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[randy_1]

I have somewhat hard water her so I am preparing to give the plate exchanger a good cleaning when shut the boiler down in a few weeks. was wondering if anyone has used a spare circ pump an old ext. cord and a couple of washing machine hoses to circulate CLR. I was fortunate enough to have had slim install may boiler so I already have isolation valves through out the system so in my small brain it appears pretty straight forward,.. Am I missing anything? Any better ideas .?

[GCTerpfan]

I bought a 3 gpm sump pump that runs on 3 D size batteries at lowes for 30 or 40 bucks. I use the pump a couple of old washing machine hoses and a 5 gallon bucket. Works well for me.

[WoodMOJoe]

Good discussion here:

http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php?topic=7398.msg62220#msg62220

[U.P. Doug]

I bought a Little Giant 110v small pump that is a mini submersible pump. I have a 5 gallon pail with a lid and garden hoses that run through holes I drilled in the lid. My valves are in place and allow me to back flush my exchangers annually with vinegar. Its worth the peace of mind to me just to do it this way and hopefully advert problems down the road.

[fireboss]

What does it look like when you flush it ? Are you getting anything out ? Mine hasn't bin done its bin in for 6 yrs but I haven't had any heat loss or flow was wondering if its worth it for me to do I didn't put any clean out valves!

[U.P. Doug]

Fireboss, sorry can't answer that one yet, as this is my first year on my install. After doing a lot of reading here I have seen people with clogging problems and decided to be safe instead of sorry. I have an artesian well and I do not see a lot of minerals in my sink or shower, but I did install the valves and it should not take long to do. Thinking a light build up every year is easier to remove than several years of build up. Not sure if my way is overkill, but I will know once I shut the boiler down.

[dwneast77]

I wish I knew plugging could be a problem when I installed.  But I have a pex crimper so cutting and re-crimping is not too bad for me.  I will add isolation valves for next year.  I used a 12v pump, much like in an RV with a garden hose on the outlet side but changed over to 1/2" pex on the suction side with a garden hose fitting.  My plate exchanger was still hot on the boiler side so therefore the vinegar got hot after re-circulating it over and over and as a result the garden hose on the suction side collapsed.  Not made for that kind of heat.  I do think the vinegar being hot was a good thing though.  My coffee maker suggested letting vinegar sit in it for several hours while hot to descale that.  I recommend using the white distilled vinegar over CLR.  Non-chemical and much cheaper.  I used about 3 gallons dumped into 5 gallon bucket.  What a disgusting mess that came out after a while.  I've been told my water here is on the hard side, (well water) but I do not get much mineral staining either.  Was surprised that my HX plugged on only the 3rd season.  Though, it is only a 10 plate so I guess that might be part of my problem.

[Big Wood]

Yes white distilled vinegar .  They have those small pumps you put in the end of a drill at the hardware store i use a cordless drill

[randy_1]

 

[LittleJohn]

I bought a Little Giant 110v small pump that is a mini submersible pump. I have a 5 gallon pail with a lid and garden hoses that run through holes I drilled in the lid. My valves are in place and allow me to back flush my exchangers annually with vinegar. Its worth the peace of mind to me just to do it this way and hopefully advert problems down the road.

I have something like this setup to fill and purge Glycol Systems; I found an 110v RV water pump, with 55psi cutoff (just have to be mindful of Pressure Relief Valves, but it works perfect for pressurizing glycol systems)

...PUMP AWAY