White stuff in glass

acl10

After putting Hercules chemical into my boiler I see some whitish stuff floating in my glass. Any idea what it may be. Is it a problem?

acl10

Chemical sheat

http://www.herchem.com/specs/boilercleaner.pdf

nicholas bonham-carter

white boiler cells

i can hardly believe the advertising blurb for this product:

"No draining or flushing is necessary unless system is very oily, rusty, or in unusually dirty condition".

why would anyone put it in a clean boiler?

would you ever buy a laundry detergent which says, "no rinsing required"

if it were mine, i would drain and refill until i got back to pure water, unless there was some specific water condition i was trying to correct, such as chlorides, or ph imbalance.--nbc

acl10

It made the water cleaner

It made the water cleaner and also is supposed to lubricate the pump that circulates water in the basement baseboard that goes through the boiler. Should I be concerned about the whitish pieces?

acl10

Open the glass?

Should I open the glass and try to get it out?

nicholas bonham-carter

final cleannig

can you drain and refill several times? i believe that these boiler additives are not good for the boiler.[except in certain situations] what problem were you trying to solve?--nbc

acl10

Dirty water

I wanted to clean out the boiler and the pipes. The water looks cleaner. I also wanted to lubricate the pump for the basemnet baseboard. Why do think they are no good for the boiler?

nicholas bonham-carter

pump lubrication

we have an older hot-water system, which has probably been converted from gravity to a  pumped system. once a year i squirt a couple of drops into the oil-cup of the b&g pump.

if your pump needs some outside lubrication, it may not be from an oil cup, but surely not from hercules boiler cleaner.

there are so many additives around that may be unneccessary for all sorts of applications.

there is marvel mystery oil, and tran-u-lax for your car.  also various products for your lawn, to keep it weed-free. i will not go into the subject of what medications are doing what for the body.

if you feel that some part of the system needs some attention, then look at the mfg's info before adding anything to the system.--nbc

Oak Park Electric

Additives

If you wanted to clean out the boiler and pipes, then drain and flush as nbc suggested.  Also flush the baseboard loop.  This is the only way to get the crap OUT of the boiler, which is where you want it.  Although additives may seem to make the water in the gauge glass look cleaner, there is no bottle of magic stuff that makes the contaminants disappear.  What it may have done is cause the junk to settle in the bottom of the boiler, where it will cause hot spots and rumbling boiling noises.  Now to the pump.  If it is a small self contained unit, it is designed to be water lubricated.  If it's a big one like a series 100, then it needs oil.  Either way, putting something in the boiler to lubricate the pump is not the way to do it.  Some additives do a little bit of something, others are purely medicine show BS.  But none of them are necessary in a clean, maintained system.   Just because people sell something does not mean that is works or is safe for the system.

acl10

Flushed out.

It must have done somthing as I flushed black water out of the LWCO today after putting in the chemicals yesterday