Rectorseal 8-way boiler water conditioner

riny · August 30

I had my oil-fired boiler replaced a few months ago. I'm in NY and use the boiler only for heat, so it's idle for the summer.

I was just cleaning up in the basement and I found a bottle of this stuff. I asked the installer, and he apologized and said he must have forgotten to add it when he filled the boiler. He suggested that I drain a bit of water, remove the air vent, and pour the bottle in the hole.

I have no problem doing that, but is it worth the hassle? Does this stuff really make a difference?

Jamie Hall · August 30

Some folks say it's great. Some folks say don't bother…

EBEBRATT-Ed · August 31

@ethicalpaul will comment he is the expert on this and has U tube videos on it😊😊

ethicalpaul · August 31

For a steam boiler, open to the atmosphere and having fresh water added to it more or less regularly, I highly recommend it. But only use like 1/3 of what the directions say. Its main useful feature is that it raises the pH of the water dramatically reducing corrosion.

for a hot water boiler that is a closed system with very little water added to it, I don’t think it’s as helpful. But it can’t hurt. But if it were me I’d just add 1/2 bottle and save the rest for next time the boiler needs to be drained (if ever).

Do you hot water guys use water treatment very often?

hot_rod · August 31

I think hydronics system benefit from a conditioner. A lot depends on the fill water quality.

Aluminum mod cons used to ship with a bottle of conditioner, the MZ and early Ultras.

riny · August 31

Thanks, it is hydronic, not steam (I wound up going with the EK2). I have well water with a softener, and I'm lucky to have very good quality ground water here, although I can't find the test report. Maybe I'll pick up a pH tester.

The bottle says it treats up to 25 gallons but I'm not sure how many gallons I have, and I don't want to raise the pH too high. I guess the best thing would be to add some, run the circulator for a while, and drain off a little bit of water to test. Reading old threads, it sounds like a pH of 8-8.5 is the target?

neilc · August 31

you don't want to run your softened water to the boiler,

get a line from the well before the softener,

have a water test done and see if you need other filtration, or treatment,

others here can explain better,

ethicalpaul · September 2

Don’t worry about going too high. That product has a pH “buffer” and won’t really let it go too high, even if you use a lot more than necessary.

As high as 10 wouldn’t phase me but consult your boiler’s manual

Robertw · September 2

Ek recommends the use of 8 way in all it's boilers( it's shipped with every boiler we sell). The ek-2 holds 4 gallons of water and depending on the size of the rest of your piping and radiation type may change things but usually one bottle is more than enough.

Feel free to reach out to me if you have any more questions.

hot_rod · September 2

The acceptable ph will be determined by the conditioner you add, so read the label on the 8 way. They probably offer a test kit specific to their product to check condition.

That product changes color (ph indicator) , light green, too weak, blue or purple adequate dosage.

riny · September 2

Thanks all! The boiler is hooked up to an automatic fill valve which gets softened water. Normally it should only be a small amount of make-up water, but I'm guessing he probably filled it using that. I wasn't here when it was filled, and I guess it's possible he ran a hose from before the softener, but I doubt it. What's the downside to having the boiler filled with softened water? I read some old threads and found quite a range of opinions on whether softened water is better or worse for the boiler.

@Robertw I appreciate the offer, as always. I've got one unfinished basement zone with two cast-iron radiators, baseboards on the first floor, and cast-iron radiators again on the second and third floors (finished attic). I doubt there's a risk of one quart being too much? As long as that's not a concern, I'll add the whole bottle.

hot_rod · September 2

the best procedure is to fill the system with tap water and run a hydronic cleaner for a day

Drain, flush, fill with good water, low tds, the add the conditioner

Rectorseal may have a water quality spec for blending the 8 way?

hot_rod · September 2

The 8 Way looks to be mainly a cleaner? The ingredients are lye, phosphate “soap” and nitrites, also a cleaner, 78% water

I know Rhomar and Fernox hydronic products have a lot of ingredients, ph buffer, oxygen scavenger, film providers,

I built some test coupon racks for Rhomar years sho, as I recall they blended 17 ingredients in their hydronic conditioner

Fernox, Adey, Rhomar, Axiom are two step. First the cleaner, then flush and add conditioner. A special test kit is used to check fluid conditioner, boost as required .

Ideally a system with either glycol or a conditioners would not have a fill valve, but use a fill tank like Axiom or PIG

You don’t want to risk diluting the “blend”

Rectorseal 8-way boiler water conditioner

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