Color for water

Charlie from wmass

Any one have a die I can add to the water for steam boilers. I prefer to avoid chemicals but some older clients have been flooding their boilers as of late and do not want automatic feeds. There was a florescent green additive I had available but no one is stocking it now.

Jamie Hall

Used to be...

that fluorescein tablets weren't all that hard to get -- lovely fluorescent dye (orange -- glows green under UV) -- from chemical supply houses.  Haven't looked for it for years.  I used to use it looking for breakouts from septic systems (flush a couple of tablets and go looking for the glow!) and other ridiculous plumbing inspector type pursuits...  stuff if pretty well harmless, and doesn't take much.

jpf321

a quick google...

for "plumbing dye" yielded: [url=http://www.prestodye.com/water-trace.html]http://www.prestodye.com/water-trace.html and [url=http://www.brightdyes.com/products/tablets.html]http://www.brightdyes.com/products/tablets.html (bright dyes has a free sample request page .. if you don't need much, maybe this will be a solution)



maybe helpful ..



 i also know that the anti-surge treatment I added before I was a waller made my water green .. it was a powder came in a little white "pill bottle" container .. 1 bottle for 600sf EDR.

Charlie from wmass

Yeah Da mentioned that dye Jamie

I was not sure if it would hold up to the heat or if it would have an odor. It would be a mess to put it in then have to flush it out in a day or have it go clear because it cooked off

Brian_74

Engine coolant dye?

Would that work? It should be available locally at auto parts places. I was thinking of something like this http://www.amazon.com/Spectronics-Tracer-TP39000601-Engine-Coolant/dp/B000NPIYM8/

MIke_Jonas

Dye for what?

I don't do The Steam. What do you use this dye for? Some type of troubleshooting?

M Downey_2

Purpose of the dye

I assume from Charlie's post, that the purpose of the dye is to view the waterline easier in the gauge glass.

Brian_74

Colored paper

might do the trick. I'm assuming that the water is a bit rust-colored, which makes it difficult to see against a dark background. Maybe something as simple as putting some lighter colored paper behind the sight glass would work. I've also noticed that cleaning the glass can make a world of difference--at least for two weeks.

jpf321

refrigerator magnet

i found that a fridge magnet really does a good job of clearing the sight-glass water .. but make sure to blow down the crud once and a while... if you remove the magnet and blow down the LWCO it usually takes the crud with it.

Steamhead

You can get

sight glass tubes with red stripes that make the level easier to see. R.E. Michel has them in their catalog, page 339.

DavidK_2

Maybe instead of coloring the water,

a small, brightly colored, floating ball in the sight glass might work?

Charlie from wmass

And the winner is Frank

Great idea Frank The water is very clear and the lady who owns the house is in her 90's So she has trouble seeing the water line. back ground tape sounds just right. Thanks Guys! and Happy New Year!! Maybe I can find a small float like dave suggested would be a nice pair.

jpf321

1/4" cork balls

1/4" (6.4mm) cork balls available here:

http://www.corkstore.com/compass/servlet/WBServlet?webfunctionid=web.prod.list&action=product-details&time=09%3A24%3A38&quicksearch=&num-selected=1&myqty1=1&myqty2=1&myqty3=1&myqty4=1&myqty5=1&myqty6=1&myqty7=1&myqty8=1&myqty9=1&myqty10=1&myqty11=1&myqty12=1&myqty13=1&myqty14=1&myqty15=1&recid=45326&qty=&unit=&functionid=x



you can probably also mince some packing peanuts, a wine cork, shipping foam, or insulation board (pink) .. http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Insulation/Owens-Corning/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xj8ZasbsZ3q5/R-100320335/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053