CONDENSATE NEUTRALIZATION

Presented byMike Bernasconi

MA Master Plumber Lic#15137

Vice President of OperationsNeutrasafe Corporation

Quincy, MA

June 10, 2014

CONDENSATE NEUTRALIZATIONThe importance of neutralizing condensate produced by high efficiency gas

fired appliances

WHAT IS CONDENSATE ?

Most new residential and commercial heating and hot water systems include a furnace, boiler or domestic water heater of the high efficiency condensing type.

Condensing appliances extract additional BTUs from the water vapor in the flue gas. When the flue gas drops below its dew point of approximately 135 degrees Fahrenheit, it starts to condense and the resulting liquid is acidic and requires treatment.

How Much Condensate?

A general rule of thumb: 1 gallon of condensate is produced for every 100,000 BTUs of input providing the appliance is operating in full condensing mode.

If an appliance having 100,000 BTUs of input operates for 2500 hours annually, it will produce approximately 2500 gallons of condensate.

WHY WE NEED TO NEUTRALIZE Condensate will generally have a pH of between 3.8 and 4.2.

As such it is considered to be acidic and can cause serious damage to piping systems, sewerage systems, treatment facilities, septic systems and other items it may come in contact with. Including cement products and most metals

Products of natural gas combustion generally include nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and hydrogen chloride, as well as water vapor and carbon dioxide. Condensing the flue gas produces an acidic solution containing concentrations of nitric, nitrous, sulfuric, sulfurous and hydrochloric acids.

HOW A CONDENSATE NEUTRALIZER WORKS

The condensate from the boiler, furnace or water heater is drained into a neutralizing device which contains a media that works to raise the pH of the condensate to a safe level before discharging it into the drainage system.

Most neutralizing devices use some form of calcium carbonate as the media.

As the condensate reacts with the media we are left with water and carbon dioxide and salts.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Most neutralizers on the market today are of the straight through type with an inlet on one end and an outlet on the other.

CN2STR

CN3STR

WHAT TO LOOK FOR…cont. These units must be installed in a horizontal position with a ¼” pitch.

This allows the condensate to “soak” and the media to do its job while the condensate travels thru the unit. The longer the condensate is in contact with the media the better the neutralization.

We recommend installing an atmospheric vent between the appliance and the neutralizer. This will eliminate any double trap issues as most appliances have an internal trap to keep flue gases from escaping.

We recommend changing the media on an annual basis. Exact intervals can be determined by checking the pH of the condensate at the outlet.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR…cont. A clear body allows you to see what is happening inside the

unit.

Clean media free of sand or dust particles will make clogging of unit less likely. Some media that contains pelletized lime and other products may disintegrate causing drain and condensate pump clogs and a loss of performance. Media which contains the most calcium carbonate CACO3 also known as calcite will be the most effective.

Manufacturer’s installation and operation manuals should be available. Also an MSDS sheet for the media should be available on line if not on sight.

SIZING A NEUTRALIZER

Sizing guidelines are just that, guidelines, as each system operates differently. A 200,000 BTU input boiler may be sufficient with a neutralizer that gives a guideline of 220,000 BTUs, however a high demand water heater of the same input may need a bigger unit or media changes more often.

The only sure way to know if the unit is operating properly is to regularly check the pH of the condensate at the outlet.

Questions?