Frequent Water Addition; Oxygen Corrosion - Burnham V9A Series Installation, Operating And Service Instructions

k. Drain the system in a manner and to a location
that hot water can be discharged with safety.
l. Remove plugs from all available returns and
wash the water side of the boiler as thoroughly as
possible, using a high-pressure water stream.
m. Refill the system with fresh water.
3. Add appropriate boiler water treatment compounds
as recommended by your local qualified water
treatment company.
4. Make pH or Alkalinity Test.
After boiler and system have been cleaned and
refilled as previously described, test the pH of the
water in the system. This can easily be done by
drawing a small sample of boiler water and testing
with hydrion paper which is used in the same
manner as litmus paper, except it gives specific
readings. A color chart on the side of the small
hydrion dispenser gives the reading in pH. Hydrion
paper is inexpensive and obtainable from any
chemical supply house or thru your local druggist.
The pH should be higher than 7 but lower than 11.
Add some appropriate water treatment chemicals, if
necessary to bring the pH within the specified range.
With this lower level of protection, care must be
exercised to eliminate all of the free oxygen in the
system.
5. Boiler is now ready to be put into service.
IMPORTANT
IF, DURING NORMAL OPERATION, IT IS
NECESSARY TO ADD MORE WATER PER
MONTH THAN INDICATED BELOW, CONSULT A
QUALIFIED SERVICE TECHNICIAN TO CHECK
YOUR SYSTEM FOR LEAKS.
EXCESSIVE WATER ADDITION:
(Gal/Month)
V903A 16½
V904A 22
V905A 27½
V906A 33
V907A 38½
H.

FREQUENT WATER ADDITION

A leaky system will increase the volume of make-up
water supplied to the boiler which can significantly
shorten the life of the boiler. Entrained in make-up
water are dissolved minerals and oxygen. When the
fresh, cool make-up water is heated in the boiler the
minerals fall out as sediment and the oxygen escapes
as a gas. Both can result in reduced boiler life. The
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V908A 44
V909A 49½
V910A 55
V911A 60½
V912A 66
accumulation of sediment can eventually isolate
the water from contacting the cast iron. When this
happens the cast iron in that area gets extremely hot
and eventually cracks. The presence of free oxygen
in the boiler creates a corrosive atmosphere which, if
the concentration becomes high enough, can corrode
the cast iron through from the inside. Since neither of
these failure types are the result of a casting defect, the
warranty does not apply. The maintenance of system
integrity is the best method to prevent these types of
failure.
I.

OXYGEN CORROSION:

WARNING
Oxygen contamination of the boiler water
will cause corrosion of iron and steel boiler
components, and can lead to boiler failure.
Burnham's standard warranty does not cover
problems caused by oxygen contamination of
boiler water or scale (lime) build-up caused by
frequent addition of water.
There are many possible causes of oxygen
contamination such as:
a. Addition of excessive make-up water as a result
of system leaks.
b. Absorption through open tanks and fittings.
c. Oxygen permeable materials in the distribution
system.
In order to insure long product life, oxygen sources
must be eliminated. This can be accomplished
by taking the following measures:
a. Repairing system leaks to eliminate the need for
addition of make-up water.
b. Eliminating open tanks from the system.
c. Eliminating and/or repairing fittings which allow
oxygen absorption.
d. Use of non-permeable materials in the
distribution system.
e. Consult your local water treatment specialist for
specific recommendations.
Recommended Water Quality Requirements
pH - 8.3 - 10.5
TDS - 3500 ppm (Max)
Total alkalinity ppm as CaCO
Total copper ppm - .05
Oily matter ppm -1
total harness ppm -3
chlorines - < 50 ppm
- 1200 (Max)
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