Chemical additive for boiler water
I just had Vigilante come to do the annual boiler maintenance. After draining and refilling the boiler, he said the water is a little dirty, like tea. He recommended adding a chemical to the water to keep it clean. I wasn’t there to ask, but I’m curious why the water would still be dirty. It’s…
I just had Vigilante come to do the annual boiler maintenance. After draining and refilling the boiler, he said the water is a little dirty, like tea. He recommended adding a chemical to the water to keep it clean. I wasn’t there to ask, but I’m curious why the water would still be dirty. It’s an old boiler, could it just be years of build up on the inside? I’m inclined to listen to Vigilante’s advice. Any other opinions?
OK, lot’s of mis-information here. I can only speak for steam boilers. The water should be clean or near clean. I have bought a new (old) house that had a good, but waaay under-maintained boiler…
What I use is:
Scout (made by Hercules) or
Boiler cleaner (made by Hercules as well)
The first is a power that helps keep crud in the boiler and keeps it out of steam pipes and valves. If your valves spit or his, they are most likely dirty or ruined from sludge, rust, etc. getting into the valve…
That said, I have flushed my boiler 3 times as this is the first time in god knows how long that it has been cleaned…if you have 5+ years of no maintenance, flush the entire system a few times, THEN add the 2nd cleaner which is a liquid and let it work in the boiler for 3 full days….then flush again…repeat as neccessary…You can also use Scout which is a bit harder to work with because it’s a powder….but I rigged up a funnel with a section of old garden hose with a cut off one liter plastic bottle…i poured the powder in and then follow with water gently…i raised it high above the boiler and gravity forces it into the boiler…If you use scout, you can also let it sit for a few days, then drain and flush…then repeat as needed…if your boiler is undermaintained, you may have to drain and flush 3 times without cleaner, then drain and flush 3 times with cleaner….then you can put the liquid boiler cleaner in for the entire season without flushing…it may sound nuts, but once you get your boiler and system maintained, it will be easier to do every year by only having to drain and flush 1-2 times per year…
Note the other key best practices:
1) steam pipes must be slanted back to the boiler so all condensate can drain back to boiler…banging is usually caused by steam smashing against water in the line.
2) make sure all vents, esp. the main steam vents in basement are all functioning properly and are not spitting or hissing…they should be sized according to where the radiator is in the house…typically radiators (steam) should be totally open or totally closed…I prefer Hoffman vents…check out their website…..
3) insulate the hell out of all exposed steam pipes, esp. in basement, closets and other places that you don’t want to heat…this will allow the steam to move more evenely without prematurely condensing before it gets to the top floors of your house…Fiberglass insulation is best with high quality tape for seams…..
that’s all for now, but pretty much what I have learned through experimentation and tons of research…it’ll pay off quickly by not having to call an over-priced plumber…
best of luck!
there is a product made by hercules that i recommend. It is a yellow liquid that should be used in boilers as part of a maintenance program. SOS makes one called BOILER COLLOID, and is a blue liquid. This additive is done with commercial buildings that have very large boilers, and should be done with residential homeowners. The one made by hercules, is a boiler cleaner, and has silicone, and helps prevent rust, scale, and surging pipes, and is a good treatment for older properties. I usually flush the boiler before the heating season, and use two bottles (quarts), and add two after the heating season because of the anti-corrosion properties of this item. I see very little rust and debris in the system when i flush, and water rarely turns brown or rusty. I have had no issues. Vigilante is not a crook. Constant flushing of the boiler is not good either because deposits, and fresh water causes more oxidation and problems, as to water that has been in the boiler for a few heating cycles.
Don’t you flush the boiler every week?? What kind of additive is this? That would be my first question. Sounds like a crock to me.
Yes the water can also get dirty from the Radiators that condense the steam and rusty water sits in them. the water then runs back the return and fills the boiler with the dirty water from the old radiators. I blow down my boiler about once a week in the winter (drain dirty water until its clear..about 2 cups). I have added the chemical to the water and it helps. When the water is too dirty it “Surges”. This is like a pot of water full of pasta or poached egg or anything else. When the water is dirty is will rise higher. This causes the raidators to fill with water or the pipes to bang….or both. I dont have the name of the product I use, it is at home..I am at work. I bought it at a plumbing supply place. It keeps the water from getting dirty and makes it a light orange to red color.
Hope this helps
OP here, I’ve had engineers tell me during home inspection that dirty boiler water is a very bad thing. BTW, it is a gas boiler, Weill McClain (is that that right name?).
Any other opinions on dirty water in my gas boiler?
Above poster is right. New water is more chemically reactive and will corrode more. The black dirty water is neutral and reacts less with the piping.
What kind of boiler? I would not believe a word out of vigilante’s mouth. They are so overpriced. We have a friend who is a plumber and when I asked him about flushing/cleaning etc our boiler he said you don’t need to do anything and I should not add new water to it because the new water is more corrosive than what has neutralized in the system over the last 20 years. We have a hot water radiator system.
If this is a submerged coil, oil burner, there should be
some sort of flush valve on the unit. We drain ours
into a bucket on a weekly basis to prevent dirt build up.
Water usually runs clean after a few seconds of draining.