Urgent advice please

[fiskaloopa]

I don't know if anyone can advise....

Last week our hot water started fading in and out and a heating engineer came and cleaned out the heat exchange which he said had got clogged and re pressurised the boiler.

He advised that we get a new heat exchanger and we have booked in the work for tomorrow.

But the hot water is perfectly fine now and I don't know if I want to spend £600 right now when there is no actual problem.

The engineer said we should do it but then he would wouldn't he...

I’d probably do it before winter, but can see the temptation to wait a while.

OP

Was it sludge in your system? If so, cleaning it will be temp as the route cause of the problem will be the sludge .You may benefit fro a full flush and chemical clean and refill with the correct anti-corrosion before the new heat exchanger

If possible and if you don't have want - get one of those magnet tings that picks up debris

Seek a second opinion if the plumber says different

Ask the plumber why the heat exchanger was clogged and see what he or she says

Thanks both. Yes @DistinguishedSocialCommentator it's sludge in the system and the plumber says the same thing. They did a temp fix so best to get it sorted before we get stranded with no hot water at a less convenient time. Like Christmas as @ACynicalDad points out!

Can you cancel an appointment for tomorrow with no financial consequences? Less than 24 hours notice?

No worries, glad to have helped a little

Important point: Re power flush, be aware that any slightly weak joint, very little leak that has been stopped by the sludge, the power flush may reintroudce the leak by clearing sludge.

We had the above in a rental property we bought - brand new bolier, all rads, bathroom/kitchen but we kept the old pipes as they were only about 10/12 years old as that is not old in CH terms. We go a minor leak, IE CH combi bolier losing pressure over about 2/3 weeks - thankfully we used to leaving the heating on as we were to rent out the place. The plumber suggested easy first attempt to fix, put in sealant. We were a bit dubious but it did the trick - several years on, no leak

If there is a leak, minor leak on a small chance, don't just keep on topping up boiler, add anti-corrosion stuff soon, after - week/2 weeks or sooner depending on how much water was replaced but you should be ok