hydrogen in central heating

[darren bastin]

The boiler does seem to run hotter , the rads do get very hot , just put this down to it being such a small system. The hose was renovated and did have a new consumer unit. What are your thoughts ?

 

[zzzjim]

Still have no idea what is breaking down , but higher system temps will make it happen quicker

( Probably some old inhibitor residue/or gunk mixed with new stuff
and not getting along )

 

[hammers4spanner]

electrical current issue ?, still think something has happened somewhere to pipework on install.

 

[darren bastin]

Could you give me examples of what type of things on the pipe installation could cause corrosion please

 

[dancinplumba]

flux residues, strong cleanser left in system, too much inhibitor, aggressive water, earth leakage ??
imo

 

[hammers4spanner]

in my install experience have come across it a couple times on relative new systems where hydrogen has been released due from poor install as in creating points of trapped air under the floor when system is full which eventual causes probs . i wouldnt suggest materials you have used would be an issue on modern heating system .I am aware of electrolitic action from electricity but thats beyond me .

 

[darren bastin]

Surely if you had trapped air under floor then a symptom of this would be poor circulation , one or more rads would not work or need the air chasing out. To be honest when you flush and fill the system every rad comes up with no probs. All the drops have drain valves so the cleanser could be fuuly rid from the system.

 

[hammers4spanner]

No not really compresses as under pressure or can be micro bubbles , sure on some inhibs it states on them air creates corrosion which can be prevented by inhibitor etc etc .

 

[Mike Jackson]

I had this on my own system years ago. It was due to a bacterial contamination. I had to flush and disinfect the system to cure the problem. I wouldn't have thought that bacteria could survive the high temperatures in a combi circuit but they obviously can. That was around twenty year ago and no problems since.

 

[aggis]

Take a look at http://www.kamco.co.uk/GuidanceNotes/PDF/Gassing.pdf

 

[diamondgas]

You can obtain a kit and send away a sample for testing here SystemCheck Test Kit | JetFlush and Test Kits | Central Heating | Sentinel central heating products. ... May be worth giving sentinel a call to find out how much it would cost Darren. Could save you a lot of time

 

[mylesy]

Never done your pipework properly underfloor imho ,
prob to many places for compressed air pockets and micro bubbles that are slowly becoming unsettled, i come across it so many times people unaware of how to install a pressurised system .

pressurised systems are less likely to have small air pockets in them, the air is forced out even if it is installed poorly. how would YOU lay your flow and return pipes differently to an oppenvented system?? i would do it exactly the same in either case imho only instead of the point on the system where theirs a tank their would be an un-vented set up.

 

[mylesy]

anode and cathode. if you put a piece of copper in a potato and a piece of magnesium in the same potato but at the other end and you have a wire from each piece of metal with a volt meter inbetween you get voltage!! like a very **** battery. the potato acts as the buffer. on the electrolytic table copper is very high up and eats most other metals in the system.

 

[darren bastin]

Thanks for all the input lads. The bloke who owns the prop is a sparky so I can get him to check for earth leakage etc. Mike do you know what disinfectant you used , If the problem persists I dont want to add something that is not correct? I can except that I may not have got all the original cleanser out ( although drain points on every drop to help), I am struggling to cope with the idea that my work is rough ! If this was the case all my installs would be plagued by this problem and they aint. I will update .

 

[MattWeth]

You can obtain a kit and send away a sample for testing here SystemCheck Test Kit | JetFlush and Test Kits | Central Heating | Sentinel central heating products. ... May be worth giving sentinel a call to find out how much it would cost Darren. Could save you a lot of time

This only works if you've dosed with Sentinel X100. I've spoken to Sentinel about this very issue as I need to check a large system with unknown or indeed no inhibitor. They informed me that it isn't a full chemical analysis, just a check for the concentration / efficacy of X100.

As an aside, I think it slightly 'cheeky' that H4S should immediately assume (and then repeatedly state) that the problem is the OP's installation practices. "IMHO" ...