"John Rumm" wrote in message
o.uk...
On 02/06/2010 15:19, wrote:

I've heard water conditioning magnets can help too,
so has anyone any advice on these, cheap emough to try I
guess.http://www.first4magnets.com/water-c...gnets-33-c.asp

but it is worth the effort ?
and long term would this build up a potential blockage in the pipe,
if the water is 'well 'ard' as in East ludun init !

I thought these magnet-based water softeners were pure snake oil - but
this report from Southern Water says the effect is real (e.g. less
crusting), though very variable:

http://www.southernwater.co.uk/pdf/E...ersWRCnote.pdf


Seems kind of pointless - the water in a heating system is stagnant - once
all the scale has precipitated out there is no more to come.

The inhibitor wears off and water is reintroduced at various time. If using
a vented F&E tank, fresh water is introduced regularly,.

Scale in hard water areas affects the domestic hot water side of the
system where the supply of water is fresh and ever changing. These devices
could only collect scale on the sealed primary side of the system.

They collect magnetite from the corrosion process. Sludge can ruin a
system. many system are running very inefficiently because the rads are
full of sludge. The sludge collects in the rads and the heat exchanger.

There is some argument for having a particulate trap on the return to the
boiler to prevent any debris reaching it (and the magnabooster appears to
include one of these - although at many times the price of a basic
strainer), but the primary requirement is to prevent the generation of
corrosion products in the first place by proper flushing and cleaning
followed by regular maintenance with inhibitor. Letting the system rust
and mopping up the result seems like its solving the wrong problem.

Basic strainers are not good enough. The Magna Booster collects the harmful
magentite and solids in the system. Most systems are not flushed well
enough on a boiler change and sludge ends up in the new boiler's heat
exchanger. They are "essential on a boiler change using existing rads.

I have seen sludge and solids collect in a Magna Booster filter after a
year, in a flushed new system with the correct amount of inhibitor.