Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

burnham TDS levels

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. 

Comments

  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 23,220
    Any chemicals in the boiler?
    What is the TDS of the fill water?
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
  • jamieclark
    jamieclark Member Posts: 4
    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
    hot_rod Member Posts: 23,220
    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
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Mad Dog_2HVACNUT
  • Mad Dog_2
    Mad Dog_2 Member Posts: 7,500
    Just curious 🤔?..what city or state is your water source?   Mad Dog 🐕 
  • jamieclark
    jamieclark Member Posts: 4
    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
    hot_rod Member Posts: 23,220
    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
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    Mad Dog_2
  • jamieclark
    jamieclark Member Posts: 4
    Thank you