Can you assist your gas boiler with softer water supply
Can you assist your gas boiler with softer water supply
There are countless products available in the market that you can add to your central heating system to ensure that it runs properly, and there are several other products that can do work for you even in standalone mode. Any household system, be it a refrigerator or television set or electrical wiring, will function better and more economically if it is well serviced. 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. All the above enlisted ways effectively save energy, protect the environment and bring down the electricity bill. Are you paying the same attention to your central heating system? The heating system is also prone to reduced efficiency caused by corrosion, limescale formation and gunk buildup.
To prevent a mass of gunk and limescale from building up in your system, especially where the water is hard, you must try water treatment.
Water treatment is a term used to cover many different ways of looking after your system. A wide range of water treatment products including scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic lime fighters, sludge removers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are available.
You can either get hard or soft water in UK, depending on the area you live in. If you find a build up of limescale in your kettle and on your shower head you probable live in a hard water area. Heating bills grow as a result of efficiency reduction caused by limescale. You may be surprised to hear that you bills can increase by as much as 40% with just a thin layer of limescale in your hot water cylinder. Limescale is simply calcium deposits in your system. Soft water area residents should not worry too much, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for help if you are not so sure.
The way that most water treatments work is by changing the molecular structure of the water’s particles which, in turn alters the way it behaves. Some will change one structure for another, others remove the offending structure and another will stop them from being able to make a solid leaving them in suspension.
There are chemical test kits which will measure the ph and chloride levels and also the iron and copper levels so that you can measure the probable corrosion potential and rate.
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. By law, only CORGI registered tradespeople can deal with gas connections, this scheme is now known as Gas Safe.
It is a good idea to plan ahead, if you are having a new system installed, think which water treatment you will require as some can be fitted to your system. However in case you are just updating your existing one, you can start with flushing the system and then think of any water treatment, there are chemicals you can add to your central heating system to reduce corrosion and sludge build up.
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. These solutions can make detergent and soaps to lather effortlessly, but they will not be able to help the heating system to work efficiently.
The three main things that you need to prevent are corrosion, limescale and biological growth.
Corrosion can begin immediately after the water starts to fill up the system from the main source after installation. Due to corrosion sludge is produced, which in its turn creates cold spots in the radiator and stops circulation. Pinholes can appear in the radiators and if untreated the boiler can start making noises.
Hard water contains magnesium and calcium and these minerals deposit as limescale in the system. Once the water is heated it leaves deposits of these minerals which form a hard crust, building up over time and blocking pipes etc. This again can manifest itself with a noisy heating system.
Biological growth inside the system is another hazard that must be prevented. The growth enters the system through open tanks in certain types of heating system. The biological growth advances rapidly in the form of a slimy lining. This can also grow and cause blockages in the pipework thereby reducing the efficiency of the whole system.
Various forums and websites provide useful information on water treatment. It would be wise to take time to go through some of this information. We recommend starting with the manufacturers themselves. Browse through some of the reputed water treatment companies and their acclaimed products on this page. Blogs also offer ample source of free help and information or you can contact the companies with any questions.
All the best with your treatment and let’s hope you can get your heating systems working as efficiently as possible to save you some hard cash.