Disintegrated Taco IFC

Kaos

I pulled this out of a stainless pump on city water, maybe 5 years old. The rubber is turned to mush and the plastic is flaking apart. Are these not meant for city water?

EdTheHeaterMan

There is a chemical that is in your water that is breaking down those parts faster than the chemicals in my water. What is the pump used for? Domestic Hot water recirculation? Closed system circulator? 

I live in a different city than you do. What is in your city's water? You can have your water tested by an independent laboratory that your water supplier does not have any say over. (Not implying that there is a political agenda that may skew the actual reports from your cities water company)

Kaos

The pump is for an open heat system so it is always circulating fresh city water.

Here is the report from the local utlity, chlorine and pH seem to be in the range. We don't have hard water here so no treatment needed.

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/95c8-CS-24-0074DrinkingWaterAnalysisSummaryAODA.pdf

EBEBRATT-Ed

I would talk with Taco any open system can have issues.

SuperTech

Why an open system? I'm not saying that it's the cause of the problem but a closed system is always a better option.

GGross

Maybe you could find an external check valve more suited to the task? The internal checks are usually included to avoid issues but their placement is less than ideal being inside the volute

hot_rod

those checks are available with a few different “rubbers” buna , EPDM, viton, all have different tolerances to chlorine or chloramines

Or other chemicals the water provider may be using. Something in the water is breaking down those seals

EdTheHeaterMan

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1813797#Comment_1813797

I understand that a closed system is always a better option for a pump, I'm just not comfortable with drinking any water from a closed system that might pass thru several radiators, a couple cast iron boiler sections and perhaps some steel/iron piping. Just sayin'

Interesting closed system story happened to me:

I did happen to find a customer in Villas, NJ that decided that connecting a laundry washing machine Hot hose to a purge valve from the heating zone for the second floor. It turns out that there was also a cold water hose bib within 12" of that particular purge valve on the boiler closed system. So it seems logical to a consumer that it must have been put there for the washing machine. After removing that hose, I wrote a note and told the customer that this particular connection was not for the washing machine, and to call a plumber to install a hot water hose bib for their washing machine. I attached it to the hose that was disconnected from the washing machine. (customer was not home when the maintenance was completed and the check for the "Tune Up" was already taped to the boiler)

The next heating season, I returned to do annual maintenance on that same boiler. Guess what was connected to the purge hose again…. You guessed it! The washing machine! I actually asked the customer's teenaged daughter to come and look at the incorrect use and connection point. I disconnected the hose again and made it clear that doing this would make their heating boiler go bad much sooner than normal by doing this. (I also wrote it on the invoice that left with the customer.) I also turned off the manual valve to the boiler feed and removed the handle. This way if the hose was connected to the boiler again, they would end up with not hot water for the washing machine after the boiler pressure dropped. They may even end up with no heat in that particular zone.

In December I got a call from that customer about a problem with the heat on one of the zones…. Guess what was connected again? Since this was a service call and not a maintenance only call (at a special low price) the customer was ready to listen and I was able to install a hot hose bib for the washing machine. "I told you that connecting the washing machine to that purge valve could cause problems". They agreed to pay for the necessary repair. I installed a hot water hose bib and connected the washing machine properly. I also purged the failed zone and put the handle back on the manual boiler feed valve. I was not a licensed plumber and was not supposed to work on the DHW. I was a licensed HVAC and was only supposed to work on the boiler piping. (That's why I told them to get a plumber to do it the first time.)

But I still won't drink Closed system water. it's not healthy!

Kaos

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1813797#Comment_1813797

Using a tankless as the heat source. Those are rated for combi heat only. Technically it can work in a closed system but not rated as such.

Kaos

A very helpful rep from Taco reached out and provided this information:

" this is a fairly common failure mode in open systems. The combination of oxygen and chlorine eats up the plastic and the EPDM seals"

So the IFC can be used in potable water but only if not chlorinated. On city water, most likely, it will fail.

On my end, going to replace the IFC with spring check with Viton seals.

EdTheHeaterMan

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1813926#Comment_1813926

Using a tankless as the heat source. Those are rated for combi heat only. 

exactly what does that mean? Is combi heat only a new type of heat? DHW heat. Central heat and the one that heats Combination seafood and steak platters?

Or did you mean DHW only or Central Heat only?

hot_rod

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1815665#Comment_1815665

Use a hydronic check with a .50 psi pop pressure. Ideally the check is 6 pipe diameters downstream of the pump, also.

HomerJSmith

Sounds like a Radiantec system.