Where you are can impact upon your boiler
Where you are can impact upon your boiler
You can find a number of products that can be added to your heating system to help it run smoother as well as some products that can take care of themselves. The point being that if you look after your system it will look after you. 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 energy saving tips are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your costs down at times of high energy prices. So how to make your central heating system run efficiently and reduce carbon dioxide? Your gas central heating’s efficacy decreases when limescale deposits and gunk accumulate in it.
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. Various products of water treatment are available like electronic line and magnetic filters, noise reducers, sludge removers, anti-freeze and scale reducers and inhibitors.
In the UK, depending on where you live, your water could range between hard and soft. If you find a build up of limescale in your kettle and on your shower head you probable live in a hard water area. Limescale deposits inside boiler parts, pipework and radiators increases energy consumption and can lead to banging and bumping in the pipework. 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 deposits are simply composed of calcium. 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.
Many water treatments produce the desired effect by changing how water molecules and the particles inside act through modifications of their structure. 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.
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.
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.
If you anticipate hard water problems, you can fit out your new central heating system with a suitable water treatment attachment. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.
Products added to the mains supply can soften hard water and improve the quality of water for domestic use, but they do not prevent or remedy deterioration of the central heating system. These water softening chemicals can produce better lather and are good for your skin, but they cannot reverse the choking and pitting inside the heating system.
With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.
Corrosion can begin immediately after the water starts to fill up the system from the main source after installation. Your radiators can suffer from cold spots caused by restricted circulation as a result of sludge created in the system by corrosion. 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. Deposits of these minerals leave hard crusts in the system when the water is heated. Again, the symptom of this can be a heating system that makes noise.
You should also be wary of biological growth. This problem occurs when tanks are open as they are in certain types of central heating system. 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.
A lot of free advice is available on the internet on how to get rid of biological growth. Please spare some time and go through this or read the other informative articles in this web site. Lets first have a look at the manufacturers. Below is a list of manufacturers and some of the popular products they have available. Blogs are another great source of free advice and information or contact a supplier with any queries that you may have.
All the best with your water treatment, let energy conserving heating and hot water with lower home bills rule.