Come & Have A Dig At The O.P (mega banter thread)

[Agile]

It could be the gas setting is wrong but that needs an RGI to check/correct.

But its most likely all your repressurising has brought a continual stream of new water into the system and caused lime scaling inside the heat exchanger.

You could close off the largest radiators and run for a few hours with X200 in the system. After a few hours when the system hopefullt has quietened down open the other rads and leave it in the system.

Tony

 

[robtherevelator1969]

It could be the gas setting is wrong but that needs an RGI to check/correct.

But its most likely all your repressurising has brought a continual stream of new water into the system and caused lime scaling inside the heat exchanger.

You could close off the largest radiators and run for a few hours with X200 in the system. After a few hours when the system hopefullt has quietened down open the other rads and leave it in the system.

Tony

cheers tony

what you suggest does sound likely, it has been run for a long time without addative. What size of x200 do i need and whats the easiest way to get it into the system?

 

[Agile]

X200 only comes in one size which is a 1 litre bottle. You put all that in the system but closing two largest rads concentrates the chemical in the boiler and remaining rads. Usually closing a rad valves and letting a little water out and then putting the X200 in through a bleeding point where they are on a 1/2" screw in holder. Always a bit tricky and may need a bodge adapter.

But there is a possible problem. That chemical is designed for lime scale which is the most common cause of genuine kettling.

Much of Scotland has quite soft water because its derived from area with igneous rocks whit no lime content.

Its possible that if the lime content in your water is low that it is not lime scaling and possibly dirt caused by rusty sludge instead. That needs a different treatment using X400 or X800.

But rusty sludge does not normally cause much kettling although it blocks parts of the system instead.

What is your postcode? Do you know where your water supply comes from?

Tony

 

[robtherevelator1969]

Very interesting. I just got back from b&q with a 1L bottle of x200, i have not opened it yet. I should be able to figure out how to get it into a rad bleed point

My postcode is ka20 4da. I dont know where my water supply comes from but i know it is soft. Will i go ahead with the x200 treatment or do you think one of the other should be used instead?

 

[ianmcd]

Do not open the bottle take it back and get your money back there are no hard water areas in scotland, you will just be wasting your money

 

[ianmcd]

you can not get lime scale on anything in Scotland so dont use it yes I know they sold you it but they also sell calgon in Supermarkets, just because you dont need it doesnt mean they wont sell you it

 

[robtherevelator1969]

you can not get lime scale on anything in Scotland so dont use it yes I know they sold you it but they also sell calgon in Supermarkets, just because you dont need it doesnt mean they wont sell you it

thanks mate i will hold off , the bottle is still sealed to i can swap it if i need one of the other treatments.

 

[Agile]

We have this problem that we do no know what is causing this "kettling" that you are hearing.

If you look at the FAQ here you will see how to gas rate the boiler. Turn hot temp too max and turn on all hot taps and then measure at the gas meter as in the FAQ. That will help to confirm that the burner pressure is correct and not too high.

It is less common for rusty sludge to cause any kettling like noise. But on a DIY basis the cost of applying any chemical is very low. Problem is to decide which one.

Could you ask your water supplier what the hardness index is for your location?

But in the right ( incorrect ) condition even lower hardness can cause lime scale on a heat exchanger. But kettling of any kind is not common on your model.

Tony

 

[robtherevelator1969]

We have this problem that we do no know what is causing this "kettling" that you are hearing.

If you look at the FAQ here you will see how to gas rate the boiler. Turn hot temp too max and turn on all hot taps and then measure at the gas meter as in the FAQ. That will help to confirm that the burner pressure is correct and not too high.

It is less common for rusty sludge to cause any kettling like noise. But on a DIY basis the cost of applying any chemical is very low. Problem is to decide which one.

Could you ask your water supplier what the hardness index is for your location?

But in the right ( incorrect ) condition even lower hardness can cause lime scale on a heat exchanger. But kettling of any kind is not common on your model.

Tony

i found the report online for my water supply, from memory the ph used to be around 7 as i used to test my fish tank water regularly.

Hydrogen ion (ph) (last 12 months) pH value min-6.90 aver-7.96 max-9.20

i will go and read the faq. What pressure should i set my supply to the boiler, i think its set about 1.8bar, i had to turn it down as is was making my stupid Mira electric shower squeal when set at hot.

 

[Agile]

The pH value is not relevant to lime scale. That relates to the amount of calcium and magnesium carbonates in the water.

The boiler system pressure should be about 1.0 to 1.5 bar when cold.

If you have a pressure reducing valve on the cold supply to your boiler then that can be set at anything you find convenient. 1.8 bar is fine.

You may need to ask the water supplier for the hardness. London is about 300.

 

[robtherevelator1969]

Thats reassuring the mains pressure is ok, the boiler is now always 1 bar when cold after fitting the new EV.

When hot water is on full i used 35.31 kw in 2 minutes.

Im not sure if its relevant but my hot water does not seem to be that great from the mixer tap, its 3ft from the boiler, if i set it to cold its running about 13.5L per minute, hot about 7.2L per minute. Should there be this big a difference from the same tap?

calcium mgCa\l - 10.08

magnesium mgMg\l- 0.85

hardness as mg/l CaCO3 - 28.63

 

[Agile]

I suspect the power rating is actually 35 kW which is what would be expected on your boiler.

Will need to think about the units of hardness there. I don't normally see it quoted like that and its more that I would have expected in Scotland but perhaps others can look it up and comment.

Tony

 

[robtherevelator1969]

Should I call and ask to confirm hardness?

The max heat output is 31kw, the max heat input is 34kw, i have the installation manual and user manual.

Does it depend on the hardness which treatment we go for?

 

[Agile]

34 kW or 35 kW are the same thing practically. So the power input seems correct.

The treatment depends on what the problem is caused by.

I would like to know what the hardness is in the usual format.

Tony

 

[robtherevelator1969]

hi i found a conversion tool, i hope this is what makes sense to you

28.63 mg calcium carbonate/l is equivalent to 11.45 ppm as calcium. This is soft.

28.63 mg calcium carbonate/l is equivalent to 28.63 ppm as calcium carbonate. This is soft.