Where you live can impinge upon your gas boiler
Where you live can impinge upon your gas boiler
There are several products that serve as auxiliary items for your central heating system so that it operates normally, and then there are those that work independently to give you the service you want. Regardless, a central heating systems that’s given proper care will work for you smoothly. You must have heard those environmental and government agents asking us to switch off our Television, lights etc when not in use, the room thermostats and washing machine temperatures should also be turned down to cut energy use and carbon dioxide production. These environmentally conscious steps not only save the greenery on our planet, but also save the pound notes in our wallet. 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. 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.
If you are living in UK, you should first ascertain the hardness of the water you are getting. Living in a hard water area means that you are prone to limescale your kettle probably being the first place that you will notice limescale deposits as well as on your showerhead and taps. Central Heating bills grow as a result of efficiency reduction caused by limescale. A thin layer of limescale can increase your fuel bills by 40 percent. When calcium carbonate precipitates out of the hard water, it forms limescale inside the boiler. Soft water which contains less calcium salts is less prone to this scale formation, however it is advisable to test the water and take precautions.
The water treatment options work by changing water’s molecular structure, it changes the way water behaves. Water treatment works in different ways, it can change the structure or prevent the formation of solid or remove the offending particle altogether.
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.
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. The service technician fitting your gas connections should possess CORGI certification, this is now called Gas Safe and is a legal requirement.
If you plan ahead of time while having a new system assembled, you will be able to identify the water treatments you need and have some of them installed with your system. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.
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. You will be able to make lather with detergents and soaps more easily but your heating system will still have problems with efficiency.
With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.
Corrosion can start from the moment the system is set up and filled with water from the mains supply. Your radiators can suffer from cold spots caused by restricted circulation as a result of sludge created in the system by corrosion. If left as such, it can lead to the formation of pinholes in the radiator, and it will also make the boiler noisy.
Hard water has a higher concentration of calcium and magnesium salts which cause limescale deposits within the system. When the water is heated, these minerals deposit, forming a hard crust that grows with time and blocks the pipes. This can also make the system noisy and uneconomical, you will be paying for energy that does not heat your house.
Biological growth is another thing that should be avoided at all costs. This tends to get into the system by open tanks. 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.
Plenty of free help is available on the internet. Take a look at this for a few minutes to improve your awareness. I would start with the manufacturers themselves. Browse through some of the reputed water treatment companies and their acclaimed products on this page. Blogs are another great source of free advice and information or contact a supplier with any queries that you may have.
In order to ensure that your central heating system works efficiently and your household bills are also decreased, find out the best water treatment method and apply the recommended treatments annually.