GB2405671A

GB2405671A - Adaptor for connecting flushing apparatus to a pump housing of a central heating system

Info

Publication number: GB2405671A
Application number: GB0419462A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Giles Hanford; Keith Macbain
Original assignee: KAMCO Ltd
Current assignee: KAMCO Ltd
Priority date: 2003-09-04
Filing date: 2004-09-02
Publication date: 2005-03-09
Also published as: GB0320679D0; GB0419462D0

Abstract

An adaptor 10, for connecting flushing apparatus to a pump housing (210 figure 6) of a central heating system, comprises a body 16 having inlet and outlet means 12, 14 for conveying flushing agent to and from the pump housing (210). A side of the adaptor which is to be fitted to the pump housing (210) has means 30, 30', 31 to enable a sealed connection with the housing (210). The inlet and outlet means 12, 14 are arranged to engage respective flow passages (212, 214 figure 6) of the pump housing (210). A method for flushing a central heating system using a cleaning system attached to the adaptor is also disclosed. The cleaning system may include a programmable controller which can reverse flow direction and initiate pulse pumping of a flushing agent. The flushing agent may be filtered and re-used.

Description

A CLEANING SYSTEM FOR A CIRCULATING LIQUID HEATING SYSTEM

AND AN ADAPTOR FOR CONNECTING THE CLEANING SYSTEM TO THE

HEATING SYSTEM

DESCRIPTION

This invention relates to a cleaning system for a circulating liquid heating system and is especially, but not exclusively, related to such a cleaning system for a circulating liquid heating system of the type which employs a liquid flushing agent being caused to flow, usually at high velocity, through a heating and circulating circuit of the heating system, to remove sludge and/or debris, such as light scale deposits, rust and other corrosion deposits, which have accumulated over time in the circuit and which impairs the heating efficiency thereof. The invention particularly relates to an adaptor for releasably connecting the cleaning system to the heating or other circulating liquid system.

Circulating liquid heating systems are well known, in which a liquid, such as water, is heated by an apparatus, such as a boiler, and caused to flow, by means of being pumped and/or gravity fed, around a heating circuit comprising a network of pipes and radiators. A conventional method of cleaning such a system is to introduce into the heating system liquid a cleaning agent which is left to circulate with the liquid for a period of days in order to loosen and/or dissolve unwanted deposits, such as sludge, debris etc. which have accumulated in the system.

After this period, the system is drained and refilled a number of times in an attempt to remove any unwanted deposits loosened and/or dissolved by the presence of the cleaning agent in the heating system liquid. However, this method of cleaning a heating system requires a number of site attendances over an extended period of time and is thus slow, manually intensive and expensive. Additionally, any sludge and/or debris below the level of the drainage point or points of the system such as in the lower parts of radiators, for example, is often neither loosened nor removed.

Power flushing has been developed as a heating system cleaning method in an attempt to mitigate the disadvantages of the aforementioned cleaning method.

Power flushing involves pumping a flushing agent, usually water and/or a solvent, at high velocity through the heating system circuit. Generally speaking, the higher the velocity the flushing agent is pumped through the heating circuit the more efficiently it removes accumulated sludge and debris from the system. This cleaning method normally comprises a single process and thus one site attendance. s

In order to introduce a flushing agent at high velocity into a circulating liquid heating system, a flow inlet (inflow pipe) and a flow outlet (return pipe) of the power flushing system must be connected to the heating system at convenient points. The flushing system inflow pipe and return pipe respectively carry the flushing agent into and away from the heating system.

Often, the most convenient points in the heating system to which the flushing system inflow pipe and return pipe can be connected, are the existing fittings connecting the heating system circulator pump to the heating circuit, where the pump is easily accessible.

The pump is removed and the inflow pipe and return pipe are connected to the circulator pump's pipe fittings to enable the flushing agent to be introduced into and removed from the heating system. However, when the pump is not so easily accessible, often a small radiator is removed from the heating system and the power flushing system inflow pipe and return pipe are then connected to the copper 'tails' running to and from that radiator.

