Are you harming your gas boiler with a bad water supply
Are you harming your gas boiler with a bad water supply
You can find a number of products that can be added to your central heating system to help it run smoother as well as some products that can take care of themselves. Regardless, a central heating systems that’s given proper care will work for you smoothly. You must have heard those environmental and government agents asking us to switch off our Television, lights etc when not in use, the room thermostats and washing machine temperatures should also be turned down to cut energy use and carbon dioxide production. These energy saving tips are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your bills down at times of high energy prices. But what about getting your gas central heating system to work more efficiently? The build up of gunk and limescale deposits in your central heating system will cause it to run less efficiently.
It usually happens in areas where hard water is present, you can go for water treatment to avoid these deposits.
The lifeblood of your heating system is the water that runs through it – Water Treatment maintains that water at an optimal quality to prevent damage and breakdown of the central heating system. Various products of water treatment are available like electronic line and magnetic filters, noise reducers, sludge removers, anti-freeze and scale reducers and inhibitors.
If you are living in UK, you should first ascertain the hardness of the water you are getting. If you find a build up of limescale in your kettle and on your shower head you probable live in a hard water area. These deposits decrease the cost-efficiency of your system which in turn increases your household bills. A tiny layer of scale inside the cylinder of your hot water can augment your fuel cost by up to forty percent. These are basically calcium deposits solidifying from the water. Those who live in soft water areas need not take quite so many precautions but it is always wise to seek advice if you are unsure.
Water treatment products act by modifying the water borne salts and preventing harmful reactions. Water treatment works in different ways, it can change the structure or prevent the formation of solid or remove the offending particle altogether.
There are different types of chemical test kits available that can help you to ascertain the corrosion potential of water by measuring the pH, chloride, iron and copper levels.
Your system must be installed by a professional, never connect brass or copper to aluminum as this can lead to corrosion through the interaction of these metals. All gas connections must be made by a CORGI registered tradesperson.
If you anticipate hard water problems, you can fit out your new central heating system with a suitable water treatment attachment. If you are upgrading your current system, you must cleanse your whole system before any water treatment chemicals are added.
The mains water supply provides water to the heating systems, one can fix various other systems with the mains supply in order to deal with the problem of hard water, however these systems that soften the water work only for your household, they don’t do much about the problems associated with the central heating system. They do not alter the efficiency of your system, they only allow soaps and detergents to produce more lather when washing clothes.
Corrosion, limescale and biological growth are the three things that you should be looking to limit or stop from occurring.
Right from the time the system is installed and commissioned, internal conditions can cause corrosion to set in. Due to corrosion sludge is produced, which in its turn creates cold spots in the radiator and stops circulation. Gradual pitting can perforate the metal piping, causing the boiler or radiators to rattle.
Limescale is caused by calcium and magnesium which is present in the water hard water areas having far more of these minerals than other parts of the country. Deposits of these minerals leave hard crusts in the system when the water is heated. Limescale can again make the gas central heating system noisy.
Biological growth in the system is another one to avoid. This tends to get into the system by open tanks. Once in the system it breeds producing slime and sludge. This can also grow and cause blockages in the pipework thereby reducing the efficiency of the whole system.
A lot of free advice is available on the internet on how to get rid of biological growth. It would be wise to take time to go through some of this information. Producers of water treatment products provide detailed data and user references on their websites. Some well known manufacturers and their popular products are listed in this site, such as Sentinel or Fernox. Besides inquiring for information with company sources, you should also read opinions on specialised blogs.
All the best with your treatment and let’s hope you can get your heating systems working as expeditiously as possible to save you some hard cash.
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