disposal of boiler water/potable anitfreeze

Frank M Alleva

Are there are published industry guidelines/procedures regarding the proper disposal of boiler water and mixture of boiler water and potable anit-freeze. Additionally, are there any studies regarding metals from the boiler that may enter and become part of this mixture/suspension. Where I am heading is, do we have to handle and dispose of boiler water as a hazardous waste and if not, can anyone point me to something I can download to prove that point. Yup..you guessed it..one of my rocket scientists decided to pour it into the sump pump which discharges close to the homeowners drilled well and you can guess the rest.

Ken_8

His sump pump

discharges into the well?

You gotta be kiddin' me!

Even though it is allegedly "non-toxic," the only solution I can imagine is:

1) don't open your mouth while bathing.

2) Double flush after each toilet use.

3) Make sure you rinse well and don't swallow when brushing your teeth.

4) Bottled water (or beer) only - for drinking and cooking, and,

5) Use as much water as possible for a day or two, then have it tested by a lab and see if there's any of it left in the well case.

6) Discharge the sump into anything but the pitable water well!





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Mijola

AF disposal

Frank,

Do you know the Mfg of that particular AF product? If so, they would have the MSDS sheets on it (if any), and they can tell you what would be thier published procedure for disposal, or if it is in anyway harmful.

Regards,
Ed Carey

bob_34

many years ago a customer called to have some minor heating system leaks repaired. he had just moved into the 15 year old house. connected 100 feet of hose to drain the boiler into his sump pump pit. the boiler and pit were at opposite ends of the long cellar. the water in the sump pump pit was very rusty and the pit was connected to the foundation perimeter drain which did not drain off downslope as the cellar was lower than the brook next to the property. went back to the boiler and opened the boiler drain valve. walked back to the sump pit after about 2 gallons had gone into the pit and to my horror the pit was prestone fluorescent yellow- AUTOMOTIVE yellow. in a panic i shutoff the boiler drain and had the homeowner go to the hardware store and get 8 six gallon gas cans. 4 for the estimated 24 gallons in the 7 zone system, and the other four to receive the purge remnants on refill. drained the 24 gallons into the gas cans and put my rusty broiling drip pan [kitchen variety] under the boiler drain to catch some that was dripping off that connection and it was also prestone yellow there too. as a last step i drained some horizontal cellar ceiling loops into a clean white bucket at which point i discovered that this anti freeze was RED!
what the hey?? anyone want to guess what was going on?

hr

If in fact

it is non toxic PG I wouldn't lose too much sleep. It is listed as low toxicity. Probably the only indication it got into a well would be the color or sweet taste.

Really ground water shoudn't be getting into a drilled well. The casing should be grouted to prevent ground water from getting down to the aquafier.

I can't imagine gltcol picks up muck from the inside of the boiler. Iron and copper perhaps?

Airports spray EG on planes for de-icing. Sometimes it goes into bio ponds to break down, other times directly into the sewer systems. They spray truck loads a day!

hot rod

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hr

The urinal wa tied into the drain field

Or did somebody pee in your garden hose?

But seriously, the color of the glycol does not determine which type it is. Dowfrost HD PG is bright flourcent yellow, while Dowfrost PG is water white.

I've seen PG glycls in red and blue as well as fluorscent green.

I don't know of any way to tell if you have PG or EG in a system, in the field. I think only the manufactures labs can determine which type is in a sample.

When in doubt virtually all the oil change shops, Jiffy Lube, Miniute Lube, etc as well as most automotive repair shops and auto parts supplies stores will take drain glycol. Often at no cost as they get it recycled.

Safety Kleen will pick up large quantities, usually over 55 gallons. Although they charge.

hot rod

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bob_34

antifreeze

the antifreeze was red- the orange color of the water in the pit and the rust in the small drain pan made it look like automotive green/yellow. however i did not know that pg comes in different colors as all the local {new hampshire] supply houses have stocked red hercules over the last 25 years. thanks for the multi color info. think i'll start asking around if anyone knows of any other colors/brands showing up recently.

Kal Row

cryo-tek from hercules, is pg and is blu-ish so forget color