Hard water is often thought of in an unfavourable light due of the problems of scale and it’s associate problems, however hard water is actually very healthy to carbon based lifeforms such as us humans as it contains essential minerals. So the question is how to keep the advantages of hard water without having the disadvantages of caused by scale
To better understand how water becomes “hard” we need to look at the complete water cycle.
We start off with rainfall that due to atmospheric pollution is acidic. Once fallen it is either stored as surface water in lakes, reservoirs and rivers or it is absorbed by the surface strata’s and filters down through the different porous rock layers. Since it is acidic in nature as it passes through these rock layers it dissolves the minerals and carries said minerals in it in a liquid state. This mineral enriched water will carry on its journey until it reaches an impermeable rock layer. It will then pool and form an underground lake known as an aquafer.
Previously South Africa used to source most of its water from surface resources, but due to the increased demand, agriculture and industrial run off as well as the pollution of so many of our rivers and reservoirs we are being forced to increase our supply of potable water by utilising underground resources – resulting in the increased instances of hard water.
The Amanzi range of anti-scale systems are all “point of entry” units (i.e. installed where the water enters the property, protecting your whole water system, fixtures and fittings) and employ modulating electronic impulses to modify the crystalline structure of calcium and magnesium ions from a complex “sticky” three dimensional snowflake configuration into a simple cylindrical mono- crystal with positive/negative ends that can only form strings and therefore not cluster together to form encrustations.
This ionic modification operates in water with maximum temperature peaks of up to 95°C and lasts for up to 2 days in cold water, up to 7 days in warm water (over 30°C) and for a linear distance of 2000m of pipe work before the effect starts to degrade. (Note, there is a 20% engineering tolerance built into the products so these figures are conservative)
These systems do not employ magnetism, any additives or chemicals (such as salt in ion exchange systems) and leaves the healthy minerals Calcium and Magnesium in the water. Also it does not “soften” the water, only stops the formation of scale encrustations. This means that as well as being healthier, the water is also not as corrosive as soft water (which is acidic), therefore giving double protection to your appliances and pipework.
This Impulse Technology System has the following advantages
- Stops the initial / further build-up of scale on the pipe work and in appliances
- The carbonic acid produced during the electrophoresis phase dissolves the existing scale
in your system - Produces a protective metal-carbonate layer on the exposed metallic surfaces to reduce
corrosion and pitting on metallic piping and fittings. - It can be utilised on any piping material
- Does not remove beneficial minerals from the water supply nor replace them with
undesirable salts or chemicals - It does not need to be cut into the piping system on installation as the control units are
attached to the physical piping and the transfer bands are wrapped outside the piping. As well as being a DIY installation it is also considered a switch on and forget system and is maintenance free. It requires a normal electrical connection (240v) with very low wattage (2.25 – 3.25 watt), – with minor costs to the consumer
The Electronic Impulse Technology works as a three tier system to –
a) stop new scale encrustations
b) break down existing encrustations
c) protect the pipework and fittings.
Electronic Impulse Technology stops scaling in pipes and appliances
Without the Electronic Impulse Technology treatment, scale particles in the water form “sticky” crystals that join together to build solid deposits. The Electronic Impulse Technology modifies the crystallization of the calcium and magnesium using the natural process of electrophoreses. The crystals become smoother and rod shaped (mono-crystal) which can only attach end to end forming string and can no longer form encrustations. The longer rod shaped crystals that are created, the stronger the positive effect of scale prevention. Scale is now washed away in the water flow as a microscopic powder.
Electronic Impulse Technology gently sanitizes the piping system
The Electronic Impulse treatment breaks the Calcium hydrogen carbonate into its separate elements (electrophoresis) and in doing so increases the availability of carbonic acid thereby enhancing the natural balance between the scaling process and natural resolving process. The resulting mono crystals can no longer form encrustations so the scaling build-up process is reduced. The natural scale resolving process now needs only to deal with the existing deposits and can effectively combat them. The natural surplus of carbonic acid caused by the electrophoresis effect dissolves the scale from the laid down deposits. Gradually and carefully the deposits in the pipes are dissolved and flushed away. With the scale, the existing rust build-up is converted back into solution and as the encrustations are broken down, the bacteria breeding grounds disappear which greatly reduces and eventually removes that contamination threat.
Protection against rust damage and perforation
Copper and/or iron oxidisation occurs in all metal pipes, fittings and appliances through contact with hard water. These oxides seriously affect the surfaces and often lead to corrosion. The electrophoresis effect caused by the Electronic Impulse Technology generates a protective metal carbonate layer on the exposed metal surfaces against electrolytic and chemical corrosion.
The chemical reaction for the effect of the electronic impulses with a hard (calcium rich) water supply is as follows
Advantages of using a grit removal system
- As it stops the ingress of harmful abrasive suspended solids to the building, it protects not only the pipework installation, but also the expensive fixtures and fittings
- It will also protect your kitchen and laundry appliances such as washing machines, dish washers, coffee machines, plumbed in fridges etc.
- They will protect your geyser and solar installations
- By removing the damaging suspended solids from your water flow, they will reduce maintenance, especially when dealing with “water saving” items which employ meshed flow restrictors such as shower heads and ceramic disc mixers.
- As these ranges do not require to be dismantled to clean the filtering medium, the ingress of air into the system is neutralised, meaning that the following water system does not need to be bled to purge any air in the system which could lead to harmful water hammer, as well as reducing water wastage.
The Electronic Impulse Systems are calibrated to work on pipe sizes from 40mm/1 1⁄2” (or below) with a treated flow of 2000/3000ltr per hour up to 1000mm/40” with an unlimited treatment flow rate and all systems are suitable for all piping materials (iron, copper, stainless steel, plastic, PVC, PE- X, composite) and can treat water with a measured hardness of up to 900ppm/50°dH
Other important factors when looking at anti-scale systems
- Flow rate – as scale builds up in the piping system it reduces the bore of the pipework, allowing less water to physically pass through it and reducing the water available at the end draw off points
- Pressure – as scale builds up in the piping system it would (due to more scale dropping out of solution in hot water due to turbulence) create more encrustations in the hot water pipes than in the cold water pipes and these obstructions would adversely affect the balanced pressure (previously balanced by the PRV) required by ceramic disc mixers etc.,
- Heating efficiency –
1. On heat exchange surfaces – 2mm build-up can result in a 15% decrease in efficiency
2. On solar systems – 1mm build-up on heat exchange nubs results in up to 40% decrease in efficiency
3. Inside pipe surfaces – 1mm build-up can result in a 10% decrease in efficiency due to the scale absorbing heat energy from the water as it passes over it. - Electrolytic and chemical corrosion
1. When water comes into contact with most metals, oxidisation causes the exposed metallic surfaces to degrade (i.e. iron plus water leads to rust because of the oxygen content in the water) This weakens the material and potentially lead to failure
2. The resultant direct cost of either repairing or replacing the network can be significant. Also to be kept in mind is the resultant costs suffered by damage due to water damage etc. - The decreased working life of appliances, machinery, pipework, fixtures and fittings caused by scale build-ups, as well as the costs of early replacement of affected items, downtime for industries and availability factors in the hospitality business
- Health issues –
1. Although scale encrustations appear to be smooth they are actually microscopically honeycombed which makes them ideal breeding areas for bacteria, viruses and pseudomonas (such as Legionnaires disease) and other micro-organisms.
2. Although most scale appears red, actual scale is a creamy white. The red colour comes from iron in the water which is absorbed into the encrustations. This absorbed iron can cause the formation of iron bacteria which while posing no threat to human health can lead to bad odours and staining.
