Gas Boilers Information

Where you are can impact upon your central heating

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. Irregardless of which you choose, you should take proper care of your heating system, only then can it perform efficiently. The Government and environmental agencies repeatedly tell us about the ways to conserve energy like switching off the lights and appliances when not in use, re-adjusting the temperature of the room and washing machine according to the needs, and not leaving any electrical device in the standby mode. These energy saving tips are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your bills down at times of high energy costs. But how about making your central heating system operate more effectively? The accumulation of sludge and limescale deposits in your central heating system will reduce its efficiency.

It usually happens in areas where hard water is present, you can go for water treatment to avoid these deposits.

Water treatment is a term used to cover many different ways of looking after your system. Magnetic/electronic lime fighters, scale reducers/inhibitors, sludge reducers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are examples of the type of water treatment products that are available to you.

You can either get hard or soft water in UK, depending on the area you live in. If you spot limescale formation inside your kettle or bath taps, there is probably hard water running in your taps. Any collection of limescale will make your system run less economically and therefore increase your heating bill. Your fuel bills can increase by 40% even with small deposits of limescale in your cylinder. When calcium carbonate precipitates out of the hard water, it forms limescale inside the boiler. Soft water area residents should not worry too much, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for help if you are not so sure.

Water treatment products act by modifying the water borne salts and preventing harmful reactions. One way of modification is to convert a structure completely to another, another is to take out the mischievous component, and yet another way is to prevent the structure from becoming solid, thus leaving its normal process unrealized.

The outlook for possible corrosion can be determined by monitoring pH and salt levels as well as ionic conditions, using standard chemical testing kits.

Remember that when two different metals are connected (for example- aluminium and brass), an anode and cathode polarity is created thus starting the process of corrosion; this is something that a competent technician should watch out for when installing your system. By law, only CORGI registered tradespeople can deal with gas connections, this scheme is now known as Gas Safe.

You should decide about the water treatment well in advance, especially when you are installing a new heating system. Before using a water treatment remedy on your present system, ensure that the entire heating system is completely flushed out.

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. 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 prominent things you need to stop.

Right from the time the system is installed and commissioned, internal conditions can cause corrosion to set in. One of the symptoms of corrosion is cold spots in your radiators because gunk in the system prevents the water circulating properly. Pinholes can also appear in the radiator and if the problem is not sorted out in good time your boiler could start to make noises.

In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. Heat causes these minerals to precipitate and gradually encrust the inner lining of pipes, leading to blockage. This again can manifest itself with a noisy heating system.

Biological growth is another thing that should be avoided at all costs. They gets into the heating system through open tanks. After managing to enter the system, it spreads by creating slime and gunk. This gunk stagnates in the plumbing and slows down the flow of hot water.

A lot of free advice is available on the internet on how to get rid of biological growth. It would be wise to take time to go through some of this information. We recommend starting 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 gas central heating system works efficiently and your home bills are also decreased, find out the best water treatment method and apply the recommended treatments annually.