Are you harming the central heating boiler with a bad water supply
Are you harming the central heating boiler with a bad water supply
Nowadays a typical home is fitted with dozens of automatic appliances and systems to provide householders with a convenient life. The point being that if you look after your system it will look after you. The Government and environmental agencies repeatedly tell us about the ways to conserve energy like switching off the lights and appliances when not in use, re-adjusting the temperature of the room and washing machine according to the needs, and not leaving any electrical device in the standby mode. These energy saving hints are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your bills down at times of high energy prices. What is the best way to get your central heating system to work more economically? With the accumulation of the likes of limescale and gunk in your system will make it less efficient.
Whether your water is hard or soft can play a crucial role in the life of your central heating system and water treatment can help here – to extend the healthy working of your system with products such as Fernox.
Water treatment looks after your system in more than one way. A wide range of water treatment products including scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic lime fighters, gunk removers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are available.
The UK has water types ranging from hard to soft based on the region where you live. Limescale deposits are common in areas that get hard water, and these deposits are first seen on kettles, taps and shower heads. These deposits decrease the efficiency of your system which in turn increases your household bills. Just a small, thin layer of scale in your hot water cylinder can increase your fuel bills by as much as forty percent. Limescale is simply calcium deposits in your system. 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.
The water treatment options work by changing water’s molecular structure, it changes the way water behaves. It can do this in different ways for example, by changing one structure for another, by taking away a structure or by inhibiting the structure from becoming solid.
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. Every gas connection should be carried out by a CORGI, Gas Safe, registered professional.
Don’t rush in to making a decision, always carefully consider what type of water treatment you need with your particular 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 not have any effect on how efficiently your system works, but they will make detergents and soaps lather up more easily.
With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.
Right from the time the system is installed and commissioned, internal conditions can cause corrosion to set in. Corrosion produces gunk and this prevents free circulation, this can eventually lead to formation of cold spots on radiators. Pinholes can develop in the radiators which can make the boiler noisy when heating up.
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. The deposits thicken when the water is heated, this leads to formation of a hard crust over a period of time which eventually blocks pipes etc. Again, the symptom of this can be a heating system that makes noise.
You should also be wary of biological growth. This tends to get into the system by open tanks. After the biological matter gets into the tank it begins to breed and produces gunk and slime. If the growth occurs in pipework, it can decrease the efficacy of the entire system.
Various forums and websites provide useful information on water treatment. Take out time to go through a few pages of free advice. It is recommended that you begin with the manufacturers of the various systems. Some well known manufacturers and their popular products are listed in this site, such as Sentinel or Fernox. Blogs also offer ample source of free help and information or you can contact the companies with any questions.
Good luck with your water treatment heres to energy efficient central heating and hot water with lower household bills of course.