any risk associated with a properly executed TSP cleaning?

BobC

Boiler water maintenance

TSP is probably very good for boiler cleaning but to maintain the boiler after it's been cleaned and flushed you might want to look into Steam Master tablets. I started using them about 18 months ago and the boiler in my boiler is just as clear as it was back when I started using the tablets. I just drained a little water to check it last week and the water was clear with s light violet hue, the PH measured at 9.5



If you do decide to use it just ignore the instructions, one tablet is good for a small boiler and two would do for most any home boiler. Make sure there is nothing in the boiler but clean water when you add the tablets.



Bob

Binnacle

too much

Your final result is 3.11 fluid ounces of Savogran for 14 gallons.



That's 3.11 fl-oz divided by 0.5917 fl-oz / oz or 5.256 oz.



5.256 oz is 149 grams, times 6.1 percent is 9.089 grams of elemental phosphorous.



9089 milligrams in 53 liters (14 gallons) is 171 ppm, which is way above the maximum recommended phosphorous concentration of 40-80 ppm.



So 3.11 fluid ounces is more than twice the final-concentration amount desired.  However since some TSP is immediately consumed in softening tap water, my earlier 2 fl-oz recommendation should be ok unless you have a water softener in the line. Then use 1.5 fl-oz.



I couldn't follow your calculation above as you do not indicate PPM or ml/l anywhere.  Work through my detailed example above using Google to convert units.  Type in things like "5.256 oz in grams" in the search box to obtain quick conversions.



-----



P.S.  Possibly you meant 3.11 dry ounces above.  Was not clear from the original post that you have a scale and wish to measure by weight as this is never stated.  If so 3.11 dry ounces is 1.8 fluid ounces and is about right.

Binnacle

nope

Been there done that.  If you spend some time reading the thread you will realize I have researched this extensively.



Your comment strikes me as shoot-from-the-hip.



Is clear that you have not bothered to read any of the material.

New Hampshire DIYer

Appreciate your patience

Yes, it was dry ounces I was after. I'm obviously no chemist but I do have a kitchen scale so it's easy to weigh the Savogran. My result was 3.11 DRY ounces...sorry I didn't make that explicit. But it sounds like that would be slightly low. It would take 3.38 dry ounces of Savogran to equal 2 fluid ounces of TSP.



Thanks again for posting such detailed work.

Binnacle

CRITICAL WARNING

The boiler water chemistry presented in the thread is entirely valid with one major caveat:

Many sectional boilers of the type used for residential heating have, for the last 20-to-30 years, employed elastomer or other types of polymer compounds for sealing the sections together rather than the older "push nipple" approach where a tight metal-to-metal seal is established. The merits and detriments of this approach are discussed in other threads, but anyone considering an alkaline boiler water treatment program should first determine the type of seal present in the target boiler.

Hydroxide alkalinity will damage and eventually destroy any type of polymer seal and is only appropriate for push-nipple sealed boilers. The Weil McLain E-9 discussed above is a 50-year-old push-nipple boiler and can tolerate and benefit from a TSP and sodium hydroxide treatment, where perhaps a majority of newer boilers are gasket-seal boilers that would potentially be destroyed by such a water program.

With that in mind, it is likely that Steamaster Tablets as discussed are probably safe for use in gasket-seal boilers as the active ingredient is primarily of Sodium Nitrite. The formulation of Steamaster does not promote the high pH that results in a hydroxide alkalinity equilibrium. Observed Steamaster pH is in the vicinity of 9.0, below the aforementioned threshold. Sodium nitrite promotes the formation of a magnetite (black) iron oxide layer on the waterside surface which protects the metal from detrimental hematite (red) iron oxidation.

This posting is not meant to attract further comment but is intended as a warning to anyone who might come across this thread via a search engine such as Google.