It is preferable to connect the flushing system inflow and return pipes to the fittings of the circulator pump because that way the whole heating system can be flushed. Also, a higher flow rate of flushing agent can often be employed because the bores of the circulator pump fittings and the pipes of the heating system leading to and from the circulator pump are often larger than at other points in the heating system. However, it is often difficult to disconnect the circulator pump from its fittings as a result of corrosion, or it is just, simply, difficult to reach such fittings in the case of, say, many types of so-called 'combination boiler'.

Furthermore, as more than half the boilers sold in the UK market are now of the 'combination boiler' type, whereby the circulator pump is an integral part of the boiler and often within the boiler casing, removal of the whole circulator pump can be very difficult indeed.

Therefore, there is a need for an adaptor which allows a power flushing cleaning system to be easily and releasably connected to a heating system. This invention provides such an adaptor and an associated method.

Accordingly, in a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an adaptor for connecting a flushing cleaning system, such as a power flushing cleaning system, to a circulatory heating system, the adaptor comprising a body having an inlet means for conveying a flushing agent from a cleaning system side to a heating system side thereof and an outlet means for conveying the flushing agent away from the heating system side, wherein a part of the heating system side of the adaptor is arranged to be sealingly connected to a pump casing of a heating system circulator pump with the inlet and outlet means arranged to engage respective flow passages of the pump casing.

Most circulator pumps are arranged such that a motor and pump rotor (impeller) assembly thereof can be easily removed from a casing of the pump by releasing fixture means such as screws, bolts or the like, so that the motor and/or rotor assembly can be serviced. Thus, access to the pump casing, which encloses a pump chamber of the circulator pump, and thus to suitable heating system flow connection means, can be readily achieved by removing the motor and rotor assembly from the pump casing. This is particularly advantageous in heating systems employing combination boilers where the circulator pump is arranged within the boiler casing, such that the fixtures means for securing the motor and rotor assembly to the pump casing are readily accessible but where the fittings connecting the pump casing to the heating system are not so readily accessible.

The part of the heating system side of the adaptor which is arranged to be sealingly connected to the pump casing, may comprise one or both of the inlet means or the outlet means.

The arrangement may be such that one of the inlet and outlet means sealingly mates with a flow passage port of the pump casing and the other of the inlet and outlet means sealingly engages with a volute flow passage of the pump casing.

Alternatively, a surface portion of the heating system side of the adaptor, which surrounds the inlet and outlet means, may be formed to sealingly engage a complementary part of the pump casing.

One of the inlet and outlet means of the adaptor may be located centrally on the body of the adaptor, whilst the other of the inlet and outlet means is off-set from a central region of that body.

The inlet and outlet means may be formed such that the flushing agent can, at respective instances, flow into and out of the heating system through each of the inlet and outlet means. That is to say, the flow of flushing agent in each of such means can be reversed and, so, in alternative instances, an inlet means may comprise an outlet means and vice-versa. By periodically reversing the flow of the flushing agent flowing through the heating system, more turbulence is provided in the flushing agent, which disturbs and mobilises more sludge and/or debris, which, subsequently, can be removed from the system.

The adaptor may be formed as a single, integral component. For example, the adaptor may be formed by die casting with subsequent machining of those parts which engage and/or connect to the cleaning and heating systems or the adaptor may be formed by a plastics moulding process or the like.

Alternatively, the adaptor may comprise a number of assembled components including a body member, a first tubular element which engages a first bore in the body member to define one of the inlet and outlet means and a second tubular element which engages a second bore in the body member, thereby defining the other of the inlet and outlet means.

The first and second tubular elements may comprise respective pipe sections.

The first and second tubular elements may each screw-threadedly engage with its respective bore in the body member.

The adaptor may include bolt or screw apertures arranged to be coincident with the existing screw or bolt apertures by which the pump motor and rotor assembly is mounted to the pump casing, to enable it to be secured releasably to the pump casing by means of screws or bolts received in the apertures in the body member.

