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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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De-scaling electric kettle
We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric
kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? -- Chris |
#2
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I use Killrock, which is a liquid and works better than ScaleAway.
You can buy large bottles of descaler for central heating system which surely must be much cheaper as otherwise a house would take a thousand ScaleAway sachets, maybe! |
#3
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In article ],
Chris ] wrote: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. Why? ;-) -- *Why is a boxing ring square? Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#4
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In article ,
Peter wrote: You can buy large bottles of descaler for central heating system which surely must be much cheaper as otherwise a house would take a thousand ScaleAway sachets, maybe! But you don't drink out of the central heating? -- *If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done? Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#5
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In article ],
Chris ] writes: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? For metal kettles, the descaller is sulphamic acid, which you can buy in large tubs of crystals (Furnox DS-3) from a plumbers merchant (or possibly a DIY shed) for descalling heating systems. The little kettle descalling sachets are a complete rip-off, and lots of then seem to be half full of sand anyway. I don't know what's used in plastic kettle descallers (I've used the same stuff without any problems, but it usually says not to). -- Andrew Gabriel |
#6
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Andrew Gabriel wrote: In article ], Chris ] writes: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? For metal kettles, the descaller is sulphamic acid, which you can buy in large tubs of crystals (Furnox DS-3) from a plumbers merchant (or possibly a DIY shed) for descalling heating systems. The little kettle descalling sachets are a complete rip-off, and lots of then seem to be half full of sand anyway. I don't know what's used in plastic kettle descallers (I've used the same stuff without any problems, but it usually says not to). -- Andrew Gabriel Will DS-3 also work in wc pans. Ken Livinstone suggested that we don't flush the toilet after a **** the save water. My two kids do the same but are just too lazy to flush the toilet. After a while the staining is so bad even a good brushing wont shift it so I use spirit of salts from a builders merchants. Chucking a measure of something down there sounds a bit easier. Kevin |
#7
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On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:00:49 +0100, Chris ] wrote:
We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. Citric Acid crystals from your local Indian food shop, usually a couple of GBP for a kilo bag. Using one of those small stainless steel mesh rolls sold as scale preventers in the kettle will slow down the scaling process quite a lot. You simply wash the steel roll under the tap every week and it collects a lot of the scale on its large surface area. -- Peter Parry. http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/ |
#8
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On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:00:49 +0100, Chris ] wrote:
We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? Buy a filter jug and use only filtered water in the kettle. You'll find it hardly scales up at all. sponix |
#9
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"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message .. . In article ], Chris ] writes: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? For metal kettles, the descaller is sulphamic acid, which you can buy in large tubs of crystals (Furnox DS-3) from a plumbers merchant (or Tried furnox and it works, but smells a bit which lingers for a week on plastic kettles (from experience). Plus it will strip any nickel plating off the kettle element if it's left in there for hours, leaving a nice brass finish. rusty |
#10
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In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Chris ] wrote: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? The instructions which came with my Morphy Richards concealed element kettle recommend getting citric acid crystals from a chemist. I haven't tried it yet! -- Cheers, Set Square ______ Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid. |
#11
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Set Square wrote:
In an earlier contribution to this discussion, Chris ] wrote: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? The instructions which came with my Morphy Richards concealed element kettle recommend getting citric acid crystals from a chemist. I haven't tried it yet! About 60p for 100 gms, which should be enough for half a dozen descales. You can re-use it if you're really tight. I use the same tub of dilute sulphamic for the shower head for a year or so.... |
#12
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In article , Stuart Noble
writes Set Square wrote: In an earlier contribution to this discussion, Chris ] wrote: We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? The instructions which came with my Morphy Richards concealed element kettle recommend getting citric acid crystals from a chemist. I haven't tried it yet! About 60p for 100 gms, which should be enough for half a dozen descales. You can re-use it if you're really tight. Thanks - very helpful. -- Chris |
#13
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In article , Peter
writes I use Killrock, which is a liquid and works better than ScaleAway. Where do you get that?- because I've done a web search and couldn't find it. -- Chris |
#14
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Quote:
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#15
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In article ,
"Rusty" writes: Tried furnox and it works, but smells a bit which lingers for a week on plastic kettles (from experience). Plus it will strip any nickel plating off the kettle element if it's left in there for hours, leaving a nice brass finish. The smell is deliberate, and an indication you haven't washed it all out. The dye is an indicator to show when the chemical is exhausted. I have found it to stain some plastic brush bristles, and I guess it could stain some other plastic parts. -- Andrew Gabriel |
#16
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#17
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Where do you get that?- because I've done a web search and couldn't find
it. Pertinent info on the bottle reads: Kilrock Products Ltd Customer Care (oh dear, god help you!) Chesham Bucks HP5 3HB Tel: 01494 793900 Contains Formic acid and additives |
#18
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On Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:00:49 +0100, Chris ] wrote:
We live in a very hard water area and need to de-scale the electric kettle often. We have tried various de-scaling products, including vinegar. The best was "Scale Away" crystals from Tesco. But that's quite expensive - and I bet it's something ordinary like sodium citrate. Does anyone know what the chemical actually is - and where it might be obtained cheaply in bulk? The question still remains...why would you want to descale a kettle? Is it building up so much scale on the element that it takes longer to boil? Even a newly descaled kettle can deposit bits of limescale slime in your tea, though it does help if you buy one with a mesh filter in the spout. Mr F. |
#19
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#20
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In article ,
Mr Fizzion writes: The question still remains...why would you want to descale a kettle? Is it building up so much scale on the element that it takes longer to boil? That's a very tiny effect. The element still has to get 3 kW (or whatever it's rated at) out into the water. If there's a layer of insulating scale around it, then the element will be running very much hotter, and fail faster (although nowadays, some other part of the kettle normally fails before the element, with kettles having become "consumables"). Also tends to make the kettle noisier ("kettling";-). Even a newly descaled kettle can deposit bits of limescale slime in your tea, though it does help if you buy one with a mesh filter in the spout. IME, mesh filters get blocked with hard water too, and then when your pour, the water comes out all the wrong places, like round the side of the lid. Mesh filters need descaling more often than the element. -- Andrew Gabriel |
#21
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In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Mr Fizzion wrote: The question still remains...why would you want to descale a kettle? Is it building up so much scale on the element that it takes longer to boil? In some cases, it's a condition of the warranty. Presumably the element can overheat and self-destruct if the scale provides too much insulation between it and the water. -- Cheers, Set Square ______ Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is invalid. |
#22
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One method I have used when
a) it's someone else's kettle, b) they aren't looking, c) there's no descaller anywhere to be seen, is to switch it on with no water in it for long enough that the residual moisture in the scale on the element has boiled off plus a few more seconds so it's well above boiling (probably some 5 to 10 seconds in total), switch off, and then pour a small amount of cold water in so it splashes on the element. It hisses and spits (beware of the steam), and makes the scale crack and fall off. Of course, if you're unlucky, you'll burn out the element, trip the overtemp, and/or buckle the element, but so far I've always got away with it. It only descales the element itself, not the rest of the kettle of course. I discovered this at university, where is was quite common for ones colleagues to pop in and switch on your kettle without first checking if there was any water in it, and when it starts making gasping noises and the element is glowing a dull red, then they hold it under the cold water tap. The element doesn't need to be anywhere near that hot for the effect to work though. -- Andrew Gabriel |
#23
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Hmm, clever. I just bought a little SDS drill with lots of bits, I'm
sure one of them is suitable for attacking limescale. |
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