It is widely known and accepted that chemicals, such as corrosion inhibitors, oxygen scavangers or hardness stabilizers, are not necessary to prevent failures in heating systems and other closed water loops that might be caused by formation of limescale or corrosion.

On the contrary, as there is a large number of heating systems that suffer under corrosion even though the system has been dosed with corrosion inhibitors or other chemicals. Literature and research institutes confirm our experience that these additives only function properly on clean metal surfaces without debris or oxides and might have problems in the protection of complex geometrical structures, such as small gaps.

The use of corrosion inhibitors do not mean a 100% protection against corrosion, but only an inhibition of any possible corrosion!

A protection of metals in closed water loops against corrosion and against functional loss or damage caused by limestone is possible even without the use of chemicals. We have known and practiced this for more than 25 years!

Applicable directives and regulations, such as the VDI 2035 (protection of heating systems against water side damage) and others, speak of a low-salt operation without use of chemicals, which allows a safe protection of metallic components from water-side damage.

The low-salt operation can be achieved by treating the filling water of heating systems with deionisation (demineralisation) by ion-exchange. This will not only reduce the water hardness but the total amount of salts and therefore the electrical conductivity as well. By a low water hardness damages caused by limescale are prevented. The low electrical conductivity slows down any form of corrosion and in addition to that a low total content of salts prevents corrosion that might be caused by aggressive salts, such as chlorides or sulphates.

Even microbiological growth is prevented by the absence of important nutrient salts and that is why microbilogical induced corrosion (MIC) is unlikely in low-salt operation of heating systems.

In addition to the water treatment by ion-exchange we recommend a form of continuous electrochemical water treatment which scavanges oxygen, neutralises carbonic acid and allows a stable pH >8.5 under retention of a low electrical conductivity in the heating water. The electrochemical water treatment with our elector reaction containers has been our core competence since our company was founded in 1991.