EasyWater system works too well!

14 years ago

I searched the forums to see if anyone else was having the same problems we are having and read the thread regarding "Yes or No to EasyWater" and realized there are people out there who would just like to hear from real people with experience with the system and not a war of the wits so I decided to post this - besides I need help!

I am not a chemist or scientist or water softener employee - just an average consumer. About two years ago our water heater went out - completely clogged with scale build-up. We decided to purchase a tankless water heater. With the new tankless system and a new dishwasher we decided it was time to invest in a system to protect our appliances against scale build-up. We decided on the EasyWater system. Our home was about 20 years old at the time and had never had any kind of water softening system. We chose the EasyWater system because we did not necessarily want to 'change' our water since our well is tapped into great tasting, rust-free natural spring water, we just wanted to remove and prevent build up.

Well I can't tell you how it works but I can tell you that it definitely does work because for the past two years since installation we have been dealing with loosened scale! We have a septic system so I keep screens in my drains and they are constantly full of what looks like large amounts of crushed shell - what we assume is the result of the EasyWater system breaking down the scale in our pipes. The problem is the pieces that don't make it out of the faucets get caught in the valves and block the water from flowing freely. With out a steady, high-pressure flow of water, the tankless water heater doesn't kick on and heat the water. I can't tell you how many times we have taken our faucets apart and picked out scale chunks! We have also on several occasions (as often as weekly) flushed out the tankless water heater which has been full of these 'crushed shells'. We have even had to replace some faucets. This has taken over our lives! We keep thinking that eventually there won't be any scale left but now we are wondering how long it takes to de-scale 20 years worth of build-up! We think if we can get through it, it will be worth it but this had been going on for two years! Is this happening to anyone else? Does anyone have any suggestions?

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Comments (2)

wisehvac
14 years ago
I am going to give my opinion on this subject. I am not a water chemist. But here is what I learned. A water softener or the easy water is not a water purifier. You have other things that are coming into your home. Just from the common street water lines. 2nd thing I didnÂt like about what that small video said is that itÂs attached on your cold line. I believe scale comes mostly from your hot line. When your cold becomes hot is when your scaling takes effect. Again I am not the scientist behind that theory but I believe itÂs true. Look at your hot water fixture compared to your cold. The hot will be torn apart but your cold will have a lot less scale. The scale on your cold comes from your cross bleeding of the pipe. The crush shells I don't think are scale but mineral deposits that are in your water. What I do for my customers is install a descalling filter for the scale. Made by aquapure. And I also put in a sediment filter which usually blocks the rust and the shells. I use a clear filter so you know when to change it.
Now another thing you talked about is scale thatÂs in your line already. Here is what you do to clean the insides if the pipe. You get a pool pump "transfer pump" and isolate whatever youÂre cleaning. Even if you take it apart. And run 1 of 3 things thru it. Your first choice will be white vinegar, which gets rid of scale. Or lsr lime scale remover or flow aid which is designed for tankless water heaters.
If I missed anything please let me now.
George
User
14 years ago
I can explain what is happening. First a simple explanation of how hardness scale forms

Calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, the compounds which are the culprits that form hardness scale have a reverse solubility curve. Most things dissolve better in hot water than in cold water - calcium and magnesium carbonate actually fall out of solution as water is heater.

In your hot water heater, as the water is heated, tiny calcium and magnesium carbonate crystals start forming and stick to hot surfaces. As they travel through your hot water pipes, they stick there too. If you were to open up the pipes in your home, you would see that the hot water pipes have hardness scale built up in them, while the cold water pipes do not.

So, where are these shell-like pieces of scale coming from? They are coming from you tankless water heater. Pipes in a tankless water heater see fairly extreme temperature changes, from quite cold when water initially enters, to quite hot during a heating cycle. The pipes are copper, which expands during heating and contracts during cooling. The scale that has formed on the pipes does not expand and contract at the same rate as the copper so it fractures under the stress and pops off, then travels through your pipes and ends up clogging your faucet strainers.

The reason you have the scale in the first place is because your EasyWater is NOT preventing the scale in your water heater, and not because it is working too well. You didn't have this problem with your old water heater because water moves slowly through a standard water heater so it does not carry the larger chunks of scale with it. In a tankless, the water is moving through quite quickly so it carries those "shell" bits with it. If you have to flush scale out of your water heater, it is because it is forming in the water heater (remember, it only forms when the water is heated). If the EasyWater were preventing scale buildup, you would not have scale in your water heater to pop off.
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EasyWater system works too well!

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wisehvac

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