DIY power flushing or let the pro's do it

[denyason]

i have had an independent plumber check my system,a second opinion- he says i need to power flush as there is sludge. my contracted servicer will not fix my heating till its had a flush. i've had quotes of 500-1000 pounds and seems too much. i could rent a machine for £180 per week. the plumber stated diy isn't great idea as the pipes are plastic, not copper and could burst due to the pressure and i don't know how to close radiators etc...... my system is a potterton gas condensing combi boiler with 23 (mainly small) radiators. the house is 5 yrs old but i recently had an extention.
my main issues using a pro is price, the length of time keeping an eye on the plumber, quoted 10 hours or so.
my heating is currently bust and my servicer refuses to fix it until a power flush has been done. do i go diy or pay the hefty price for a pro?

 

[GrahamM]

Some confusion over what is barrier pipe here.

Barrier pipe is basically 2 layers of plastic pipe with another non-permeable layer in-between, some kind of resin stuff. It is essentially a sandwich of 3 layers. If you look at the pipe end on you can normally see these different layers. It is non-porous and usually rated to higher temperature than standard pipe.

Standard pipe should never be used on a heating system as mentioned before it is porous, and there is good chance you will get problems later on. After all there is only 10-20 pence per meter difference for the barrier.

 

[Toddyplumb]

The confusion comes from the manufacture ,the non barrier used to say on it Hot Cold and Central heating. They have a lot to answer for