ground source heat pump heat exchanger plugging with sediment.

dnr

I am working on a ground source water to water system that has a plate type heat exchanger(command aire).The load side of the HE plugs up and locks out on high head.flush it out and it is good for a year or so. I have put treatment in the water but doesnt seem to help.any ideas?

Joe_122

Water?

Is this a closed loop or open loop system? If it is open loop, then minerals or iron bacteria could be the cause and are next to impossible to treat or filter. If it is a closed loop system, I would look to the components as the source of contamination.

Jack

this on the closed loop side...

correct? If so either the system has trapped a mass of particulate which is not carrying through on to your flush point, but is perfectly happy to go to your HX in suspension. Put a prefilter in front of the HX and see what happens. Plate HX are kind of a pain to clean in my experience. Otherwise, If the system is clean and there is no debris in the lines, you have to be "galling or eroding" some material in the piping which is moving to the HX. What is the material?

dnr

It is closed loop, load side. Not sure what the particles are, they are small grey pieces. we have flushed the system, but after time they plug HE.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Are the small grey pieces hard like plastic? Any chance of a disintegrating dip tube in a buffer tank?

What type of tubing?

Alex Giacomuzzi

Type of Water Left in the System

When the system is being flushed, are you using house tap water to flush it with or is it a recirculating pump tank system? Is this domestic house water --- the water that is left in the system or do you drain this out and add a distilled source of water? It could be the minerals coming out of suspension with heat and causing flow problems with the fine passage ways of the plate exchanger. Water chemistry is worth a check..