads out side for a darned good hosing through if they are blocked. Clearly, any crud blocking them now is 'loose' stuff so should be relatively easily removable. If the rad is generally pretty old, tho', with stuck or sheared bleed screws and stuff, then perhaps a replacement is the best option.

Basically what I'm saying is, it's a grey area.

 

I feel a Toms Tips video coming.

 

they are your radiators and your system. if things fail when worked upon then its your problem.

if they have caused a blockage or issue from flushing then it should have been coverd in a disclaimer really.

as for a magnacleanse, its not a great way of flushing compared to a machine or taking rads outside on a hose pipe.

ideally the system should have had a pre flush report, with thermal pictures of the rads working and identifying any possible issues. then after the flush another report to help show what improvements have been made by flushing detailing temps, td's figures, thermal pictures etc. i guess you get what you pay for tho.