If you want to extend the life of heating equipment, you will have to organize its protection from harmful impurities in the incoming water. Equipment manufacturers do not indicate which scale filter for boilers and boilers should be used. An overview of specialized engineering solutions will help you make the right choice.
Harm of scale and hard water for the operation of the boiler and boiler
Scale is a hard deposit that forms from hardness salts on the inner surfaces of pipes and heating elements when the temperature of the liquid rises. It can cause serious damage to the operation of the boiler and the boiler. It is necessary to use special water filters to prevent typical problems.
Scale impairs heat transfer, which leads to excessive consumption of fuel and electricity. According to special studies, this 5 mm thick layer increases the consumption of thermal energy by 30%, and the 10 mm thick layer doubles. The consumption of gas and electricity changes accordingly. Indeed, the degradation in efficiency may be higher with high porosity deposits.
A harmful insulating layer, not provided for by the equipment design, increases the temperature of the walls of pipes and heaters. This reduces their strength and promotes corrosion. As a result of such exposure, cracks, fistulas, and other defects may occur. At a certain level of damage, equipment can be disabled.
Scale clogs pipelines, valves, pumps, and other elements of the heating and hot water supply system. As deposits accumulate, technological channels are blocked, and the pressure at the outlet decreases. The risk of damage to locking devices increases.
Manufacturers of boilers and gas boilers
The problem of scale reduces efficiency and provokes damage to heating equipment. But official instructions do not provide guidance on choosing a water filter that can significantly reduce the risk of harmful deposits. Let's check the corresponding instructions to make sure this statement is correct.
Thermex
In the accompanying documentation of the Thermex brand, it is proposed to periodically disinfect and flush equipment using special solutions based on citric or acetic acid. The maintenance steps are summarized. For correct maintenance, it is recommended to contact specialists.
Models with electric heaters are provided with an over-current shutdown in the control circuits. This prevents damage from developing if a short circuit occurs.
Ariston
Ariston brand boilers are equipped with anodes that wear out instead of metal and must be replaced every 2-3 years. But this functional component performs the functions of protection against corrosion. It is proposed to deal with scale by regular cleaning. For maintenance, it is recommended to use the services of a branded service center in order to maintain the warranty.
Electrolux
To reduce the intensity of the process of scale formation in serial products of the Electrolux brand, an economical mode is provided with heating not higher than +55 ° C. It does slow down the formation of deposits, but does not eliminate the problem.
Electrolux advises to buy a boiler scale filter without specifying the technical requirements for the parameters of the protective devices. The manual emphasizes the need for qualified service. Self-cleaning will void the warranty.
Overview of popular scale filters in front of the boiler and gas boiler
Manufacturers of water treatment equipment offer appropriate protective equipment. As examples, consider the technical parameters of serial scale filters for boilers and boilers.
1 place. Aquaris
2nd place. AquaShield
3rd place. Ecosoft SCALEX
4th place. Geyser 1PF
Aquaris
A series of main filters based on hollow fiber membranes that do not allow impurities with a particle size of 0.01 microns. The design consists of a housing with a cartridge, which houses the working unit. The service life of a washable replaceable module (from 23,200 rubles) is about 5 years or 500,000 liters of water.
AquaShield
These devices operate on the basis of an electromagnetic field. It acts on hardness salts and turns them into small crystals that do not settle on surfaces. The AquaShield filter can be placed in front of the boiler or in a more convenient place for the user. The cheapest (17,000 rubles) model protects at a distance of 700 meters along the length of the pipeline.
Electronic blocks are produced with a power consumption of 5-20W. They are suitable for the treatment of hot water with a hardness of 17-25°F and temperatures up to 90°C. The service life of filters is 20-25 years.
Ecosoft SCALEX
These devices work on the principle of analogues with polyphosphates. Such loadings envelop hardness salts with a thin film and prevent their deposition on surfaces. But Ecosoft emphasizes the absence of phosphate compounds in its filler. It hides its chemical composition, but emphasizes the effectiveness of using a branded filter as a reliable means of protecting boilers from scale.
