Wood boiler water treatment

[andydodgegeek]

I installed a Portage and main wood boiler last summer, so far I really like it. I just sent in a water sample to the supplier and he did a test on it and said I needed to add a half gallon of water treatment. He sells a product, not sure of brand name, for $90 a gallon. I thought that seems to be alot of money. I wanted to throw out the question, what do any of you recommend or use. Thanks in advance for any info. What do they test for? Is it just a ph test? I added a full gallon when I filled it the first time and the supplier said thats all I needed, I haven't lost any water, why would I have to add more already? I filled the boiler sometime in September.

 

[Dogsout]

I run the test on our boiler at work so I have a step up on most people hear. I run a test in the fall and one in the spring. I test for PH-8, TDS-2000, Sulfite-25 and weather my water is soft or not. PH for corrosion, TDS (Total dissolved solids) for scale, Sulfite which is an oxygen scavenger and finally water softness because you would rather not run hard water in any boiler. I would ask to see your readout of your test on the water and see how bad out of line it is. Is this $90 gallon of treatment specially mixed to bring your boiler into your manufacture specs or is it just a standard solution that is sold to everyone? To me it seems like a lot of money to pay for treatment.

 

[John R]

$90.00 does seem kind of high, but just remember, WARRANTY, WARRANTY.

 

[andydodgegeek]

$90.00 does seem kind of high, but just remember, WARRANTY, WARRANTY.

I did ask the supplier if I had to use there brand of treatment and he said I didn't have too. That actually kind of surprized me, he said any treatment should work as long as it is designed for boilers. I just figured I would ask if anyone has any input on what and where to get some. I see some on ebay for around $45 a bottle and it says it treats 300 gallons but before I just buy something I wanted some opinions.

 

[andydodgegeek]

I went back through my emails and found the test results I got. I had a nitrite level of 720 and they say the parameters are from 730 to 1460. He said I needed to add 1/3 gallon of the $90 bottle (that included shipping). I see some places you can get treatment and some test strips, would anyone recommend that?

 

[schmidteo]

I have a P&M Optimizer and I had to add a qt and a half this spring. I ordered the treatment right from P&M. A four jug case was about $225 shipped and singles were close to $60 each plus shipping, so I bought the case. Funny thing with the water test. One of my sidearms was leaking over into the loop and overflowing the unit after I had added the treatment in the spring. After I made the repairs and replaced the lost water which had to be many gallons, I sent in a new sample and they told me that I didn't need to add any more treatment. --I think I have read somwhere that the heating of the water is what affects the chemistry.

 

[AIM]

I'm not arguing here I am simply asking. What benefit is treating your water???
It has been discussed here many times and it still eludes me.

 

[schmidteo]

I'm not arguing here I am simply asking. What benefit is treating your water???
It has been discussed here many times and it still eludes me.

As far as I can tell, the treatment keeps the unit from rusting from the inside out. For what it's worth, my father-in-law had a Garn that he never treated and it went for twenty years before it rusted through. -traded it to a guy for some work and the guy repaired it and is using it today.

 

[Uncle John]

As far as I can tell, the treatment keeps the unit from rusting from the inside out. For what it's worth, my father-in-law had a Garn that he never treated and it went for twenty years before it rusted through. -traded it to a guy for some work and the guy repaired it and is using it today.

Keeps exchanger from clogging.
Some water would need much less chemical.

 

[les-or-more]

View attachment 276326

Here is a pic of a CB that I fixed back in the fall, it is 20 years old, the inside looked like new, the owner kept it treated very well. He just forgot to put the rain cap back on after he moved and the water running down the stack rotted the back wall and bottom of the firebox. I don't sell WBs people just call me when theirs are leaking, but judging by the internals of this one the boiler treatment is well worth keeping up.

 

[jh35]

The stuff I got from the local Heatmor dealer was $100 for 2 gallons to treat my 114 gallons of water. They just blindly recommend that it looks like. The treatment came with my dad's and FIL's stoves because they bought theirs new. Mine was used and bought from an individual.

I want to test my water and have things right so my setup lasts a long time. I'm interested also in what everyone else has done.

 

[Uncle John]

The stuff I got from the local Heatmor dealer was $100 for 2 gallons to treat my 114 gallons of water. They just blindly recommend that it looks like. The treatment came with my dad's and FIL's stoves because they bought theirs new. Mine was used and bought from an individual.

I want to test my water and have things right so my setup lasts a long time. I'm interested also in what everyone else has done.

You can send a water sample to Heatmor and they will test it..
You might have to call them or email them for details.