Outdoor Furnace Water Sample Test: Read It Better!

Outdoor Furnace Water Sample Test: Read It Better!
Interpreting Your Water Sample
Test Results - Fresh Insight!

Along with keeping your outdoor wood furnace have the right amount of water in the water jacket and regularly and properly maintaining it, the quality of the water that you are using plays an important role in maximizing the longevity of your investment.

Well done! You showed great wisdom in sending a water sample to the Outdoor Boiler Lab for free testing and analysis. Here are some fresh insights on those results.

  • The pH of water is a very important measurement concerning water quality. It is a measure of how acidic/basic water is.
  • Conductivity is a measure of the ability of water to carry electrical current. A greater conductivity value implies that the water contains more dissolved compounds. The quantity of corrosion rose as conductivity increased. As a result, the higher the conductivity of water, the more corrosive it is.
  • To prevent corrosion, nitrite must be kept in the boiler water.

In 4-6 weeks after sending the sample, you will get an email with your results. That email will simply state that your results were either SATISFACTORY, or UNSATISFACTORY.

If your results were UNSATISFACTORY, please do the following:  

  1. Follow the instructions in the email, then
  2. Send us another water sample until you get a SATISFACTORY test result.
  3. If your computer-generated test results tell you to add outdoor boiler water treatment, make SURE you add an additional one-half gallon of water treatment to what is recommended. The computer results just tell you how much water treatment you'll need ONLY TO GET YOU A PASSING GRADE!

But you need to add an additional half gallon of water treatment to your outdoor wood boiler so that your outdoor wood stove will be above that passing grade, and properly protected FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS, until next year when you add water treatment and test again.

If your results were SATISFACTORY, just remember the following:

  1. Print and file your test results for your records. We keep them of course, but you are ultimately responsible for keeping these records.
  2. Make a note to send another water sample to the lab within 12 months of the date you collected this last sample - NOT 12 months from the date of the report.
  3. If your test results came back with an "N" or "Nitrite" reading between 1200 and 1600, add one-half gallon of Liquid Armor Water Treatment to your boiler! The lowest passing grade is 1200 and this extra half-gallon will ensure that your heating system will be protected properly for the next 12 months, without dropping below that minimum passing level.

Remember that our goal is to help your outdoor wood burning boiler system save you money for 40 years or more! Follow our recommendations and you will get the MAX savings!

You can call the office at 231-861-8200 or check our website OutdoorBoiler.com for more details on our FREE Water Test and browse for more outdoor wood boiler parts!

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