can i mix squick with water before adding to boiler

Buzz G.

Could one use Alconox, a lab cleaner, to clean the boilers?

kevin_60

can i mix squick with water before adding to boiler.
i always used steam clean by mixing with water and siphon
it in through boiler drain no tools needed steam clean says
can be mixed with water. but after reading dans book found steam clean contains sodium carbonate that is not good for system

Dave_4

Stay away from that stuff...

A major steam boiler maker has denied warranty coverage on their boilers treated with Squick, a flocculant.

The flocculant "absorbs" foreign particals and drops them like a net onto the boiler block base/floor. The high heat in this area results in the gel-like "net" forming a concrete-like eggshell which bonds like concrete to the boiler block low-point, creating a true bond.

That bonded eggshell has a different expansion rate than the cast iron block and places enourmous stress on the dissimlar materials (the cast iron vs. the adhered "salts" tarpped within the cleaner.

The result can be snap city - a crack in the c.i. block.

TSP is the drug of choice for cleaning most boilers. (We do NOT leave all the TSP in the system, just trace amounts that are beneficial)

The only thing boilers want is clean water, an above 8.0 pH, and as few minerals as possible (under 6 grains hardness).

Hope this helps.

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kevin_60

thanks ken i was not aware of that

bob young

bad product

WOW, Sounds dangerous . you should tell them to stop making it because they are apparently unaware.

Dan_43

Squick is this true

I was going to use a can of Squick in my new boiler as per Dan's final steps to putting a new boiler in service. the directions say to put it in dry.
I went on line to search if I could put it into solution and I came up with this thread of do not use, void warranty, acts like cement at bottom of boiler. Question Is Dan wrong!!! is this stuff no Good?
what's the real story? I want to dry out my steam, but I do not want to set up a situation where I will crack my boiler.
Dan

DanHolohan

Name, please?

I've not seen this written by any boiler manufacturer.

FitterFred

8-Way???

Any thoughts on "8-way". Good or Bad let me know.

DanHolohan

May we please have the name of that boiler manufacturer?

Dan_43

Squick is this true

The Question is addressed to Dan H, but anyone can jump in, what is your conclusion with squick yes or no? Is it harmful for the boiler or not?
Dan Z

DanHolohan

Use as directed

and there is no problem at all.

sreja

squick, tsp, latest thoughts?

I know this thread is old, but seems like we don't have a consensus on what should be used.



What is the latest consensus -- Dan's books are like the holy grail to me, and he says to use Squick..

nicholas bonham-carter

squick--good--or --bad?

whether squick is good or bad is hard to say, as far as its reported ability to sink down into the boiler sections, and through its different rate of expansion completely ruin the boiler. i have not had any experience with this effect, because i have not used it.

it seems to be a product which is often used as an alternative to proper cleaning, and skimming the boiler. why not skim instead of adding this product?  if you choose to add squick to the boiler, you would be well advised to do frequent blow-downs to remove the sediment thus created from the bottom of the boiler.

there may be a few situations where squick should be used, such as into boilers without any sort of skim-port, after some re-piping, where the most effective means of cleaning would not be possible.

there are quite a few posts here mentioning squick, so do a search. if you can, do a real clean, and don't rely on chemicals, or in this case the shells of small prehistoric creatures.--nbc

Jean-David Beyer

Boiler additives.

As a homeowner, all I know about additives to boilers is what it says in my installation manual. My W-M Ultra 3 "boiler" is for hot water and has an aluminum heat exchanger. It is not clear if this thread is for steam only, or not, since it is on the Main Wall, not Strictly Steam.



It seems to me that it is better to refer to the Installation manual to see what cleaners or additives should be added. My manual is fairly strict about this. Of course this applies only to the Weil-McLain Ultra 3 boilers (perhaps the Ultra-2 as well). For a steam boiler, it seem to me that other than cleaning, where the cleaning stuff is thoroughly flushed out after cleaning, you would not want additives in there as they would only get more and more concentrated and cause problems unless the boiler were drained frequently, and that would cause problems too. I imagine other manufacturers have different requirements, so that no hard and fast rule can exist for all boilers.



They recommend using Sentinel X100 additive to control pH and corrosion.

They say what anti-freeze to use: aluminum-safe, Sentinel X500.

They further say the following:



In order for the efficiency of boilers to increase beyond

the condensing limit, new materials have been intro-

duced for the heat exchanger, including aluminum.

Aluminum has excellent heat transfer characteristics

and is light in weight.

These new materials also require cleaning solutions

that differ from those used in conventional cast iron

and steel boilers.



One common cleaning method that CANNOT

be used with systems containing aluminum is

a solution of trisodium phosphate, commonly

referred to as "TSP."

Use ONLY the cleaning product available from Weil-

McLain, Sentinel X400.