PAS2035 will this be forced upon all boiler changes

Most might of seen the recent articles regarding PAS2035 this has been brought in for Government eco grant system projects, but what is it, well in my personal opinion it's just unnecessary bureaucracy, all it does is create more people in line who want money from a simple boiler change for doing very little to nothing, I see no benefits to either the installer or the homeowner in this PAS2035, in fact the installer probably comes off worse, as the cream has been taking as it passes through the chain and very little is left for the essential part of the job, the actual installation of the boiler, now I am not involved in this eco work but from others I have spoken to who end up either servicing or repairing boilers that were installed under eco scheme, they say the installation is not of a very good standard, this is probably because the installer does not have the money in place to do a good job, in my opinion and that of many other installers, to do a good job on a boiler change, it often takes more than one day, if all works are carried out properly.

So I suppose you're wondering, well, if you don't do eco work, why should PAS2035 concern you?, well my problem is, I see this creeping into all boiler changes at some point and I think this is their aim,  I would see this as a disaster for our industry.

Where has PAS2035 come from, its from a bunch of certification bodies, so not industry, and why would they do this, well in my opinion, its money, nothing more, I see no benefit to anyone, maybe they could try and explain to us installers how it would benefit anyone, homeowner or installers, from another article I have seen the figure of 6,000 boilers a day are replaced in the UK, now most of these are handled by sole traders and SME's I should imagine, and the majority are dealt with quickly and if the boiler exchange was a a distress change, where the boiler has broken down and not repairable, its changed quickly, so the customer is least inconvenienced and has their heating back on, with this PAS2035 the process would take much longer, so leaving homeowners cold

As an installer , I don't want this creeping in to our everyday jobs changing boilers and with conversations with other installers no one else does, we must nip this in the bud before they even consider extending this scheme, so we need to stand together as an industry and say, enough is enough, our industry has been milked for far to long.

What we need to do is contact our local MP's and let them know we will not except this infringement on our ability to work, a contact on Twitter has said they will share a template letter that installers can use to send to their MP, as soon as I have this I will add it here, I just thought I would get the word out ASAP so we can start spreading the message, just so you know I am not just making this up, here is a recent article about it in Installer magazine https://www.installeronline.co.uk/pas-2035-ill-pass-says-worcester-bosch-groups-neil-schofield/

So let's start a discussion and get the message out to as many installers as possible, we need at least 10,000 installers to contact their MP to show we are not happy about this

You can find your local MP HERE and isa link to a template letter to your MP should you wish to use it can be found HERE

Thank You for Reading

Water Treatment

As most of you are aware I am not a fan of chemicals been used in heating systems, we have other options, these options are widely used in Europe, yet the UK chooses to ignore these proven methods and continue to push the chemical option.

We had an interesting conversation on Twitter regarding water treatment, but what I realised is many UK installers are unaware of the alternative options, so i thought I would share the different methods available, these follow the German VDI2035 methods

Softened Water
Some people have mentioned using softened water to fill a heating system, here are the fact on this.

By softening of filling water via ion-exchange the total hardness of the heating system make-up water is reduced.

By removing calcium and magnesium out of the water the total hardness is lowered. This basically comes up to the demands according to VDI2035 guidelines. But replacing calcium and magnesium against sodium ions does not lower the electrical conductivity of the heating water. In most cases the electrical conductivity of the softened water rises due to technical reasons in comparison with the untreated raw water.

This critical factor makes softened water unsuitable for heating-system make-up water, if there is a higher amount of oxygen to be expected in the heating system there would be need for water with a conductivity of <100 µS/cm.

In systems with higher temperatures, a high pH above 10 may occur, if the system has been filled with softened water. As the sodium has exchanged its position with calcium it is dissolved in the water in form of sodium-hydrogen carbonate – its partner in solution is carbon dioxide. As soon as the water is heated up above 60°C, the solubility of gases in the water is lowered and carbon dioxide changes from the aqueous to the gaseous phase. Sodium stays in the water mainly in form of sodium hydroxide which might results in a pH >10.

