As the heating season begins to wind down, use the upcoming calls to pre-book customers in for the summer maintenance checks – it’s a chance to test for any potential system issues and resolve them proactively before Fall 2019.
Often, poor water quality is the leading cause behind systems issues or failure. Also known as black iron oxide sludge, magnetite is a result of oxidation inside untreated hydronic systems and if not dealt with, can foul pumps; deposit in low flow areas such as baseboards; use up inhibitor added to protect metallic components; block heat exchangers and cause boiler breakdowns. In fact, according to ADEY’s Chief Technical Officer, “nearly 70 percent of circulator pumps returned to pump manufacturers fail due to iron oxide and other water quality issues. Data also show that over 95 percent of debris in hydronic heating systems is made up of iron oxide.”
The summer months are vital in ensuring homeowners’ or building owners’ systems are working at full efficiency ready for the winter months, so why not take this opportunity to upgrade the service and offer the highest level of quality service possible with ADEY’s best practice steps.
Six Stages
ADEY’s best practice steps come in six stages: Clean, MagnaCleanse®, MagnaClean®, Protect, Test, and Maintain.
If you’re not sure what system water you’re dealing with, try testing it first using ADEY’s FREE MagnaClean RapidTest™. The MagnaClean RapidTest is a small magnetic stick that can be added onto a keyring and used at every job site you step foot on. Simply take a sample of system water in a bucket, dip the stick in for 10 – 20 seconds and check to see if it turns grey, black, or collects magnetite. This is a sure sign that water quality is poor, magnetite is present, and is an awesome way of showing the homeowner too.
Practice Steps
Step 1 - Clean: If magnetite is present, a complete system clean will be required using ADEY’s MC3+™ cleaner. This cleaner contains surfactants and dispersants that lift and bond magnetic particles, allowing them to be flushed out of the system. ADEY’s MC3+ is a highly concentrated product, meaning one bottle can treat more – 33 gallons, it is non-foaming, and it contains inhibitors that allow it to be left in the system for as long as a month (minimum time left in the system is 1 hour).
Step 2 – MagnaCleanse: If you haven’t heard of MagnaCleanse before, it’s simply a quick and easy alternative to a power flush. The MagnaCleanse unit is made up of two canisters containing rare earth neodymium magnets and hoses that connect directly onto system pipework, allowing it to work as a by-pass, collecting magnetite whilst the system is running, rather than dumping water.
System water also remains heated, meaning cleaner can remain concentrated for a more effective clean, and the unit comes in its own carry case that can also use as a drip tray to prevent mess. A flush with a MagnaCleanse can be completed in as little as 2 hours, rather than a whole day with a power flush, allowing you to complete other jobs on site whilst the unit is running, thus increasing the return on investment. Watch this MagnaCleanse results video here!
Step 3 – MagnaClean: Becoming growingly popular, the installation of a MagnaClean magnetic dirt filter is the core of ADEY’s best practice and ensures long-term protection for the heating system. Installed on the return before the boiler in just minutes, the MagnaClean dirt filter contains a neodymium magnet with a sheath design that allows it to maximize magnetite capture. MagnaClean is ‘80% more effective in capturing iron oxide sludge than dirt separators or basket filters and 30% more energy-efficient than dirt separators or basket filters.
It comes in a wide range of sizes to suit almost any sized pipework; has bi-directional flow meaning either port can be an inlet; comes with 360 degrees rotational valves, offering flexibility especially for those retrofit installs; has zero operating costs and moving parts; and includes a quick-release trigger and rapid-fit connectors for servicing and re-installation in minutes. Just look at this MagnaClean dirt filter capture after only 4 months here!
Step 4 – Protect: No long-term protection is complete without the use of ADEY’s MC1+™ protector. This inhibitor offers multi-metal protection using 5 separate inhibition mechanisms, forming a layer on metal surfaces such as iron pipework, to prevent debris from building up again.
Also, highly concentrated formula and non-foaming, the MC1+ treats 33 gallons of system water; is buffered to maintain a neutral pH of system water to prevent it from becoming too acidic or alkaline; is formulated to neutralize cleaner residues that may still be lurking in the system, and every batch is performance tested for quality assurance.
Step 5 – Test & Step 6 - Maintain: ADEY’s Engineers’ Water Test Kit. The kit comes with all the required equipment and testing solutions to determine chloride, copper, iron, pH, total hardness, and level of ADEY® MC1+ protector present in the hydronic heating system, giving the customers valuable, actionable information on the health of the hydronic system. The MC1+™ Quick Test bottle contains 50 strips, meaning that adequate levels of an inhibitor can be maintained and topped up annually.