Outdoor Furnace: Submit Water Sample for FREE Testing
HOW DO I COLLECT AND SUBMIT THE WATER SAMPLE FOR FREE TESTING?
Here are the instructions for how to take the water sample:
Enjoy this fun video describing the process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfB_G8QrHXA
1. Follow all necessary safety precautions. See your Owner's Manual for complete instructions. Taking a water sample while the boiler water is hot is DANGEROUS!
Please be careful. It is safest to allow the outdoor wood burner to cool before taking the water sample so please use common sense. (End of disclaimer!)
2. It is important to remember that an outdoor wood burning boiler must always be full of properly treated water. Any time water touches steel, it will rust holes in the steel unless the water is treated with proper boiler chemical.
If you don't treat your furnace water with corrosion inhibitor, it is like driving a car without oil in the engine – it is only a matter of time and your furnace steel will become paper-thin, the furnace will leak, and your investment in your furnace will be lost. Proper wood boiler water treatment is CRITICAL!
3. Before adding outdoor boiler water treatment, it is important to remove sediment buildup in the bottom of the water jacket. This is an important annual maintenance item that flushes any sediment buildup from the outdoor boiler.
NOTE: Sediment that accumulates at the bottom of the water tank can prevent even properly treated water from protecting the furnace steel. This step can be done as often as necessary to get rid of dangerous sediment buildup.
4. To do this, open the drain valve in the bottom rear of the water jacket and drain approximately 5-10 gallons of water from the furnace, or until the water runs clear, whichever occurs last.
a. If the water does not run clear, you may have excessive sediment in your heating system and all the furnace water will need to be completely flushed out. If this is the case, be sure to remove the unburnt wood, coals, and ash from the outdoor wood furnace so that there is not a fire burning while the water jacket is empty(the water jacket must be full of water when there is a fire in the firebox to protect the furnace steel from warping).
5. Optional: While flushing sediment, you can attach a hose to the water jacket drain at the bottom of the outdoor wood boiler to drain the water away from the rear of the furnace.
6. Once the water runs clear, close the drain valve.
7. Repeat steps 3-5 from the second drain if you have a GX series furnace.
8. In the unlikely event that you had to flush ALL the water out of the furnace because of excessive sediment or cloudiness in the water, now refill the furnace with fresh water.
a. Please note that if you have a water softener, please bypass the water softener to fill the outdoor wood stove with unsoftened water.
9. Add the required amount of Certified Liquid Armor Water Treatment.
10. Allow the furnace water to circulate for a minimum of 24 hours.
11. Collect a water sample in a clean bottle so as to not contaminate the sample. Every gallon of Certified Liquid Armor Water Treatment is shipped with FREE TWO water sample bottles, labels, and shipping boxes.
12. Please be sure to include your email address on the BOTTLE label (not on the shipping box) so your results can be reported in a timely manner. Your email address is really important because the Lab ONLY provides results for the FREE test via email. If you don't have an email address, contact OutdoorBoiler.com after 4-6 weeks for your test results by phone. Call us at 231-861-8200.
13. Also write the following information on the bottle label: Furnace Serial number, furnace model, date sample collected, and your full contact information.
14. Please mail water samples VIA US POSTAL SERVICE ONLY to the following address:
Outdoorboiler.com Labs
PO Box 158
Shelby, MI 49455
15. Do not use FedEx or UPS – only mail your water sample via US Mail.
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