I'd like to be able test if more protector is required but the 60 second
test strips come in 50s at £20+ and it appears you also need a test tube
with 10ml markings ??? Not sure that bit's right.
Can you get more economical one-off testers?

In article ,
Andy Cap writes:
I'd like to be able test if more protector is required but the 60 second
test strips come in 50s at £20+ and it appears you also need a test tube
with 10ml markings ??? Not sure that bit's right.
Can you get more economical one-off testers?

Can't recall the exact parameters, but ISTR you can bleed some out
into a jar. Leave a piece of copper and iron in contact with each
other in the jar, and check the iron doesn't corrode within a few
days. The iron needs to be grease-free and not galvanized - you
could start by polishing it with steel wire.

Or something like that.

IME, if what you bleed out is relatively clear, it's OK.
If it is starting to look more like black ink, the inhibitor
has become ineffective.

If it's a sealed system and you never have to top it up,
it should last almost forever (mine still seemed OK after
about 7 years, with 2-3 small top-ups over that time).
Each top-up dilutes it - if you're doing that weekly, it
will quickly go.

For a vented system, I would assume 1-2 years life, unless
you know it's leaking anywhere.

I use Sentinel X100 (BES is usually a good price).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 02/24/2014 06:51 PM, Andrew Gabriel wrote:

Can't recall the exact parameters, but ISTR you can bleed some out
into a jar. Leave a piece of copper and iron in contact with each
other in the jar, and check the iron doesn't corrode within a few
days. The iron needs to be grease-free and not galvanized - you
could start by polishing it with steel wire.

Or something like that.

IME, if what you bleed out is relatively clear, it's OK.
If it is starting to look more like black ink, the inhibitor
has become ineffective.

If it's a sealed system and you never have to top it up,
it should last almost forever (mine still seemed OK after
about 7 years, with 2-3 small top-ups over that time).
Each top-up dilutes it - if you're doing that weekly, it
will quickly go.

For a vented system, I would assume 1-2 years life, unless
you know it's leaking anywhere.

I use Sentinel X100 (BES is usually a good price).


Thanks for that comprehensive reply. Its a vented system and I guess it
must be two years since I added a tube so I think I'll invest in another
lot. Cheers

On Mon, 24 Feb 2014 18:51:38 +0000 (UTC)
(Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

In article ,
Andy Cap writes:
I'd like to be able test if more protector is required but the 60
second test strips come in 50s at £20+ and it appears you also need
a test tube with 10ml markings ??? Not sure that bit's right.
Can you get more economical one-off testers?

Can't recall the exact parameters, but ISTR you can bleed some out
into a jar. Leave a piece of copper and iron in contact with each
other in the jar, and check the iron doesn't corrode within a few
days. The iron needs to be grease-free and not galvanized - you
could start by polishing it with steel wire.

Or something like that.

IME, if what you bleed out is relatively clear, it's OK.
If it is starting to look more like black ink, the inhibitor
has become ineffective.

If it's a sealed system and you never have to top it up,
it should last almost forever (mine still seemed OK after
about 7 years, with 2-3 small top-ups over that time).
Each top-up dilutes it - if you're doing that weekly, it
will quickly go.

For a vented system, I would assume 1-2 years life, unless
you know it's leaking anywhere.

I use Sentinel X100 (BES is usually a good price).


I have no idea if the vented system in this house has ever been tested
or treated. Is it a good enough first test to just drain some water
from a radiator vent plug while the pump is running and see if it's
clear or dirty, and progress depending on the result?

--
Davey.

On Monday, February 24, 2014 6:51:38 PM UTC, Andrew Gabriel wrote:

Can't recall the exact parameters, but ISTR you can bleed some out

into a jar. Leave a piece of copper and iron in contact with each

other in the jar, and check the iron doesn't corrode within a few

days. The iron needs to be grease-free and not galvanized - you

could start by polishing it with steel wire.

That's nonsense, I'm afraid.
It's sodium molybdate, the only way to test it is with a test kit.
I looked at getting a kit once and they were too expensive to justify.

It's cheaper to just add more, flush it out first if some other inhibitor may have been added. ISTr that you can't overdose it (within reason).