ᐅ Discolored heating system water with signs of rust detected.

cinderella21 schrieb:
I find it strange that neither a magnetic dirt separator nor a microbubble separator was installed in our system.

This is by no means strange but common practice. If not ordered, it will not be installed. Since it is not always necessary.

cinderella21 schrieb:
And I wonder why a standard steel towel radiator was installed and regular carbon steel pipes from the manifold of the underfloor heating on the upper floor to the towel radiator in the bathroom. Is this faulty work?

No, this is not faulty work, but also not high-level engineering. As you were advised, have the circuits flushed, filled with demineralized (DI) water, and if possible add a corrosion inhibitor to the system.

The steel pipes and radiator are obviously not ideal, but they meet standard regulations. Here you can and should take action yourself and, if necessary, replace everything with higher-quality materials.

Also, check the expansion vessel. It is often made of simple steel as well.

And who is supposed to pay for that?

We don’t have the money to have the floor removed and replace the pipes. That costs at least 10,000 euros (or more).

cinderella21 schrieb:
And who is supposed to pay for that?

We don’t have the money to tear out the floor and replace the pipes. That’s at least 10,000 euros if not more.

Why? Flushing is done through the heating circuit distributor, and the dirt separator is installed somewhere in the technical area on an accessible section of the supply or, preferably, the return line.

Flushing and refilling takes about one day of work plus a few cubic meters of water.
The dirt separator costs around 100 euros plus one hour of installation.
Add travel costs, so it totals roughly 500–600 euros plus tax.

Often, a standard expansion vessel is used instead of one designed for drinking water. In this case, the pressure is simply adjusted to a different level, and that’s how corrosion resistance is achieved.

That’s how I installed it.

Adding any substances to the heating water should be done with caution. The risk is that these additives can damage the heat exchanger. Have experienced this before.

Mycraft wrote that it makes sense to replace the pipes, which is why I mentioned the minimum cost of 10,000 euros.

If we now flush, refill, install a sludge separator, and have regular maintenance performed, will our heating system have a normal lifespan, or should I expect that the pipes or the entire system will be corroded through after a few years?

The picture shows a pipe that was replaced after water damage (due to material or workmanship failure) because it started to rust from the outside. The building insurance is currently investigating who is responsible.

Is it normal for a carbon steel pipe to look like this inside, or should I be concerned?