What can you insert in your water supply to help your central heating boiler
What can you insert in your water supply to help your central heating boiler
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. The point being that if you look after your system it will look after 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 TVs off and turning down thermostats. These energy saving tips are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your bills down at times of high energy prices. 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 sludge buildup.
It usually happens in areas where hard water is present, you can go for water treatment to avoid these deposits.
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.
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. 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. These are basically calcium deposits solidifying from the water. 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.
Water treatment products act by modifying the water borne salts and preventing harmful reactions. 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.
To begin with, you should make certain that your system has been assembled by a qualified individual, for example it’s important to have the simple knowledge that connecting aluminum and copper or brass triggers a corrosive reaction because that’s what happens when different metals are joined. 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 upgrading your current system, you must cleanse your whole system before any water treatment chemicals are added.
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. They will help make detergents and soaps lather more readily but do not help in the fight to get your heating system working efficiently.
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. One of the symptoms of corrosion is cold spots in your radiators because gunk in the system prevents the water circulating properly. It can cause pinholes in the radiators and if left can cause the boiler to become noisy.
Limescale results from the presence of calcium and magnesium in water, hard water regions have these elements more than the rest 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 problem occurs when tanks are open as they are in certain types of central heating system. After the biological matter gets into the tank it begins to breed and produces sludge and slime. In addition to the tank, they grow into the pipes and block them; thereby the efficiency of the system is further reduced.
There is a lot of free advice on the internet. Take a look at this for a few minutes to improve your awareness. We recommend starting with the manufacturers themselves. You can see below a list of some of the most popular products and their manufacturers. 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 heating system which is enjoyable, healthy and cost-efficient on both kinds of green!.