High-performance and a long lasting alternative to traditional sandpapers that are usually non-splintering and non-rusting. These plastic pipes had also been laid to create a natural low spot (which I think is significant as it acts as a settling point for sludge when the water isn't circulating). In an ideal world you are best with a sealed system if gas or oil system (combi or heat only boilers), no plastic pipes because they absorb air and tend to have other problems, a magnetic filter installed perhaps and inhibitor in system. This Small brush with steel bristles perfectly designed for cleaning internal copper fittings and pipes. After much huffing and puffing and furniture and carpet moving, I managed to locate the pipe connection points.

Silverline Pipe Cleaner Deburrer 15mm 22mm | Homebase

What I noticed was that if I turned the thermastat down on my boiler it didn't 'kettle', so it only seemd to happen at higher temperatures. I desperately didn't want to re-pipe because I would need to chisel out OR run the pipes external to the wall but accept that it would be relatively easy (if external). After cutting out a section of pipe on the 2nd floor I could isolate a length of pipe approx 3m long, buried in the wall, that must have been blocked (i.

I then connected a hose to these plastic pipes and tried to blast flow through (from an external tap - starting at low flow and slowly increasing to max flow). No3 medium grade steel wool is used for general purpose work, cleaning or copper pipe and fittings, paint removal and preparation of pipework. Initially the noises didn't subside but I knocked the thermastat back to min and ran it for about 8hrs. At some point soon I will powerflush the system to get more sludge out - particularly if the kettling comes back.

15 mm COPPER PIPE CLEANER BRUSH DEBURRING INTERNAL DEBURRER 15 mm COPPER PIPE CLEANER BRUSH DEBURRING INTERNAL DEBURRER

I'm currently in the process of ramping up the thermastat slowly (over the next few days I'll get to max) so we'll see how we get on. Steel wool either in a pack of 3 by Rothenberger in a medium grade and a single large roll of Medium grade steel wool. which seemed logical as I'd been clearing sludge from the system and there was bound to be some in there). If I need to get a new heat exchanger or boiler I'll powerflush BEFORE doing so as I don't want to risk blocking a new one.

After about 30secs a huge glug occured and black water came out I left it running for about 10mins to clear as much sludge as I could. Rothenberger Rovlies come in a pack of 10, these cleaning pads are designed to be used for cleaning ends of copper pipe prior to soldering. I confirmed this by placing a magnet on a piece of copper pipe and getting a magnetic force (which indicated a ferrous material must be inside the copper). I then re-connected the hose from the external tap to the pipe and turned it on (slowly increasing the flow). If incorrect pipe only suitable for hot and cold water, then they will block solid due to ingress of air through pipe walls.

there any alternatives to ratchet-handle pipe cleaners? Are there any alternatives to ratchet-handle pipe cleaners?

They are suitable for removing corrosion, oil and grease and can be used in both wet and dry conditions. I did this from both 1st floor upwards (with discharge to 2nd floor) and from 2nd floor downwards (with discharge at 1st floor).

When I did this I could see that the 2nd floor system had been added at a later date from the rest of the house as the main pipe runs were all copper and the 2nd floor was all plastic. The 1st floor and 2nd floor rads are on the same zone and all 1st floor rads were hot but the two on the 2nd floor were lukewarm/cold.