Due to these technical based restrictions a filling water treatment with water softening does not cover all demands of the common guidelines for heating water treatment.

Demineralisation 

The de-ionisation by ion-exchange follows the same principle as water softening, but the de-ionisation of the heating-system filling water lowers the electrical conductivity and the total hardness.

At the process of de-ionisation the ion-exchanger consists of two components – the cation- and the anion-exchanger.

The difference to water softening is the cation exchanger is not loaded with sodium-salts, but with hydrogen-ions. As soon as water comes in contact with the cation exchanger all positive charged ions (potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium) change their position with hydrogen-ions.

The anion-exchanger is loaded with hydronium-ions. These swap their position with any negative charged ions in the water (carbon dioxide, silica, chlorides, sulphates, nitrates).

The treated water thus contains H+ and OH- ions – ions where water molecules are made from. The H+ and OH- ions combine to H2O – pure water.
The de-ionisation of heating-system make-up water generates a water, which has a low electrical conductivity of <10 µS/cm, a total hardness of ~0,1°dH and a neutral pH of ~7-8. All salts, even chlorides, sulphates and nitrates are completely removed from the water.

But with this ion-exchange principle, the pH can cause problems. Improper use of the ion-exchanger salts of silica and carbon dioxide are not removed properly. As a result the pH of the treated water drops and the water becomes slightly acidic with a pH of 4-5. Even correct use of de-ionisation the pH can drop as soon as there is an acidic reaction in the system. De-ionised water is rather sensitive to outside influences as there are no dissolved salts that can act as a buffer against such influences.

In ordinary heating-systems without disturbing impurities and without constructive deficiency the pH of the de-ionised water normally rises to approx. 8.2 after one or two weeks of operation. This assumes that the water is heated up to >60°C and that the system is de-aerated properly so that residues of carbon dioxide can be vented. This and some metal hydroxides results in a rise of the pH.

Demineralisation with pH control

There are also water filter system available, for the reduction of total hardness and electrical conductivity as well as stabilisation of the pH of the heating system water.

The pH is raised by constant dosing of suitable salts. In the first stage in the chamber the water is adjusted to a specific level by use of a special resin. In a second filter stage suitable salts are dosed to the water depending on the volume flow, which results in a rise of the pH. By use of a special salt-resin mixture the pH can be limited. The result is a water with an electrical conductivity of 1-100 µS/cm, a total hardness of ~0.01°dH and a pH of 8.5. Regardless of the raw water quality such filters create water that fully complies to the demands of VDI2035 guidelines for heating-system water quality. Products which provides such water treatment are the CLARIMAX 1200 HW water filter system and the Elysator Purotap Leader with the Nexion cartridge.

Electrochemical solutions

The use of electrochemical water-treatment will results in an increase of the pH-value, constant oxygen consumption and cleaning of the system water. A cyclonic water flow and separation plates installed inside of the unit enhance the separation of impurities and the venting of the heating system by an air-vent. In addition, a strong magnetic filter rod of rare-earth provides the effective removal of magnetic particles from the heating water. Protection of the metals in the system by a water quality which supports the formation of natural protective layers and passivation (corrosion protection) The electrochemical water treatment is a well known method for an eco-logical corrosion protection in central heating systems and is a recommended method for refurbishment and protection of central heating systems in the case of water containing oxygen resulting in corrosion.  The increase of the pH-value by electrochemically formed hydroxide is state of the art technology and a safe way to operate a central heating in combination with demineralised water in a low-salt operation style according to VDI 2035. these units come in varying sizes and are particularly useful in large commercial systems suffering from corossion, as they can be fitted into the system with minimum of disruption and will treat the water over time, bringing it to a clean and non corrosive condition

System Top Up

If these methods are used its important to use conditioned water for any top ups, cartridges are available that can be connected to the quick fill of the heating system, which ensure any top up water is the same quality water that you filled the system with.

There is much more to this, but I have tried to keep it as brief as possible