10 story open system water treatment

mikedo

i service a 10 story 220 unit condominium building the boilers are 3 years old. it is still an open system with a tank on roof. they have not treated the water in about 5 years and i am changing some of the old carrier heating and ac combination fan coil units the system is filled with black mud. i am more of a residential plumber so i don't want to get involved with the treatment. do you think they should make it a closed system , treat water and add filters on return to collect sediment. thanks for any advice

nicholas bonham-carter

Potential legionella?

When we think of an open system, it is a system with shared heating, and hot water fluids. The large volume, and slow movement of water on its way to the unsuspecting occupant, is likely to have disastrous effects (legionnaires disease).

Is this what you are describing?--NBC

jumper

somebody cheated

Installer,engineer,and inspector were all in on it. Yes it should be closed. Open tank should be replaced with conventional expansion tank. Since the tank is at the top it does not have to be a pressure vessel. If coils are crudded up what is happening in the boilers?

By the way where are the boilers? An engineer who knows his stuff can design effective degassing in a system with expansion tank at top.



The system will have to be flushed thoroughly. Your idea for filtration is interesting.

mikedo

system crud

boilers are in basement and sludge in system is starting to restrict flow at the far end of the building. i was hoping treatment would break up sludge and it could be collected in some type of filter . I'm more of a residential plumber so if anyone knows a contractor that would like to close system and preform treatment let me know building is in bpt ct

icesailor

PHD:

Where is this PHD located?

mikedo

phd

what does phd stand for