Foaming boiler water

[Steve Goodbody]

Hi Tom,
While your hard water may not be the cause of foaming, if you want to soften the water without resorting to a whole-house setup then it's worth considering the cartridge-style softeners - they do the job without much hassle or cost.

I made up a simple portable rig consisting of an initial gross particulate filter followed by a two 2.5" x 9.75" cartridge canisters in series. The first canister contains the softener cartridge, the second contains a 0.5 micron filter cartridge. The cartridges and holders came from "Pure Water Products, LLC" in Texas, but you can probably buy them elsewhere. Here's a picture, nothing fancy as you see:

To use, I hook up a garden hose to the pre-filter connection (left side of the picture) and squirt the softened/filtered water into a clean container. I then dose the container with soda ash to raise the pH and sodium sulfite to scavenge oxygen. I use simple test strips to confirm pH, softening, and residual sulfite (indicating no oxygen). I originally determined the amount of soda ash to add by trial-and-error, adding a little at a time until the test strip reads correctly. Very little sulfite is needed. Once you know the correct amounts to add then you can quickly make up a new batch of water, using the test strips each time to confirm.

I've been using this rig with the same cartridges for a few years now and they're still working fine, however my water is not excessively hard.

Best regards
Steve

[Emfinger]

Wow, very interesting I like the chemistry and the ability to check the results. Thank you very much Steve.
Tom

[Steve Goodbody]

No problem Tom,

If you do a quick search on "Water Treatment Targets and Method" you'll find the 2015 thread that was behind this rig. The arrangement is based on the information in that thread and the credit should go to those contributors.

Ultimately the practices used to store the boiler when not in use likely have the biggest impact on our boilers - Marty Knox often makes than point and he's 100% correct in my opinion - however a reasoned boiler treatment practice certainly doesn't hurt and I've found can be achieved pretty easily and without too much outlay.

Best regards
Steve

[tsph6500]

Interesting, where do I put the Sweet potato?
Thank you
Tom

Pull off a safety valve.

Any type of raw potato will work.

[Emfinger]

The hole is 1/8" NPT kind of small for a potato....LOL
How much potato should I use on my small boiler?

[Emfinger]

Hi Tom,
While your hard water may not be the cause of foaming, if you want to soften the water without resorting to a whole-house setup then it's worth considering the cartridge-style softeners - they do the job without much hassle or cost.

I made up a simple portable rig consisting of an initial gross particulate filter followed by a two 2.5" x 9.75" cartridge canisters in series. The first canister contains the softener cartridge, the second contains a 0.5 micron filter cartridge. The cartridges and holders came from "Pure Water Products, LLC" in Texas, but you can probably buy them elsewhere. Here's a picture, nothing fancy as you see:

IMG_2588.jpg

To use, I hook up a garden hose to the pre-filter connection (left side of the picture) and squirt the softened/filtered water into a clean container. I then dose the container with soda ash to raise the pH and sodium sulfite to scavenge oxygen. I use simple test strips to confirm pH, softening, and residual sulfite (indicating no oxygen). I originally determined the amount of soda ash to add by trial-and-error, adding a little at a time until the test strip reads correctly. Very little sulfite is needed. Once you know the correct amounts to add then you can quickly make up a new batch of water, using the test strips each time to confirm.

I've been using this rig with the same cartridges for a few years now and they're still working fine, however my water is not excessively hard.

Best regards
Steve

Hi Steve, I'm ordering parts and material today and the test kits come in ranges

https://www.labdepotinc.com/p-398-ph-st ... gJ0qPD_BwE

So what PH do you like?

Thank you
Tom

[Steve Goodbody]

Hi Tom,
I follow Marty's guidance, quoted below. I have two steel boilers, one with steel tubes and the other with copper tubes, hence I aim for a slightly different pH in each case.

"The target for pH is between 9 and 10 for boilers with copper tubes, and between 10 and 11 with steel tubes. Copper doesn't like high alkalinity.
The target for dissolved oxygen is 0. You don't want any free oxygen in the boiler. When you use sodium sulfite the test is for residual sodium sulfite. If there is any sodium sulfite left you assume the rest has combined with the free oxygen. If there is no residual sodium sulfite you increase the dosage."

I hope that you manage to overcome the foaming problem and that everything goes well.
Best regards
Steve

[tsph6500]

The hole is 1/8" NPT kind of small for a potato....LOL
How much potato should I use on my small boiler?

Add about 4 or 5 slices, like french fries.

[NP317]

What is the chemistry behind adding potato slices to boilers?
RussN

[tsph6500]

What is the chemistry behind adding potato slices to boilers?
RussN

You would have to ask Steve Bratina. I failed chemistry in high school.

It works like most of the old remedies for boilers like adding hooves or manure.

[pat1027]

Foaming is generally impurities collecting in a surface film surrounding the bubble making is somewhat stronger. Potato starch is used in prepared foods and things like stews as a thickening agent. It has also been experimented with as a surfactant (reducing surface tension) in waste water treatment. My guess is the starch binds with the impurities pulling them away from the surface to be blown or washed out later.

[NP317]

Thanks Pat1027.
I was thinking the starch might be the active chemical.
RussN