Search the forum,

Discuss Mains Pressure Hot water System - Brown Sludge in the USA area at PlumbersForums.net

Messages
98
I got a Mains Pressure Hot water System, it's about 3 years old. The shower filters get blocked yearly, and if it gets drained for maintenance, when you purge the system, you get loads of brown sludge.
This is on the hot water side only.

How can I prevent this brown sludge build-up, and how can you clean it?
 
Last edited:
Have you contacted your water supplier?
Might be worth having the cylinder drained, the immersion removed and the bottom checked
 
That’s not normal do you have any steel pipework?
 
Is it slimey or gritty?

If the former, it may be some sort of 'bio-film' growth. This is a potentially serious health hazzard and needs the system draining, disinfecting and checking for root cause, such as dead-legs in the pipework or incorrect storage temperature.

If the latter, I'd expect there to be a similar accumulation in and cold water filters and toilet cisterns.

If in doubt, get a sample analysed by a lab that offers water quality tests. Expect to pay £50-£100 for a one-off test but it should give a definitive result. Call them and ask their advice about what type of test you need before placing an order.
 
Last edited:
It's slimy, no dead legs, everything brand new. We have secondary return pump, runs 24 hours.
 

Attachments

  • 20190328_185404981_iOS.jpg
    20190328_185404981_iOS.jpg
    336.9 KB · Views: 23
It's slimy, no dead legs, everything brand new. We have secondary return pump, runs 24 hours.
A circulation loop needs to be well-insulated, or it will dissipate a lot of heat, and the section I can see has no insulation. . . Most domestic installations have the secondary return pump on a programmer so it only runs at times when hot water is being used by the household.

What is the temperature of the water in the tank? Is it's heater on all the time?
 
A circulation loop needs to be well-insulated, or it will dissipate a lot of heat, and the section I can see has no insulation. . . Most domestic installations have the secondary return pump on a programmer so it only runs at times when hot water is being used by the household.

What is the temperature of the water in the tank? Is it's heater on all the time?
Other than in the boiler cupboard, all pipes are lagged. This is a large HMO, the occupants don’t have a regime, so shower throughout the day. So need to have hot water snd pump on 24/7.
The water temp is set to 55.
 
A circulation loop needs to be well-insulated, or it will dissipate a lot of heat, and the section I can see has no insulation. . . Most domestic installations have the secondary return pump on a programmer so it only runs at times when hot water is being used by the household.

What is the temperature of the water in the tank? Is it's heater on all the time?
Other than in the boiler cupboard, all pipes are lagged. This is a large HMO, the occupants don’t have a regime, so shower throughout the day. So need to have hot water snd pump on 24/7.
The water temp is set to 55.
If in doubt, get a sample analysed by a lab that offers water quality tests. Expect to pay £50-£100 for a one-off test but it should give a definitive result. Call them and ask their advice about what type of test you need before placing an order.
What would you google for this, have you ever used such a company?
 
Other than in the boiler cupboard, all pipes are lagged. This is a large HMO, the occupants don’t have a regime, so shower throughout the day. So need to have hot water snd pump on 24/7.
The water temp is set to 55.

What would you google for this, have you ever used such a companyrown
If you Google "uk water analysis lab test" you'll find many firms that offer tests of various types. If you include your county or town you'll probably find half a dozen within easy reach. The big national firms have nice websites with lots of useful information. I use a small local lab who are a bit cheaper and v. helpful with advice. The main gotcha is you can pay £50 for a test but if it's not the right test for your circumstances it won't tell you anything useful.

The landlord needs to do a legionella risk assessment and IMO identifying the nature of the brown sludge to confirm it's not a health hazard should be part of that. 55°C, for example is below the HSE recommendation for stored water, which is 60°C so that's something that might need to be considered.
 
If you Google "uk water analysis lab test" you'll find many firms that offer tests of various types. If you include your county or town you'll probably find half a dozen within easy reach. The big national firms have nice websites with lots of useful information. I use a small local lab who are a bit cheaper and v. helpful with advice. The main gotcha is you can pay £50 for a test but if it's not the right test for your circumstances it won't tell you anything useful.

The landlord needs to do a legionella risk assessment and IMO identifying the nature of the brown sludge to confirm it's not a health hazard should be part of that. 55°C, for example is below the HSE recommendation for stored water, which is 60°C so that's something that might need to be considered.
It was originally 60, but we turned down to prevent risk of scolding. But we then installed Thermostatic Mixing Valves on the taps closest to boiler. But then never turned back up. I've just checked and it was actually 57, we've now turned back up to 60 and will keep it at this.
Thanks for water test idea.
 
Should be no plastic at all in a secondary return
Afraid to say needs changing against manufacturer instructions
Wonder if that's cause of problem?
I spoke to Hepworth at long length about this before install. They advised they have not tested on secondary return, so can't advise to use Hep2o. Therefore, their advise has to be don't use.
So in theory, there is no reason not to use.
But, I agree the plastic pipe is a contender, but why?
 
So in theory, there is no reason not to use.
Er, no. The manufacturers say "don't use", the reason they give for this advice is irrelevant when it counts, which is when you are wondering whether your insurance will cover the damage due to failure.

"I've never failed a ballet grading exam because I've never entered one." is true but you can't infer from it that I would pass if I did try. (Hint: I don't enter because I know I'd fail.)
 

Reply to Mains Pressure Hot water System - Brown Sludge in the USA area at PlumbersForums.net

Similar plumbing topics

Hi, My current hot water system needs to be replaced. Anyone got any suggestions or can recommend any plumbers around Derrimut area that won't rip me off? An office guy recommended me to apply for government rebates and get it installed through timetosave.com.au. How reliable is this...
Replies
6
Views
229
Hi, Can anyone advise as to why the cold water to my bathroom keeps airlocking? This originally happened about 12 months ago and has happened 3-4 times since. It’s an upstairs bathroom, fed from a tank in the attic. The tank is about 8 Meters away and feeds a bath, sink and toilet. The tank...
Replies
9
Views
255
Our kitchen mixer tap has started dripping. Like so much of the plumbing in our almost new build bungalow, it is lacking! The plumber didn't install any isolating cocks in the H&C feed to the tap so how can I identify which of the valves is passing? Shut the whole H&C water system down?
Replies
7
Views
199
Hello all, I’m replacing a concrete paving slab patio in the back yard. The original patio used 50mm deep concrete slabs on hardcore & sand. I’m planning to pour a 100mm deep concrete patio on 100mm hardcore. In order to achieve the same final height to line up with the rest of the patio, I...
Replies
5
Views
135
The fittings below are for a mixer bar attached to a self contained shower. i.e not a wall. The attaching screws have snapped. I could get two new brackets, dismantle that existing one and start again or I could try and re attach via those screws, removing the broken ones from the plate and wall...
Replies
0
Views
116
Creating content since 2001. Untold Media.

Newest Plumbing Threads

Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock