Magnets on feedwater lines

[Deleted User]

How, when where and why...

Andrew, I have researched this phenemenon until my brain hurts. I've read American studies, some of them dating back to the 1800's, Russian reports, with same date codes, an Israeli report from the Haifa Institute, a HIGHLY respected organization, and they all pretty much come to the same conclusion, that being there is no solid scientific data to support the changes seen, but there ARE in fact changes seen. Call if PFM, hockus pocus or whatever,but the bottom line result is that they DO infact work. SO, until we come up with a better science, the HOW will remain a mystery.

On to the WHEN. If you have a potential for lime scale deposition onto a heat surface, a cooled surface or an evaporated surface (cooling towers) then you have a good application of these devices. If in doubt, send a water sample to Superior and they will tell you if it is treatable or not. So, if you have hard water in your area, and you don't want to scale up DHW transfer surfaces, then I reccomend its use. If you have a silica based formation (glass water, Texas, Oklahoma) then don't bother, because it will not affect that particular deposition, and the manufacturer is aware of it. And they do not recommend it use under those conditions. But as I said, its as simple as having them test the water.

WHERE: Well, on the water line of course:-) Actually, these things are not cheap. THe bigger the flow rate, the higher the price of admission. And that is usually where the trouble starts. With any water conditioning system, there is a need for "contact time". With these devices being so expensive, the installer has tendencies to undersize the units, thereby affecting its ability to treat. There is a very simple fix. Size the conditioner for the circulation return lines capacity. This way, the fluid (water) is SUPER treated and even more effective at doing its job. Even if you don't have a circ return in the system it is quite simple to set one up locally at the tank or heat source. I have done this many times over, and have actually displaced a sodium exchange water softener that was eating copper in a major hotel back east, and the magnets did not allow lime scale accumulation to occur.

I could go on and on adnausium about the different applications where I have put it and they worked, but you're going to have to trust me on this. They work. They key with this product, as it is with ANY product, is PROPER SIZING and installation.

The WHY is fairly obvious. It keeps the heat transfer equipment operating at a like new capacity for its life expectancy.

I'm not sure what the water is like in your part of the Big Sky state, but if you do have a problem with lime scale based depositions, then you owe it to yourself and your customers to try it like Terry did. IT takes time for it to do its thing (removal of exisitng deposits), so don't be in a big hurry, but it DOES work.

BTW, Superior is not the only manufacturer of these devices, and there are some significantly less expensive units out on the market. Do some research before you dive in.

And thanks for keeping an open mind and asking the questions.

ME