cleaning plate exchanger

That's what I am doing MNBobcat. My water on the the Boiler side is already softened so I do't need it there for that. Your needs might be different. I am going to put a strainer of some sort on the flat plate's boiler input side to keep any crud from getting through and clogging the plates. If I cheap out, a wye strainer, if not a Jomar filter valve like the one I just got to put after my storage tank's outlet to catch wayward crud from it's previous life from getting into the system. Those two Webstone valves just arrived a week or two ago from PexSupply.

Mike

Mike,

I have a whole house water filter that filters the potable water before it goes into the DHW. I also have a water softener and I assume the water going into the two 80 gallon off-peak electric hot water heaters is softened.

I have an outdoor wood boiler for which I was planning on installing a Y-strainer on the source coming into the house and before it goes to the DHW.

I guess I'm not sure if scale would build up in the plate heat exchanger on the boiler side or the DHW side? It sounded like others were flushing the DHW side. I don't know....maybe I should install 4 flush valves and then I'm covered?

Your guess is good as mine on that score. Maybe someone with more knowledge could give you a more credible answer. Don't see how you could go wrong with four of them. At worst it would be overkill and those valves aren't overly expensive anyway.

Mike

I agree, 4 valves might be overkill, but wouldn't hurt anything... I think the theory behind just doing the DHW side is that the boiler side is always just circulating the same water through the system over and over... Whatever is in it will deposit out pretty quickly if it's going to, as the system stabilizes, and then there would be no further buildup... OTOH, the DHW side is always going to be seeing "new" water, and thus each gallon of new water would make it's tiny deposit, and those deposits are what would add up over time...

Just my guess, but it seems like it would have to be that way...

Gooserider

That's exactly as I was seeing it.

Mike

I ordered 4 of them earlier today.

Bet your flat plate hx will be cleaner than mine too.

Mike