Boiler Water PH

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Check with the mfr of your boiler for its recommendation or requirement. I see most often recommendations of 8.5 - 9.5, although I've also seen as low as 7 (neutral) and as high as 11. It seems to be most important that you are not in the acid range (below 7.0). If you are concerned about your boiler water, pH is only one of the items, although a very important item, that needs to be considered.
 
Can I take out a sample and have it tested at a water softener dealer? Where does a person get it tested? I've never tested my Eko and has been running 1 1/2 years now.
 
As Jebatty said, water is a lot more complicated than ph.

My simple understanding is that a closed system is basically worry free as long as the original water wasn't grossly contaminated and there is no make up water (leaks) or oxygen input. There are treatments to scavenge oxygen and "passivate" the steel if you want extra security.

If the system is open then I believe garn recommends ongoing professional testing and treatment. My system is open but the only iron is cast and cheap to replace.
 
While it may be true that most closed systems are pretty safe, after seeing orange water in mine I checked the pH, and it was 6.5, OK for potable water but acid never-the-less. I added quite a bit of sodium hydroxide (lye) and finally got the pH above 8. Later I drained the system, including the 1000 gal storage tank, refilled with pH neutral water, had a professional water test done by the testing company used by Garn, and then bought and used its recommended system cleaner and then treatment. For a couple of hundred $ on an expensive system, I bought peace of mind at the minimum, and likely a trouble free system forever.
 
The Wood Gun E500 manual specifies pH 10.5-11.0. From another source I'm inferring that pH should not exceed 12.
 
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