Alternatively, the adaptor can be secured to the pump casing by clamp means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flushing cleaning system including an adaptor in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

Accordingly, a third aspect of the present invention provides a method of connecting a flushing cleaning system in accordance with the second aspect of the invention to a heating system by: a) removing a motor and pump rotor assembly from a circulator pump of the heating system; and b) connecting an adaptor in accordance with the first aspect of the invention to a pump casing of the circulator pump.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of flush cleaning a heating system by: a) connecting an adaptor to a pump casing of a circulator pump of the heating system, the adaptor comprising a body having an inlet means and an outlet means and being connected to the pump casing with the inlet and outlet means engaging respective flow passages of the pump casing; b) pumping a flushing agent from a flushing agent reservoir of the cleaning system into the heating system via the inlet means of the adaptor; and c) removing the flushing agent pumped into the heating system from the cleaning system via the outlet means of the adaptor.

Preferably, the flow of flushing agent through the inlet and outlet means can be reversed, so as to create turbulence in the flushing agent, which helps to improve mobilization and removal of sludge and/or debris from the system. This reversal action can be effected by reversing the pumping direction of a pump of the cleaning system arranged to pump the flushing agent into the heating system.

The flushing agent may be pulse-pumped into the heating system in order to create turbulence in the flushing agent flowing through the heating system.

Pulse-pumping of the flushing agent may be controlled by a controller of the cleaning system. The controller of the cleaning system may be programmable in order to implement a program comprising a predetermined sequence of pulse-pumping steps.

The cleaning system pump may include means for admitting air bubbles to the flushing agent being pumped into the heating as a further means of creating turbulence in said flushing agent flowing through the heating system.

Within the power flushing cleaning system, flushing agent conveyed away from the heating system can be re used once filtered to remove sludge and/or debris carried away from the heating system or it can be segregated or - 1 1 discarded to prevent any dissolved and/or suspended sludge and/or debris removed from the heating system from recentering the system.

The flushing agent is, typically, predominantly water. However, known flushing chemicals can be added to the flushing agent to help dissolve and/or mobilise the sludge and/or debris. Additionally, surfactants may be used to increase the solubility and/or suspension characteristics of the flushing agent.

In addition to the ease of attachment of the cleaning system apparatus to the circulator pump of the heating system, the adaptor in accordance with the invention also allows the primary waterside of a secondary heat exchanger of a combination boiler to be efficiently flushed without the need to remove the heat exchanger. This saves both time and money. Additionally, during power flushing by this method, the interior of the circulator pump casing (volute) is also flush cleaned and, thus, the whole heating system is flush cleaned.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, preferred embodiments of an adaptor in accordance with the invention and for performing the corresponding method thereof, will now be described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection of a cleaning system to a heating system using an adaptor according to the invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the adaptor according to the invention; Figure 3 is a plan view in a direction indicated by arrowed line A in Figure 2 of an adaptor according to the invention and shows that side of the adaptor which, in use, faces a pump casing of a heating system; Figure 4 is a plan view in a direction indicated by arrowed line B of an adaptor according to the invention and shows that side of the adaptor which, in use, faces a cleaning system; Figure 5a shows a first example of a pump casing of a heating system circulator pump to which the adaptor of the invention can be connected; Figure 5b shows a second example of a pump casing of a heating system circulator pump to which the adaptor of the invention can be connected; Figure 6 is a cross-sectional plan view of a pump casing of the types illustrated in Figures 5a and 5b to which the adaptor of the invention can be connected illustrating the arrangement of inlet and outlet passages within said casing; and Figure 7 shows an adaptor of the invention in si to and in use in connecting a cleaning system to a heating system.

Referring to the Figures, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a cleaning system of the power flushing type generally designated as 100 connected to a circulating liquid heating system generally designated as by an adaptor 10 (also represented schematically) in accordance with the invention, The adaptor 10, the structure of which will be described below in greater detail with reference to Figures 2 to 4, is secured to a pump casing 210 of a circulator pump (not shown) of the heating system 200 after a pump motor and rotor assembly (not shown) of the pump has been removed from the casing 210.

The cleaning system 100 comprises a flushing agent filtering system 110 connected to a return pipe 120 thereof which is in fluid communication with an outlet passage 14 of the adaptor 10. The cleaning system 100 S includes a flushing agent reservoir 130, a pump 140 for pumping flushing agent under pressure from the reservoir into the heating system 200 via an inlet pipe 150 thereof which is connected to an inlet passage 12 of the adaptor 10, and a controller 160 for controlling the pump 140. The cleaning system may also include an air compressor 170 also controlled by the controller 160. It will be understood that this arrangement of the cleaning system 100 is provided by way of example only of a power flushing type cleaning system and that other arrangements of power flushing cleaning systems are equally applicable to putting the present invention into effect.

