agua fuerte....is it safe for boilers?

[tjtops]

Hi all
Please could someone tell me if it is safe to use agua fuerte to 'de-cal' gas boilers (not on a regular basis but as an emergency one-off)?..I have had conflicting advice on this!

[JJ]

We have our boiler serviced once a year and the last time the engineer came we told him we'd used agua fuerte. He gasped and told us not to, so we won't do that again. Something to do with the strength of the mixture I think.

JJ

[tjtops]

Thanks for that JJ>>> that's exactly what my plumber told me. But everyone else pooh poohed it and said it was OK...!

[Martin Page]

Its all to do with strength and duration.

I would not recommend that you use it straight from the bottle ....

...but if you were to dilute it 1:1 with water, it should be ok ....
...Privided that you dont leave it in the boiler any longer than is needed.

Hydrochloric acid has a preferential reaction with calcium carbonate (lime scale) over Iron (boiler), and as the acid reacts with the lime the resultant Calcium Chloride produced then buffers the acid making it less likely to react with the Iron (or Copper) over that of more lime scale.

The critical thing is to ensure you dont leave it in too long, even if there is still some lime scale left, and that you wash it through at least 3 seperate times ( 3rd order dilutions - for lapsed chemists)

[Karipentti]

Are we talking about the agua fuerte one can buy at Mercadona? The same that goes into the pool?

[tjtops]

thanks guys....I'll give it a whirl (possibly literally)!
And to last poster, yes it is...or in the todo shops..costs next to nothing and has a multitude of uses!