Live in a soft water supply area and get lighter gas accounts
Live in a soft water supply area and get lighter gas accounts
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. Either way, a well looked after heating system will run more efficiently for you. We have all heard the advice from the Government and environmental agents telling us to turn off our lights, turn off televisions and not leaving them on standby, and reducing our washing machine temperature and room thermostats. These energy saving tips are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your costs down at times of high energy costs. But what about getting your gas central heating system to work more efficiently? The build up of sludge and limescale deposits in your central heating system will cause it to run less efficiently.
If you live in a region where hard water is being supplied, then you should look for water treatment methods to prevent gunk and limescale from damaging your central heating system.
Water treatment looks after your system in more than one way. gunk extractors, limescale inhibitors, electronic and magnetic lime reducers, anti-freeze compounds and noise reducing agents are some of the extensive water treatment products sold in the market today.
Living in the UK means that depending on whereabouts you are in the country, your water can range from hard to soft. Limescale deposits are common in areas that get hard water, and these deposits are first seen on kettles, taps and shower heads. Any accumulation of limescale will make your system run less economically and therefore increase your heating bill. 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. 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 way that most water treatments work is by changing the molecular structure of the water’s particles which, in turn alters the way it 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.
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.
It is very important to make sure that your system is put in by someone who knows what they’re doing as they will be aware of things like not connecting aluminium to copper or brass, which can cause corrosion. By law, only CORGI registered tradespeople can deal with gas connections, this scheme is now known as Gas Safe.
It is a good idea to plan ahead, if you are having a new system installed, think which water treatment you will require as some can be fitted to your system. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.
The mains water supply provides water to the heating systems, one can fix various other systems with the mains supply in order to deal with the problem of hard water, however these systems that soften the water work only for your household, they don’t do much about the problems associated with the central heating system. They will help make detergents and soaps lather more readily but do not help in the fight to get your heating system working efficiently.
Corrosion, limescale and biological growth are the three things that you should be looking to limit or stop from occurring.
The first problem that you may have to face is corrosion, it can start as soon as the system is installed and filled with water. Corrosion causes gunk in the system which can restrict the circulation causing cold spots on your radiators. Pinholes can develop in the radiators which can make the boiler noisy when heating up.
In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. When the water is heated, these minerals deposit, forming a hard crust that grows with time and blocks the pipes. This can be another cause of the boiler making strange noises.
The next problem to deal with is the biological growth. This tends to get into the system by open tanks. Once in the system it breeds producing slime and sludge. It can also cover the inside of the pipework resulting in clogs and negatively affecting the operation of the whole system.
You can find a lot of information and advice on how to deal with these problems on the internet and in this site. Please spare some time and go through this or read the other informative articles in this site. Lets first have a look at the manufacturers. Browse through some of the reputed water treatment companies and their acclaimed products on this page. You can also find a lot of really useful information and tips through forums as well as speaking to suppliers directly with any specific questions that you may have.
All the best with your treatment and let’s hope you can get your heating systems working as expeditiously as possible to save you some hard cash.