ASME, ABMA or other association standard?

ssnowder

I am looking for a published standard that states acceptable levels of hardness in boiler water. We test our boilers every 8 hours, and our average hardness is only 3 ppm. Yet our senior Stationary Engineer believes it should be zero. Our Nalco rep that does testing once monthly told me that he would not be worried unless it was above 40 ppm. Thanks.

Jamie Hall

I don't think there is a standard -- at least I never taught to one, but that was years ago. That said, your average hardness is exceptionally low, and I would be concerned about the potential for corrosion as very soft water (which your is) is very aggressive. Be sure you keep any anti-corrosion treatments right up to where they need to be -- your Natco rep should be able to help you with that.

Mad Dog_2

I'll ask my 79 yr old father ln law, The Chemist and retired Bureau Chief for our County's Water system (Dept of Health).  He always has a detailed answer.  Ill be back   Mad Dog 🐕 

Derheatmeister

0 ppm is very hard to achieve and as Jamie Cautioned the system fluid can become Aggressive which is why we use sacrificial Anodes with the Deionized water

Check the North American ANSI H 1001.1 Standard..

We adhere to the German VDI 2035 Standard which will explain the relationship between the boiler size(Heat plant), the system Fluid volume in conjunction with recommened Hardness levels ... Of course the O2 levels need to be kept within check( Avoid deep setbacks, Have a O2 barrier,Propper piping techniques)
Hope this helps.