In the basic version, Scalex costs 2,500 rubles. It is suitable for water treatment up to +30°C. The service life of the cartridge is about 6 months or 20,000 liters. An additional function is mechanical cleaning (100 microns).
Geyser 1PF
The Geyser polyphosphate filter, worth about 540 rubles, is the most economical protective agent for a boiler. As standard, a transparent housing is available, complete with loading material crystals. Flow rate - no more than 6 l / min. The temperature of the incoming liquid is up to +40°C.
The service life in this case is not indicated. The user must monitor the loading level to ensure a sufficiently high concentration of the active substance in the solution.
Types of anti-scale filters
The future user should clarify the features of special technological processes. Let's exclude the ion-exchange filter from the list of potential purchases, which is not the best solution for a gas boiler. It takes up a lot of space and needs regular maintenance. To extend the service life of its load, special water treatment is required to remove phosphates along with other specific impurities. Let's take a closer look at simpler and more convenient ways to deal with scale.
1 place. Electromagnetic
2nd place. hollow fiber
3rd place. Polyphosphate (salt)
4th place. Magnetic
5th place. Coarse and fine cleaning
Electromagnetic
To work with devices of this type, special training is not required. They are connected to the power supply, like typical household appliances. The coil is wound in a place convenient for the user on a straight section of the pipe 50-60 centimeters long. After the installation is completed, the existence of the equipment can be forgotten. No scheduled maintenance required. The only periodic work operation is to remove dust from the surface of the case to maintain an aesthetic appearance.
The minimum frequency range recommended for this technology is 1 to 20 kHz. When the generator power is less than 4 W, the beneficial effect on salt crystals is noticeably reduced. To remove old deposits, models from 8-9 W should be considered.
hollow fiber
Budget membranes are produced without a flushing function. Their cost is comparable to the prices of standard cartridges, but the resource in this case will not exceed 8-12 thousand km. liters. More economical are analogues that are cleaned regularly. For convenient reproduction of this procedure, it is useful to equip the case with a separate outlet that connects to the pipe of the sewer system through a valve.
Polyphosphate (salt)
This method is the cheapest and most troublesome at the same time. Automation of control and replenishment of the salt supply is not provided, so the user will have to perform the corresponding operations manually. It is impossible to regulate the intensity of exposure to pollution if the level of rigidity has become higher or lower.
Polyphosphates can cause allergic reactions. They must be prevented from entering drinking water. These impurities can accumulate in the filter and other parts of the washing machine, forming persistent clogs with fabric particles.
Magnetic
To install devices in this category, a tie-in to the pipeline is required. They do not consume electricity, but they operate less efficiently (up to 4-6°F) compared to an induction coil connected to the generator. A jet of scale cannot be destroyed in this way.
Check the manufacturer's data sheet. None of these documents specify range. Changing the speed of water movement has a significant impact on the performance of the installation. As in the example with polyphosphates, there is no tuning scheme taking into account changes in contamination parameters.
It is recommended to install such water filters directly in front of the boiler. When the outlet pressure drops, the device is dismantled to clean the technological channels.
Coarse and fine cleaning
Large impurities are delayed at the input section of the local network. You can buy such a water filter with a disk working unit or a simple mesh. After heating, clogging of hot water with suspensions is not excluded. This trouble is eliminated by additional processing. After the boiler, you can use a fine filter cartridge.
Which one to buy and install?
The models presented in the review will clog more slowly if you first perform a rough cleaning with a 50-100 micron filter. Decisions on the choice of other components of the water treatment system should be made taking into account the characteristics of the intended purpose.
For single heating devices, Ecosoft loading or polyphosphates, permanent magnets are suitable. Complex cleaning with high quality will be ensured by the installation of a filter with a hollow fiber membrane. To protect the entire engineering system, an electromagnetic apparatus is used.
We give recommendations
Prepare the project to take into account all the important nuances. This document will help to coordinate the work of functional components for water treatment at no extra cost and with minimal labor.
Experts give positive feedback on the use of electromagnetic and hollow fiber technology in a pair. But keep in mind that such a filter for a boiler can be damaged by hot water. The allowable liquid temperature for these serial modules is not higher than +45°C. Individual heaters can be protected with permanent magnets and specialized loads.
