Your boiler is a vital part of your household, and as heating systems go, you could do a lot worse. Boilers used steam and water pressure to heat your home, the concepts of which go back to the Roman days and which remain an efficient way of handling the heating in your Dover, DE home. Boilers benefit from their simplicity and ease of use, but like any system in your home, they suffer problems from time to time, and require a trained professional to correct. Among the most common is boiler kettling, which is created by hard water deposits in your system. It sounds like a dangerous issue, and while it isn’t, it’s still something that merits swift correction. What is boiler kettling and how does it affect your system? Read on for the answers.
What Causes Kettling?
As we said, kettling is usually caused by hard water – deposits of calcium and magnesium in the water, which is not uncommon here in Delaware. They’re harmless to consume, but they can leave residue behind in the boiler, that can build up into lime scale. That will block the flow of water through the system, or at least restrict the flow unnecessarily. That places a lot of pressure on the system, which you can usually detect by periodic rumbling sounds coming from the system.
Why is That a Problem?
Kettling is a problem because it increases the steam pressure in the system, which affects its ability to distribute the heat evenly through your system. More importantly, it could result in a rupture, opening a hole in the pipes and sending water across the nearby furnishings in your home. If it bursts inside a wall it can short out electrical systems and cause thousands of dollars in damage in some cases.
If you suspect kettling in your boiler, call the pros at Atlantic Refrigeration to make things right.