HydroFLOW TECHNICAL INFORMATION AREA - NAVIGATION
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HydroFLOW prevents the formation of hard scale due to increases
of temperature and pressure change, under all normal operating conditions.
Users are advised to contact Hydropath Technical Support if they
suspect that conditions are unusual.
Old
scale is normally broken down. The time taken depends on the volume
of water, the flow of water to remove the excess scale crystals,
the porosity of the old scale and variations in the temperature
and the pressure of the water. In most cases the process is fairly
rapid, and up to 95% or more of old scale is broken down and treated
within the first three months.
Hard
scale may be slow to break down where there is low water volume
and little variation of temperature, flow, hardness and pressure.
In such cases HydroFLOW is best fitted from new or
after chemical cleaning.
If
HydroFLOW is applied to a heavily-scaled system, where
scale may have formed on the inside of a narrow pipe or plate heat
exchanger there is a small risk of blockage due to dislodged pieces
of scale. The user is advised to have a system cleanse or to install
suitable coarse filters prior to fitting HydroFLOW.
The
HydroFLOW signal is effective both up and down stream,
and can cause a large quantity of scale to be broken down. In most
cases the only effect may be that users see the crystals as they
emerge from open taps. This does not always happen and stops within
three months. There will be no adverse effect in a closed recirculating
system unless there is significant evaporation or there has previously
been some significant leakage.
The
application of HydroFLOW cannot itself cause corrosion
or leaks. Scale is a direct cause of corrosion and its removal may
reveal leaks. Rust coatings in mild steel pipework are altered,
resulting in a hard black surface deposit, magnetite, rather than
normal rust and further corrosion is prevented. This effect is due
to an interference with the electro-chemical reaction needed for
corrosion to take effect.
HydroFLOW uses solid state circuitry and does not require
maintenance. Its signal cannot create films which would reduce performance.
There is a red light which is powered directly by the generated
signal and is a positive indication of correct operation. If the
operation of the device is critical, users should monitor this light
as part of a planned maintenance procedure.
Once
water has left the plumbing system or left the protection zone,
it can no longer be subjected to the HydroFLOW conditioning
field. 30 minutes may be taken as a conservative guide to the time
that the water retains its full scale prevention ability.
In
systems with no turbulence the crystals can settle. This can occur
in commercial kettles, coffee machine reservoirs, large calorifiers
and cooling tower pools. The resulting soft scale is removed during
maintenance or using filters.
Recirculating Systems with Evaporation
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Where
a recirculating system involves evaporation, e.g. cooling towers
or humidifiers, the suspended crystals must be removed using filtration
(<50 microns) or blow down to avoid concentration. On initial
application existing scale will be broken down leading to an excess
of precipitate which users must address. The easiest approach
is to increase blow down. A suitable filter with automatic back
wash will also control the problem and will reduce water costs.
pH can be controlled using sulphuric acid to reduce the rate of
precipitation.
When
using HydroFLOW to protect plate heat exchangers,
existing scale in the pipes upstream of the device will be broken
down. This will lead to excess precipitate in the heat exchangers
which can continue to cause scale for the first few weeks. If the
plate heat exchanger is heated using steam, it is advised that the
hot steam supply is connected to the same side as the water return.
The heat exchanger will give increased performance through the avoidance
of boiling.
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