EZ-DOSE BOILER COMPOUND AND LEVEL MANAGER

WHY THE EZ-DOSE?

Most boiler damage is caused by improper treatment of new make-up water flowing into the return tank. In order to ensure the longevity and proper steam generation, chemicals must be added in the form of boiler compound to control corrosion and scale. The two main causes of corrosion and scale is excessive oxygen content and a high level of dissolved solids present in the untreated make-up water added to the condensate return tank.

The villains in this scenario, which inspired me to develop the EZ-DOSE, are the BALL FLOAT VALVE and MAINTENANCE OF THE PROPER CONCENTRATION OF BOILER COMPOUND.
Let’s take the ball float valve first. These valves use a ball shaped float, similar in operation to the valve in your toilet tank, to control the addition of new water to return tank. When these valves leak (almost all of them do) untreated water, rich in both oxygen and dissolved solids bleeds into the return tank. This creates four undesirable effects:

1. Cools the make-up water requiring greater boiler heating capacity to boil once inside the boiler and greater quantities of boiler compound to control the water impurities. This increases fuel consumption and extends boiler recovery time which is costly in terms of production. This will be critical on steam systems operating at the margin of their steam production capacity.

2. The higher oxygen content dissolved in the cool incoming water reacts with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid which corrodes the internals of your boiler as well as the steam system piping, steam traps and machinery.

3. High levels of dissolved solids in the make-up water form scale leading to the clogging of pipes, valves, boiler tubes, steam traps and machinery.

4. Adding new water without a corresponding addition of boiler compounds dilutes the concentration of boiler compound in the water pumped into the boiler, thereby reducing the compounds effectiveness.

The EZ-DOSE uses an electronic level sensing  module which is  immune to return tank turbulence and surging, to open and close a 24 VAC solenoid which admits new water to the return tank. This  solenoid positively controls the return tank water level, thereby eliminating the undesirable effects listed above.

The second culprit of the boiler destruction duo is improper control of the chemistry inside the boiler. Boiler chemistry is maintained by adding the proper volume of boiler compound to the water being pumped into the boiler. The compound both removes free oxygen in the make-up water, preventing acid formation as well as controls the solids dissolved in the make-up water called “total dissolved solids”. These solids, also known as TDS , are the major contributor to scale formation in steam and water systems. Adding the right dose of boiler compound at the correct time to the make-up water is the second challenge the EZ-DOSE overcomes. If you are adding the compound just once or twice a day or using a fixed timer or a return pump relay to add boiler compound these methods simply cannot compensate for variations in the demand for steam hence the volume of new water entering the return tank. These variations require the proper amount of boiler compound be added to the new, untreated water added to the return tank. The EZ-DOSE solves this problem by  measuring the volume of new water added then having a micro-computer calculate the proper dosage volume of compound to be added to the return tank using a metering pump. This combination of measuring the volume of incoming water and adding the precise amount of compound required can be easily adjusted and precisely controlled by settings on the EZ-DOSE control panel, tailoring the compound addition to any boiler size, type, or mode of  operation.