Water filter for OWB

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chugbug

chugbug

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Has anyone found a water filter that could be hooked up inline with the hot water coming in from the owb that will handle hot water and preferably has a clear housing so you can see if it needs changing . Culligan makes a nice house sediment filter but the box states that its for cold water only . I seem to have some sediment in the system left over from all the minerals in the water from last year and it would be nice to get it cleaned out .
 
chugbug

chugbug

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I know its probably not a must but the water has that brown dirty look and it would be nice to get it cleaned up . I called the manufacture and there tech told me he put a truck style water filter on is own personnel owb . There made to operate with hot water . The only thing I didn't like about it was the truck style are probably typical spin on style filters and you can't see when they need changed . I'd rather find a filter with a clear housing like the culligan brand house filters . Here's a link to the culligan , only problem there for cold water only!!
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBoQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers
 
Slick

Slick

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If you want it clear it'll have to be glass which is not going to be easy to find, more clear ones are plastic which is why the culligan one says cold water only....you won't want plexiglass to see close to 200 degree water.
 
Iska3

Iska3

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I know its probably not a must but the water has that brown dirty look and it would be nice to get it cleaned up . I called the manufacture and there tech told me he put a truck style water filter on is own personnel owb . There made to operate with hot water . The only thing I didn't like about it was the truck style are probably typical spin on style filters and you can't see when they need changed . I'd rather find a filter with a clear housing like the culligan brand house filters . Here's a link to the culligan , only problem there for cold water only!!
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBoQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

I was thinking the same thing. It would keep the blockage from my plate exchangers and a great idea to see what's going on. If the water gets brown and dirty looking, it wouldn't take long for a clear housing to become nasty looking on the inside. On one of our processes we had the steel type filter housing with a little window and within a few months, the window was a dark brown. I think MNGuns has the right idea, Flush the system and clean your screens. If there was something out there worth while, Central Boiler and the others would be selling them as an option and making big $$$
 
chugbug

chugbug

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All good ideas guys , I do have a Y strainer on the inlet to my heat plate , if I didn't it might have been ruined by all the minerals , although they say you can clean them out with some type of acid . If any of you don't have Y strainers protecting your heat plates you should think about installing them , there cheap insurance . I did see that there are 20 mesh 40 mesh and a 80 mesh screens avail. for the Y strainers and to make it easier to clean you can add a ball valve to it , just put a bucket under the valve open it up and all the sediment is pushed out under pressure . I'm not sure which mesh screen came with mine and I don't think any screen will remove the stained water I have , thought maybe they made a woven type cartridge like the culligan for hot water . I will check out the central boiler filter .
 
bearings

bearings

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Filter

I installed a sediment filter witch i purchased from my OWB dealer. Helps collect the junk. It caught all the pipe thead sealer after the setup was first running. I was always going to install a low buck water filter with a by pass. Then when the water was cooler i could filter the water like in the fall after startup or after you let the water cool. Then open up the filter and let it filter for a while.
 
jorge016

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Poor man's solution

I live in an area of Minnesota where the groundwater has a high iron content. I found a great cheap idea for filtering the rusty water for my kids pool that worked great.

Basically I took a 2' long piece of 4" PVC pipe - plumbed in garden hose fittings on covers for both ends and packed it with fiberfill. (pillow stuffing) It cleaned my rusty water up perfectly. It was crystal clear.

Haven't had to flush my boiler but will try this the next time I have to fill it.
 
dean06919

dean06919

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I purchased a used OWB and wanted a in-line filter to trap rust particles before they reached the heat exchanger. I had an old, whole house filter that I purchased at Menards and used it even though it was designed for cold water only. Even with my stove set at 185 degrees, I did not have a problem with the filter.

I plan on removing the filter after this year because I am concerned that it reduces the GPM causing an excessive amount of heat to be drawn from the water. This causes the stove to work harder, which means more wood being consumed.

The factory filters look pretty decent, I would look at that option. Just remember, the slower the water flows over the HX, the cooler the water is returning to the stove. I would look at the filter that restricts the flow the least.
 
Last edited:
Iska3

Iska3

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I live in an area of Minnesota where the groundwater has a high iron content. I found a great cheap idea for filtering the rusty water for my kids pool that worked great.

Basically I took a 2' long piece of 4" PVC pipe - plumbed in garden hose fittings on covers for both ends and packed it with fiberfill. (pillow stuffing) It cleaned my rusty water up perfectly. It was crystal clear.

Haven't had to flush my boiler but will try this the next time I have to fill it.

This might be the way to go. If anything, flush it once per year. No extra head pressure on that little pump and keep a good water flow in the winter time.
 

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