Scale reducers

joat · 30 Apr 2004

I've been trying to work out whether its worth getting one of these scale reducers where you wrap a wire round the pipe and it charges the ions so that the scale doesnt form. Very mixed views so far. has anyone got the definitive answer? Have no room for a softener, and we do suffer from hard water deposits building up on everything. Also will an old loudspeaker magnet do the same job? (The guy who told me this one kept a straight face so I just dont know.............) As always, many thanks to anyone bothering to reply.

ollski · 30 Apr 2004

Absolute waste of time....all these cheap gadgets are ok for a very short time or as a token gesture to get on an insurance contract in a hard water area. You need to look at spending money on a softener to make any real difference.

ChrisR · 1 May 2004

Hmm, well, opinions vary. Plenty of evidence that they help a bit. Little plain magnets are the least effective, industrially magnets are used - electromagnets the size of washing machines!

oilman · 1 May 2004

Electronic and magnetic conditioners are unpredictable in domestic situations and many claims are made which MAY be supported by careful setups in lab tests and extrapolated for sales purposes. The frequent 90 day guarantees are pointless, as unless you go in for pipe cutting, you are unlikely to see any effects anyway. Even then you need an untreated run for comparison.

A more reliable unit is a silicon polyphosphate doser. Theses are made by Cistermiser and Aqua-Dial for example. The Cistermiser unit is called "Combi-Mate" and the Aqua-Dial is called "CombiCare". The first is replenished annually by adding SiliPhos spheres, and the Aqua-Dial by replacing a cartridge.

They are not softeners, don't take up anywhere near the space of a softener and don't cost anywhere near the amount of a water softener.

nstreet · 1 May 2004

Found a website that does a number of units, sounds promising.

here

oilman · 1 May 2004

nstreet's site shows some possibilities, but the price for the combimate is high even compared to Plumbcentre, and be careful of some others, they recommend replenishing every 6 months, not annually.

masona · 1 May 2004

these have won so many awards for their product and have a money back guarantee and with a 10 year warranty. I will be trying one of these later in the year as I have nothing to lose and hopefully I will be one of those 98% success rate.

oilman · 1 May 2004

Can Scalewatcher tell you who did the independant lab tests to establish the working conditions for their units? Can they tell you what the process is that make them effective? Have they anything other than anecdotes to support their claims? What conditions are covered under the guarantee?

I could really bore you stupid by these interminable questions, so it might be better to read this .

Boiler manufacturers will not recommend a specific product other than a siliphos type unit in my experience. This process is well tried and can be explained (though not by me).

joat · 1 May 2004

Mmmm really interesting. Thanks to all for the comments. The pros and cons reflect the opinions of most people I've talked to. Can and worms come to mind.......

masona · 1 May 2004

oilman said:
Can Scalewatcher tell you who did the independant lab tests to establish the working conditions for their units?

hmmm, interesting reading...

If I remember rightly it was the Which's teams who carried out the tests and 3 most popular 'DIY' magazine who actually has one fitted to each of their own property and gave a good write up but after reading your website link, make me think again !!!

If I do ahead with this later on, I will post my own honest report on using scalewatcher. According to them it's noticeable after 6 months.

nstreet · 2 May 2004

Had a look round B&Q this morning and found these much better price than my previous post. Q. Are these ok to use on potable water, if the unit doesn't does correctly i.e too much what are the effects on health?

breezer · 2 May 2004

we have one of the "cartridge" things , didnt stop our heat exchanger from becoming scaled up

taydo · 2 May 2004

any ideas where to get a good priced combimate on line

oilman · 3 May 2004

nstreet, those prices are cheap!!! some online prices I've seen are more than double that. It looks like the Aqua-Dial unit. I think if it overdoses, its the end for you, sorry. (But then most people will peg it in the end anyway

)

breezer, have the passageways in the cartridge fitting become clogged? I don't like the size of them, and I found the cartridges are incredibly awkward to change. The o-rings stick in the fitting.

taydo, would be intrested in a low cost supply for the combimate. Plumbcentre are around £100.

breezer · 3 May 2004

oilman said:
breezer, have the passageways in the cartridge fitting become clogged? I don't like the size of them, and I found the cartridges are incredibly awkward to change. The o-rings stick in the fitting.

to be honest, i dont know, i was worried once it was there it may not take to be taken down, but this one is due to be changed soon, i will have a look

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Scale reducers

breezer

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