hydronic chemicals and the enviroment

leo g_63

it seems that lately, we have been getting calls from people who have older/or badly installed systems. my local wholesaler is trying to convince me that the hydronic chemicals they sell could be a ggod bandaid for those who don't have the time or money right now to re&re their system.

it sounds like a decent plan, let the customer get through the heating season and maybe start putting away a bit of dough for the eventual re&re. my problem is that i don't know how toxic these chemicals are, once they are purged from the system and dumped down the sewer drain. and i haven't been able to get answers to my satisfaction yet.

anyone out there have any input on this "problem"?

leo g

Steve Eayrs

What chemicals are you talking about? Some can be very harmful to certain radiant tubing, and create a little more R&R than originally needed. Imagine that any chemicals would first involve cleaners in the system, which may cause more leaks? Curious what chemicals he recommended.

If you are talking about something that stops leaks, I wouldn't recommend it any more than I would recommend a diet of bacon to a heart patient.

Steve

leo g_63

steve

of course the first treatment would be a cleaning agent, then (i can't remember the brand name right now) a compound that is supposed to lubricate and help protect from the effects of oxygen ingress. the bottle he showed to me, said that you had to reintroduce this product yearly, this is why i'm wondering about the effects to the enviroment.

leo g

George_10

Check out our web site under hydronics

We have a cleaner and a treatment which are both enviromentally friendly and do a subperb job. We spent two years formulating these products so that they would not harm the system or the enviroment. They were specifically designed to be used in hydronic systems, however they can be used to clean and treat steam boilers too.

You are right however that the cleaner could uncover pin holes that are currently filled with corrosion. This is more of a problem with thin walled copper tubing than cast iron boilers and pipe. We are not worried about the effect on the new aluminum boilers or other new products for hydronic or hot water systems.

Check us out at www.rhomarwater.com or give me a call at
800-543-5975. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

George

Dave DeFord

I'd get a MSDS..

That's what I do for anything that I have questions about. They are always available from the manufacturer - many times on their web site.