How much glycol

Brad White_203

are decomposing chemicals which balance pH among other qualities. Also included in this category are oxygen scavengers, buffering compounds and depository compounds (which seek defects in the metal and deposit a protective coating thereon).

I do not have direct experience in this regard and know little more than that above, so I would refer you to Dwight and George at Rhomar and to Drew at Noble for better (much better!) information.

Adam_32

How much glycol

How much glycol should be installed in a residential heating system? In the commercial side we use a 30% mixture because we are working with chillers that are outside. What is the magic number for a residence?

Brad White_203

Depends

The water/glycol mixture has no opinion if it is installed in a house or a business, but might take a keen interest if installed in a brothel, I have to wonder.

It depends on what your local coldest design temperatures are, what the piping and system would be exposed to.

Also consider if you want "freeze protection" (fluid remains fully liquid, albeit a bit syrupy), or "burst protection" (fluid partially freezes to a slushy consistency but will not crystallize, expand and burst the piping).

There are charts for each condition and each manufacturer has slightly different numbers I have found. I suppose it depends if it is concentration "by weight" or "by volume". We specify "by weight" and locally we use 30% within greater Boston (within route 128 for example) and 40% outside of Route 128.

Somehow, that glycol has GPS, damned if I know....

Drew at Noble is an excellent resource. Noble makes the "No-Burst" line of fluids for many applications. (As to the folks at Rhomar, I should add...

Of course, it is understood that the homeowner has to maintain the stuff with at least annual monitoring, inhibitor and pH adjustment, etc.

Dwight (Rhomar Water Mgt.)

How much glycol to add

The answer to your question is - only add what is needed to provide freeze or burst protection for your area. The amount needed is typically in the 30% - 40% range as stated by Brad but glycol blends will vary in concentration so you will need to go by the dilution chart on the label to achieve the freeze temperature desired.

Also, be sure the glycol brand you will use is compatible with the metals in your system. If there is aluminum or copper, you should use an approved multi-metal brand like RhoGard.

Dwight

Rob Blair

Brad White on Inhibitor testing?

Okay, I have a tester for glycol, one for PH, what do you use to test inhibitors?

Thanks,

Rob

Dwight (Rhomar Water Mgt.)

glycol inhibitor testing

Typical inhibited glycols will have enough inhibitor for the product to be diluted to 30% to 50%. Once again, check the label for this figure. Usually this will produce a system glycol percentage of 30% or higher. For non-aluminum products, glycol percentage and system pH (8.0 or higher) will indicate adequate protection. For aluminum products, you have to use glycol percentage only since pH is not related to the inhibitor. A sample can be sent to the manufacturer for actual inhibitor testing as this requires special test kits. There are a variety of inhibitor additives so actually testing for the inhibitor is difficult.

Dwight