Zone valves for hard water

Lyle C

I had a group of condos in Andover MA I took care of with that problem. We found the best solution was to use Honeywell zone valves. If you can isolate them easily, you can rebuild them with a screwdriver and a nut driver in about 10 minutes for short money.

rjs

need zone valves for really hard water

i'm looking for opinions on which brand/type of zone valves i should use for a hot water system in a village with very hard water.
i installed automags about 3 yrs ago which started sticking open after the first season of use.
any suggestions would be appreciated.
thanks, rjs

Brad White_9

Of course the larger question is,

if the system is filled with clear, filtered and soft water and is a closed system, should it really matter?

If hard water is that much of a concern, buy distilled, passivated ion-free water of known quality (say from a pool company). A closed system ought not be taking on any more fresh water. If it does, you have other problems.

Even an intitial fill with nearly any kind of hard water can be dealt with I would think- how bad could the water be? A few heatings and filterings I would think should get rid of any precipitates. I mean, if the water is THAT hard- it should not be supporting life

Drink water, don't chew it. Especially, don't crunch it.

hot_rod

must be some sort of open system?

why else the hard water?

Even a one time fill of hard water should not destroy ZVs, although better water would be a nice addition for all the components and heat exchange surfaces.

You can buy chemicals that help keep the minerals in suspension, but I would "close" the system clean with a Herculeas Sizzle, and add good water.

Find and fix any leaks that may cause the fill water to come into the system.

I like the Caleffi ZV valves or any with the rubber ball that seats on a brass port.

hot rod