burnham TDS levels

jamieclark

Based on previous experience with a Burham series 3 boiler, i recently tested the water in the system with hand held digital testers. It came back with a PH of 8.5 which seems fine. It also came back with a TDS of 248 PPM This seems high to me but I have not been able to
validate anywhere that it is a serious problem. If it is a problem, I’m not sure what to do about it since the tap water itself is 208 PPM. 

Thanks in advance for any insight. 

hot_rod

Any chemicals in the boiler?
What is the TDS of the fill water?

jamieclark

The water was determined to be acidic so it was flushed multiple times with hydro-solv 9100. That appears to have solved the acidic problem but not sure about the TDS. The fill water (which is city water) has a TDS of 208. 

Thanks 

hot_rod

If the fill water exceeds the manufacturers limit, you can run  it across a DI cartridge. Or haul water from a better source

Caleffi, Adey, Axiom maybe others sell a DI cartridge that will do 35- 50 gallons of fill water

A DI cartridge removes both the positive and negative ions, leaving mostly pure water

If that TDS is high due to scaling minerals, that can coat out the boiler surfaces on the first firing 

Its easy enough to avoid that, this chart shows the effect of scale inside the boiler

Mad Dog_2

Just curious 🤔?..what city or state is your water source?   Mad Dog 🐕 

jamieclark

That is all helpful. Thank you. I’m in St Paul MN. This is probably a dumb question, but how do I even know what the TDS limit is. Also I’m perplexed that the TDS level in my drinking water os somehow too high fornthe boiler. 

hot_rod

TDS is total dissolved solids. It is all the minerals, ions in your water. 

Water with minerals is good for your body, but not so good for hydronic components. The scale that is left behind by the minerals coming out of solution can damage or at least lower the efficiency

Drink a glass if tap water with natural minerals then drink some some RO water. You should notice a considerable difference in taste

jamieclark

Thank you