The heating system 200 comprises a boiler 220 (indicated in broken outline in Figure 1) within which, in this example, the circulator pump (not shown) and thus the pump casing 210 is housed, a forward flow pipe 230 connected to an inlet passage 212 of the pump casing 210 (and thus the circulator pump) for conveying, in normal use, heated liquid from the boiler 220 to a heating circuit 240 and a return pipe 250 connected to an outlet passage 214 of the pump casing 210 for conveying, in normal use, cooled heating system liquid back to the boiler 220. The heating circuit 240 comprises a network of pipes and radiators (not shown) as will be familiar to a skilled artisan.

The adaptor 10 is connected to the pump casing 210 with the inlet passage 12 thereof being engaged on a heating system side of the adaptor 10 with the inlet passage 212 of the pump casing and the outlet passage 14 thereof being engaged with the outlet passage 214 of the pump casing 210.

Referring now to Figures 2 to 4, the adaptor 10 comprises a generally cylindrical body member 16 having a generally centrally located throughbore which defines the inlet passage 12 and a further through-bore offset from the centre which defines the outlet passage 14.

The inlet passage 12 is further defined by a tubular member 18 which is screw-threadedly located in the central bore such that it extends outwardly a distance on either side of the adaptor body member 16. On a cleaning system side of the adaptor 10, the part of the tubular member 18 extending outwardly from the body member 16 comprises a connector 20 for connecting the inlet pipe of the cleaning system to the adaptor 10 and thus to the heating system 200. The connector 20, although shown in the Figure as an externally threaded pipe section, may comprise any suitable form of pressure fitting for connecting the inlet pipe 150 of the cleaning system 100 thereto. On a heating system side of the adaptor 10, that part of the tubular member 18 extending outwardly from the body member 16 has a collared end 18' upon which is mounted an "O" seal 19 or the like for sealingly engaging, in use, with the inlet passage 212 of the pump casing 210.

The outlet passage 14 of the adaptor 10 is further defined by a tubular member 22 which is screw- threadedly located in the off-set bore of the body member 16. The tubular member 22 extends outwardly from the body member 16 only on a cleaning system side of the adaptor 10 to provide a connector 24 for connecting the return pipe 120 of the cleaning system to the adaptor 10 and thus to the heating system 200.

Each of the tubular members 18, 22 may be secured to the body member 16 by respective lock nuts 26, 28.

Alternatively, the tubular members 18, 22 may form interference fittings with their respective bores.

On a heating system side of the adaptor 10, an outer peripheral portion 30' of a surface 30 on that side of the adaptor 10 is recessed and arranged to carry an "O" type seal 31 or the like. This surface portion 30' is formed to be complementary with a mounting surface 216 (Figure 5 showing two examples of pump casings) of the pump casing 210 which, in normal use, receives the pump motor and rotor assembly. Thus, the adaptor 10 can be mounted to the pump casing 210 with its surface portion 30' in sealing engagement with the pump casing 210. The surface portion 30' of the adaptor surrounds both the inlet and outlet passages 12, 14 such that the passages 12, 14 locate in the interior of the pump casing 210 when the adaptor 10 is mounted thereto.

The adaptor 10 also carries screw/bolt apertures 32 complementary to those 218 found on the pump casing 210, thus providing a convenient means of releasably mounting the adaptor 10 to the casing 210.

The adaptor 10 is arranged such that, when it is mounted to the pump casing 210, the inlet passage 12 thereof sealingly engages a centrally located inlet passage 212 of the pump casing 210 whereas the outlet passage 14 of the adaptor 10 is in fluid communication with an open volute passage 214' (more easily seen in cross-section in Figure 6) of the pump casing 210 which comprises the outlet passage 214 of the casing 210.

Whilst the adaptor 10 has been described above as comprising an assembly of parts, it will be understood that the adaptor 10 may be formed as a one piece component by a plastics moulding process or by a die-cast process with subsequent machining of those parts which engage and/or connect to the cleaning and heating systems Referring now to Figure 7, shown is the adaptor 10 in accordance with the invention in situ and in use being connected to a pump casing 210 of a heating system circulatory pump (not shown).

