Kamco SCALEBREAKER Series User manual

CHOICE OF DESCALING CHEMICAL
AND QUANTITY REQUIRED:
SCALEBREAKER HD may be
used with mild steel, or copper
equipment. If galvanised steel is
present, then SCALEBREAKER SR,
together with ZnI booster inhibitor,
should be used.
If stainless steel is present, use
either SCALEBREAKER FX or
SCALEBREAKER SR. Do not use
SCALEBREAKER HD with stainless
steel equipment.
1. Calculate the amount of
descaling chemical required. As
a guide, for 30 litres of descaling
solution, use 3 kg SCALEBREAKER
SR crystals, (ie. a 10% solution by
weight). A weaker solution may
be used, but will take longer to
remove a given amount of scale.
Use of warm water will speed up
descaling.
2. In the case of most humidier
bottles, with a water capacity
of up to 15 litres, use of a C40
descaling pump, which has a 39
litre tank capacity, will allow 30
litres of descaling solution to be
placed directly in the pump tank.
Upon switching on the pump, it
will rst ll the capacity of the
humidier bottle before any
descaling solution commences
returning to the tank of the
descaling pump.
3. If a C20 descaling pump, with
20 litre tank, is used, it wil
be necessary to add further
descaling solution to the pump
tank after switching on, in order
to ensure that enough descaling
solution is present to completely
ll the humidier bottle, and
also to ensure that the minimum
liquid level in the tank is
achieved.
Caution
When descaling with any
acid, some hydrogen gas may
be evolved. Hydrogen is
ammable, and the working
area should be well ventilated.
Avoid smoking nearby, or any
other means of ignition.
PROCEDURE
1. Remove humidier bottle
from humidier and place in
controlled area, away from
other personnel. It is preferable
to ensure that the humidier
bottle is maintained in an
upright position, in order that
the carbon dioxide gas evolved
during descaling will rise to the
top of the bottle and be vented
through the return pipe of the
descaling pump.
4. Connect one pump hose to water
inlet connection of bottle, and
the other to the water outlet.
Many humidier bottles have
large diameter tubular inlet and
outlets, and suitable adaptors
terminating in a BSP thread will
have to be fabricated.
5. Hose connections should be
made so that there is a closed
circuit between the pump ow
hose, through the humidier
bottle, to the return hose.
Venting of the carbon dioxide
gas evolved is achieved through
the tank lling aperture. The
descaling pump ller cap should
be screwed on by no more than
one quarter of a turn. This is
sufcient to vent the gas, but
will reduce fumes and prevent
splashes.
6. Connect the pump to a suitable
earthed power supply. As the
pump will be used in a damp
location, a residual current circuit
Guidance notes on descaling humidifier bottles

breaker plug should be used.
7. The ow reverser handle points
in the direction of ow of the
liquid. Operate the handle so
that initially it points towards
the hose connected to the lower
connection to the humidier
bottle.. The hose from the top
of the bottle will then be the
return to the descaling pump
tank.
8. Add descaling chemical to
pump tank, switch on pump,
and commence circulation. If
water level drops, check that all
connections are tight.
9. Once descaling liquid is
returning into the descaling
pump tank from the humidier
bottle, check if there is a build
up of foam on top of the liquid
in the pump. This may happen
when there is a large amount
of reactive limescale in the
bottle. If this is excessive, add
FOAMBREAKER carefully to the
tank to reduce the foaming. If
the bottle is heavily scaled, add
10cc of FOAMBREAKER before
adding the descaling chemical.
10. As circulation commences,
bubbles will be seen in the
return hose, indicating that
limescale is being dissolved.
11. Continue circulation through
the humidier bottle and
descaling pump, briey
reversing the direction of ow
periodically.
12. Check connections regularly
for tightness, and leaks, and if
foaming is excessive, carefully
remove descaling pump tank cap
and add more FOAMBREAKER to
the descaling pump tank.
13. Scale removal can be considered
complete when bubbles are no
longer seen in the return pipe,
and the descaling solution is still
sufciently strong to remove
hard water deposits.
SCALEBREAKER descaling chemicals
contain a built-in colour change
to monitor strength. A simple
check may be made by dropping
a sample of limescale into the
solution, and observing if there
is any effervescence.
14. Alternatively a pH meter, or pH
indicator paper, may be used to
check the pH of the descaling
solution. Once the pH has risen
to 3.5 to 4, its ability to dissolve
limescale is effectively spent, and
more descaling chemical or a
fresh solution will be required.
15. If, after descaling has ceased,
the pH of the descaling
solution is still below 5, then
the remaining solution must be
neutralised to bring the pH level
above 5, and as close to 7 as
practicable.
Slowly add NEUTRALISING
CRYSTALS to the tank of the
descaling pump until there is
no more effervescence as the
crystals are added. If foaming is
a problem during this operation,
add a few ml. of FOAMBREAKER
antifoam.
16. After draining off the spent /
neutralised descaling chemical,
ush the humidier bottle
with fresh water. Many natural
waters are slightly alkaline, and
water ushing may be all that is
required. Alternatively, circulate
a 1% solution of NEUTRALISING
CRYSTALS through the heater
for 15 minutes, drain, and then
ush with clean water once
more.
IMPORTANT: When working with
acidic descaling chemicals, always
wear suitable protective clothing
and goggles. Refer to instructions
on labels of descaling chemicals,
and refer to Material Safety Data
Sheets.
Caps should be kept securely on all
chemical containers whilst not in
use. To avoid splashes, operators
should avoid standing directly over
the open neck of either chemical
containers or the lling neck of the
descaling pump whilst pouring or
adding chemicals.
Legal disclaimer: It is stressed that
these are guidance notes only, and
the above information is based on
the present state of our knowledge
of humidiers in general. It is
given in good faith, but due to the
diverse and varied nature of such
equipment, the user must satisfy
himself that the above procedure is
viable in the prevailing situation.