PROVING THE CONCEPT OF SOLID PASTE WATER TREATMENT IN A RESIDENTIAL HOME… When a new product is launched and made available across the marketplace it’s always good to see that new product in action and performing well.
A few months ago, DosaFil Residential Technologies launched the first ever range of solid water treatment products for the residential heating sector into the UK marketplace. The new range is based on an existing and effective system utilised in commercial heating systems, but downscaled in size for residential use, without losing efficiency levels. This short case study provides an overview of how the product was introduced into a residential property, monitored and reported on, with outstanding results.
The new DosaFil DR solid products were selected in a standard, fifty year old residential property – a four bedroom detached home, on the outskirts of Liverpool. Just to give you an idea of the setting, it was a residential property with a heating system that had not been treated before and which had no magnetic filter installed. It was a vented system with a hot water cylinder and had ten radiators, two of which were towel radiators. The heat source in the home was a Baxi Solo 3 PFL70 boiler with an aluminium heat exchanger. Pipework for the system was a mix of copper and John Guest plastic. There was a UPS 15-50 system circulator fitted to the system with a pump power setting of III – with an approximate flow rate of 10.1l/min
On day 1 of the installation a filter was installed – a DosaFil B2 filter with 22mm compression connections installed on the return to the boiler. The system was bled and refilled with fresh water via the F&E tank in the loft area of the property. The boiler was set running the system, the water circulating with all radiator TRVs fully open. The circulating water temperature was measured at the filter at 60 degrees C.
DosaFil B2 Filter installed at property
Then, the water was left circulating for 30 minutes with filtration only. A sample was taken from a dining room radiator and sent for laboratory analysis. The recently fitted filter was opened and the bar magnet inside was inspected. There was already significant magnetic particle capture evident after just 30 minutes of operation.
The system was dosed with three DR1 solid inhibitor capsules and one DR2 solid online cleaner capsule and these were added to the empty filter. The filter was topped up with system water and the custom manufactured commissioning cap was fitted. The filter flow was restored with the boiler operating and producing heat.
Twenty-five minutes later, the filter was opened and inspected and the capsules had fully dissolved and there was no residue evident in the filter. The inner filter insert and magnetic cap were refitted and the system was restarted with heat and circulation. The circulation was left on for 24 hours.
Image of DR1 solid inhibitor capsules
Capsules are small, lightweight and easy to drop into filter
A sample of the circulating water was taken from the dining room radiator again, after system dosing, photographed and then sent for laboratory analysis.
Day 2 began after 24 hours of constant circulation of the system, with the filter stripped for inspection and cleaning. Magnetite had collected on the filter’s magnet insert and there was light fouling on the filter element. A further sample was taken from the dining room radiator and photographed. There was significant visual improvement compared to the previous sample. This was again sent for laboratory analysis.
Filters on day 2 – Magnetite collected on magnet insert, light fouling on filter element
Day 3 was for biocide dosing. A DR4 solid biocide capsule was added to the filter with the filter cartridge insert in place. Water was circulated with the boiler switched off initially and then the boiler was switched on. The temperature of the water rose to 58.8 degrees C. After 15 minutes the capsule had completely dissolved and the filter was reassembled with the magnet cap and the system was put back into circulation again.
On day 5 we inspected the filter. A sample was again taken from the same dining room radiator, the filter was checked and cleaned and a sample taken from the system and again sent for laboratory analysis.
The full chemical analysis results from the four samples sent to the laboratory for analysis gave impressive results – showing that the DosaFil Residential Technologies products do exactly what they claim to do.
Before filtration & dosing
Immediately after filtration & dosing
24 hours of filtration post dosing
The highlights make impressive reading. pH stabilised rapidly post chemical dosing. Molybdate reserves (the inhibitor) increased as expected following dosing then stabilised as all parts of the system achieved flow and inhibitory film was laid down within the system. Suspended solids increased after the addition of DR1 and DR2 as expected as the cleaner mobilised fouling present in the system. However, filtration rapidly brought suspended solids levels down through effective magnetic and non-magnetic filtration.
Aluminium levels increased slightly following the addition of DR1 and DR2 as online cleaning mobilised the fouling. However, levels reduced quickly with effective filtration and treatment.
Iron levels increased following addition of DR1 and DR2 as online cleaning mobilises fouling in the system. Total iron levels reduced quickly as suspended iron was removed by filtration. Dissolved iron levels increased initially following the addition of cleaner however levels reduced as online cleaning and system passivation continued.
Copper levels increased slightly following the addition of DR1 and DR2 as online cleaning mobilised fouling. But again, levels reduced quickly with effective filtration and treatment.
So to summarise – a full dose of DR1 solid inhibitor x 3 capsules, and DR2 solid online cleaner x 1 capsule can be dosed to a gas boiler system in less than 30 minutes with water circulating at 60 degrees C. 24 hours of continuous filtration and DR1 and DR2 treatment significantly improved the circulating water quality. Water quality continued to improve with normal system operation as the online cleaning continued. Importantly, no system flushing was required to obtain an improvement in water quality. Radiator TRVs were simply opened fully and air bled from the radiators.
The solid water treatment products performed exceptionally well and the whole process was undertaken without the need for power flushing and importantly without any flushing to drain and refilling – a huge reduction in the use of water for the process over what many consider the standard method of treating a heating system. It is clear that using the DR treatment products with an effective filter is effective for treating and cleaning a residential heating system and offers a wide range of benefits over the standard cleaning methods using liquid chemical products.
“We’re confident that this case study highlights the efficacy of using the DR system to return a heating system to its most efficient state and that this should be something that makes contractors and organisations such as social housing providers sit up and take notice that there is a more efficient and sustainable way to achieve clean heating systems in homes with the minimum of disruption to the resident, “ says DosaFil Residential Technologies’ MD Steve Crick.