A first step of the method of power flush cleaning a heating system 200 in accordance with the invention comprises removing the motor and pump rotor assembly from the pump casing 210 of the circulator pump of the heating system by unfastening the screws, bolts or the like which fix the motor and rotor assembly to the casing 210.

Ordinarily, the screws etc are easily accessible to allow the motor and pump rotor assembly to be removed for servicing in contrast with the fittings connecting the pump casings to the heating system which may not be easily accessible particularly where the circulator pump -]9- is housed in a combination type boiler. It is also common experience that the circulator pump fittings can be difficult to release due to corrosion. Therefore, the method of the invention takes advantage of the fact that the motor and rotor assembly of the circulator pump are designed to be easily removed for servicing and that the circulator pump is normally positioned in the heating system such that said screws etc are accessible.

Having removed the motor and rotor assembly from the pump casing 210, the adaptor 10 is secured to the pump casing 210 by means of screws, bolts or the like received in complementary apertures 32 in the body 16 of the adaptor 10 with a surface portion 30' of the adaptor 10 sealingly engaged with a complementary surface 216 of the pump casing 210.

Once the adaptor 10 has been mounted on the pump casing 210, the inlet and return pipes 150, 120 of the power flush cleaning system 100 can be connected to their respective connectors 20, 24 of the adaptor 10 so that the power flushing cleaning process can commence.

The cleaning process comprises controlling the cleaning system pump 140 to deliver flushing agent under pressure and, thus, at high velocity into the heating system 200 via the pump casing 210 and to subsequently remove the flushing agent and any sludge, debris or the like loosened by the agent flowing at speed through the system 200. The rate at which the pump pumps flushing agent into the heating system 200 is controlled by the controller 160. The controller 160 may comprise an on/off switch or it may comprise a programmable device such as a personal computer (PC) which can execute a program comprising a predetermined sequence of pumping steps whereby the pump can be controlled to pump flushing agent at different rates for set periods of time, to pulse-pump the agent and even to periodically reverse the direction of flow of the agent being pumped into the heating system 200. In this latter case, it will be appreciated that the inlet passage 12 of the adaptor 10 becomes the outlet passage 14 and vice-versa during a flow reversal step.

The flushing agent preferably comprises water.

However, the agent, which is drawn from the reservoir 130 may have cleaning agents added thereto to improve cleaning efficiency of the flushing agent being flowed through the heating system or even the addition of surfactants. In an alternative arrangement, the flushing agent comprises water drawn from a mains water supply (not shown) thereby negating the need to provide a flushing agent reservoir 130.

The cleaning system 100 may include an air compressor 170 connected to the forward pipe 150 to enable air bubbles to be introduced into the flushing agent in order to increase turbulence of the agent as it is flowing through the heating system components thereby increasing cleaning efficiency.

The flushing agent may be reused once cleaned in the filtering system 110. The cleaning system reservoir 130 may receive cleaned flushing agent from the filtering system 110. Alternatively, the filtered flushing agent may not be reused but may be discharged to a drain or the like via a discharge outlet 112 of the filter system 110.

In some arrangements of the cleaning system 100, the flushing agent being may be immediately discharged to a drain or the like.

The adaptor of the present invention enables a power flushing cleaning system to be easily and releasably connected to a heating system at a convenient point for introducing a flushing agent at pressure into the heating system and which ensures that the whole of the heating system is flush cleaned including the pump casing.

Claims

1. An adaptor for connecting a flushing cleaning system to a circulatory heating system, the adaptor comprising a body having an inlet means for conveying a flushing agent from a cleaning system side to a heating system side thereof and an outlet means for conveying the flushing agent away from the heating system side, wherein a part of the heating system side of the adaptor is arranged to be sealingly connected to a pump casing of a heating system circulator pump with the inlet and outlet means arranged to engage respective flow passages of the pump casing.

2. An adaptor according to claim l, wherein the part of the heating system side of the adaptor which is arranged to be sealingly connected to a pump casing, comprises one or both of the inlet means or the outlet means.

