Can you service your heating boiler with softer water supply
Can you service your heating boiler with softer water supply
Manufacturers have made multiple products and services that you can add to your gas central heating system to help it to perform efficiently for a longer period of time. Regardless, a central heating systems that’s given proper care will work for you smoothly. Environmental agencies and local authorities constantly advise us to economise our carbon footprint by switching off unneeded lights and electric devices and by setting our thermostats at lower temperatures. These environmentally conscious steps not only save the greenery on our planet, but also save the pound notes in our wallet. But how about making your central heating system operate more effectively? The accumulation of gunk and limescale deposits in your central heating system will reduce its efficiency.
If you live in a region where hard water is being supplied, then you should look for water treatment methods to prevent sludge and limescale from damaging your central heating system.
Water treatment looks after your system in more than one way. Magnetic/electronic lime fighters, scale reducers/inhibitors, gunk reducers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are examples of the type of water treatment products that are available to you.
If you are living in UK, you should first ascertain the hardness of the water you are getting. Living in a hard water area means that you are prone to limescale your kettle probably being the first place that you will notice limescale deposits as well as on your showerhead and taps. Any collection of limescale will make your system run less economically and therefore increase your heating bill. The energy cost in a boiler cylinder with limescale lining can be 40 percent more than a clean boiler leading to more expensive energy bills. Basically, limescale is just the build up of calcium deposits. These problems are not seen in areas that get soft water, however in case of any doubt one should always seek advice.
The water treatment options work by changing water’s molecular structure, it changes the way water behaves. These products can neutralize limescale, loosen and remove hard deposits or even maintain the residual salts in suspension form to be flushed out periodically.
Chemical test kits are available that allow you to check the probability and speed of corrosion by gauging the levels of ph, chloride, iron and copper.
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. The service technician fitting your gas connections should possess CORGI certification, this is now called Gas Safe and is a legal requirement.
If you plan ahead of time while having a new system assembled, you will be able to identify the water treatments you need and have some of them installed with your system. If you are upgrading your current system, you must cleanse your whole system before any water treatment chemicals are added.
The central heating system will take water from the main pipeline, and in this line, even if a functional water treatment method is already there to tackle the problem of hard water this method will be of no use for your heating system. They will help make detergents and soaps lather more readily but do not help in the fight to get your heating system working efficiently.
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. Corrosion produces sludge and this prevents free circulation, this can eventually lead to formation of cold spots on radiators. It can cause pinholes in the radiators and if left can cause the boiler to become noisy.
The calcium and magnesium present in hard water is responsible for limescale deposits. The deposits thicken when the water is heated, this leads to formation of a hard crust over a period which eventually blocks pipes etc. This again can manifest itself with a noisy heating system.
Fungal and bacterial growth is another menace to vented heating systems. They gets into the heating system through open tanks. After managing to enter the system, it spreads by creating slime and sludge. This material can really make your system under perform by clogging up the pipework.
Various forums and websites provide useful information on water treatment. These resources cover product details as well as user feedback. I would start with the manufacturers themselves. You can find a list manufacturers and the popular items they carry in this site. Forums and Blogs are another good source of free advice and wholesome information; you can also use these to directly get in touch with the suppliers.
Now you should be able to choose and install an effective central heating system which is enjoyable, healthy and cost-efficient on both kinds of green!.