What can you insert in your water to help your boiler
What can you insert in your water to help your boiler
There are many optional products that are available to add to your central heating system to keep it running on a regular basis, and there are others that you can install and let them do the work for you day by day. Either way, a well looked after heating system will run more efficiently for you. It is now well known, thanks to advice given by governments and environmental organisations, that we should save energy wherever possible by turning off lights, washing clothes at lower temperatures, switching televisions off and turning down thermostats. All the above enlisted ways effectively save energy, protect the environment and bring down the electricity bill. But, how will you make sure that your central heating system works efficiently? As the layers of gunk and limescale starts piling up, the efficiency of the system starts dwindling increasing your energy costs.
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 is a term used to cover many different ways of looking after your system. Many types of water treatment products such as scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic anti-lime mechanisms, sludge destroyers, noise reducers and anti-freeze can be used for water treatment.
You can either get hard or soft water in UK, depending on the area you live in. Limescale deposits are common in areas that get hard water, and these deposits are first seen on kettles, taps and shower heads. Limescale not only reduces the efficiency of your system, but also increases your heating bills. A tiny layer of scale inside the cylinder of your hot water can augment your fuel cost by up to forty percent. When calcium carbonate precipitates out of the hard water, it forms limescale inside the boiler. 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.
If you want to determine the corrosion rate inside your heating system, you can do so by using these chemical kits which measure the chloride, copper and iron levels and measure the pH.
First, you must ensure that your system has been installed by a competent person just knowing that you must never directly connect aluminium to copper or brass because simply by connecting different metals can start a reaction which causes corrosion. The service technician fitting your gas connections should possess CORGI certification, this is now called Gas Safe and is a legal requirement.
If you anticipate hard water problems, you can fit out your new central heating system with a suitable water treatment attachment. Before using a water treatment remedy on your present system, ensure that the entire heating system is completely flushed out.
It is worth noting that mains water supplies heating systems, but that any system you use to soften water will not help with any central heating problems that you may be having. 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.
Right from the time the system is installed and commissioned, internal conditions can cause corrosion to set in. Your radiators can suffer from cold spots caused by restricted circulation as a result of gunk created in the system by corrosion. Gradual pitting can perforate the metal piping, causing the boiler or radiators to rattle.
In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. Deposits of these minerals leave hard crusts in the system when the water is heated. Limescale can again make the central heating system noisy.
You should also be wary of biological growth. This tends to get into the system by open tanks. The biological growth advances rapidly in the form of a slimy lining. It can also cover the inside of the pipework resulting in clogs and negatively affecting the operation of the whole system.
A lot of free advice is available on the internet on how to get rid of biological growth. Take a look at this for a few minutes to improve your awareness. It is recommended that you begin with the producers of the various systems. This site contains a list of manufacturers, and the products that they produce and sell to help maintain your central heating. Besides inquiring for information with company sources, you should also read opinions on specialised blogs.
All the best with your water treatment, let energy conserving central heating and hot water with lower household bills rule.