3. An adaptor according to claim l or 2, wherein one of the inlet and outlet means is arranged to sealingly engage with a flow passage port of a pump casing and the other of the inlet and outlet means is arranged to sealingly engage with a volute flow passage of the pump casing.

4. An adaptor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a surface portion of the heating system side of the adaptor, which surrounds the inlet and outlet means, is formed to sealingly engage a complementary part of a pump casing.

5. An adaptor according to any preceding claim, wherein one of the inlet and outlet means of the adaptor is located centrally on the body of the adaptor, with the other of the inlet and outlet means being off-set from a central region of that body.

6. An adaptor according to any preceding claim, wherein the inlet and outlet means are formed such that a flushing agent can, at respective instances, flow into IS and out of the heating system through each of the inlet and outlet means.

7. An adaptor according to any preceding claim formed as a single, integral component.

8. An adaptor according to any preceding claim formed by die casting with subsequent machining of those parts which engage and/or connect to cleaning and heating systems.

9. An adaptor according to any of claims 1 to 7 formed by a moulding process.

10. An adaptor according to any of claims 1 to 6 comprising a plurality of assembled components including a body member, a first tubular element which engages a first bore in the body member to define one of the inlet and outlet means and a second tubular element which engages a second bore in the body member, thereby defining the other of the inlet and outlet means.

11. An adaptor according to claim 10, wherein the first and second tubular elements comprise respective pipe sections.

12. An adaptor according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the first and second tubular elements each screw-threadedly engages with its respective bore in the body member.

13. An adaptor according to any preceding claim further comprising bolt or screw apertures arranged to be coincident with the existing screw or bolt apertures by which a pump motor and rotor assembly is mounted to the pump casing, to enable the adaptor to be secured releasably to the pump casing by means of screws or bolts received in the apertures in the body member.

14. An adaptor according to any of claims 1 to 12 and securable to a pump casing by clamp means.

15. An adaptor substantially as hereinbefore described S with reference to the accompanying drawings.

16. A flushing cleaning system including an adaptor in accordance with any preceding claim.

17. A method of connecting to a circulatory heating system a flushing cleaning system in accordance with claim 16 by: a) removing a motor and pump rotor assembly from a circulator pump of the heating system; and b) connecting to a pump casing of the circulator pump an adaptor in accordance with any of claims 1 to 15.

18. A method of flush cleaning a circulatory heating system by: a) connecting an adaptor to a pump casing of a circulator pump of the heating system, the adaptor comprising a body having an inlet means and an outlet means and being connected to the pump casing with the inlet and outlet means engaging respective flow passages of the pump casing; b) pumping a flushing agent from a flushing agent reservoir of the cleaning system into the heating system via the inlet means of the adaptor; and c) removing the flushing agent pumped into the heating system from the cleaning system via the outlet means of the adaptor.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the flow of flushing agent through the inlet and outlet means can be reversed.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the reversal action is effected by reversing the pumping direction of a pump of the cleaning system arranged to pump the flushing agent into the heating system.

21. A method according to claim 18, 19 or 20, wherein the flushing agent is pulse-pumped into the heating system.

22. A method according to any of claims 18 to 21, wherein pumping of the flushing agent is controlled by a controller of the cleaning system.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the controller of the cleaning system is programmable in order to implement a program comprising a predetermined sequence of pulse-pumping steps.

24. A method according to any of claims 18 to 23, wherein the cleaning system pump includes means for admitting air bubbles to the flushing agent being pumped into the heating system.

25. A method according to any of claims 18 to 24, wherein within the flushing cleaning system, flushing agent conveyed away from the heating system is re-used once filtered to remove sludge and/or debris carried away from the heating system.

26. A method according to any of claims 18 to 24, wherein, within the flushing cleaning system, flushing agent conveyed away from the heating system is segregated or discarded to prevent any dissolved and/or suspended sludge and/or debris removed from the heating system from reentering the heating system.

27. A method according to any of claims 18 to 26, wherein the flushing agent is predominantly water.

28. A method according to any of claims 18 to 27, wherein flushing chemicals are added to the flushing agent.

29. A method according to any of claims 18 to 28, wherein the flushing agent comprises a surfactant.

30. A method according to any of claims 18 to 29, wherein the method is a power flush cleaning method.

31. A method of flush cleaning a circulatory heating system, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.