Industrial strength descaler?

woj101

I live in a hard-water area and find that over time the 'heat transfer plate' in my combi boiler scales up to such an extent that after about two-and-a-half years it is virtually incapable of discharging even warm water.

The first time it happened I had the heat transfer plate replaced, but kept hold of the old. I was hoping I might be able to thoroughly descale it and make it worth getting a plumber in to fit the old one again, rather than having to pay out for a new part.

I'll be honest in that I haven't tried any product on it yet - but given how much hard work a packet of Oust makes of my kettle I don't think it'll be up to the job (although maybe if I just use loads and loads of packets on it ??)

So does anyone know of any really good descalants that would be worth trying?

Thanks very much.

Owain_Moneysaver

Fernox DS3 - about £15 for 2kg from plumbing suppliers. Or similar products.

Also consider fitting a water softener (ion exchange, not one of those magnetic magic snake oil contraptions) on the combi boiler inlet, so all your hot water is softened.

Turning the boiler thermostat down to about 45degC will also help a lot, but the water won't be so good for washing dishes.

aamuk

You could try Spirit of Salts. This is quite easily available at most DIY and Hardware shops. It is about 32% hydrochloric acid, so don't leave it in the heat exhanger for too long.

gas4you

I am in a very hard water area, but have only come across one plate that had scaled up on the domestic side.

99% of the time it is the system side that sludges up causing the problem.

I always carry DS3 on the van though for other de-scaling tasks.

Canucklehead

Hi

You might want to consider the Combimate after descaling .



GSR.

Avoriaz

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

..Turning the boiler thermostat down to about 45degC will also help a lot, but the water won't be so good for washing dishes.

It will be if you fill a kettle or saucepan with the 45degC water, boil it and add it to the bowl with more 45deg C water straight from the tap.

That is what I do. Our cylinder thermostat is set at about 45 degC which is fine for showers and baths but a bit cool for washing up.

If I have a lot of washing up to do, I reheat some of the water when it cools down in a saucepan (not the kettle) as I go along so that it is is kept very hot.

ormus

try caustic soda. very cheap.

hc25036

errrr - caustic soda is an alkaline solution so won't dissolve scale. You need an acid (like vinegar or the others suggested above) for that.

Erme

Citric acid...available from hardware stores or my MLM (mail order - pm me)...about £2 max...worked wonders on the carbon burnt on on my kettle at the weekend (but then bust the seal - one leaky kettle - one fuse box blown = new kettle - hardly frugal ). Has instructions on side...would be a cheap initial purchase...

Hope that helps...

E

pimento

I'm sure my boiler installer told me that the water should be heated to a minimum of 60 degrees to kill Legionella bacteria. Or did I misunderstand?

MX5huggy

Only if you have a hot water tank, not for a combi as the Legionella grows in standing warm water