Do electronic limescale inhibitors work?

June 22nd, 2005, by Rich.

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Do electronic limescale inhibitors work?

Do electronic limescale inhibitors work?

I’ve been intermittently toying with the idea of fitting an Anti-Limescale device to the water supply in our home.

Today, with the delivery of a new phone book, I got a flyer describing a product called ScaleWatcher which reminded me of my occasional curiosity with the subject. It’s a nice convincing-looking flyer, with a money back guarantee, so I’m tempted to give it a go.

We have a nice glass sided kettle so it’ll be really obvious if it actually works.

I may be forced to try a little experiment and take daily pictures of my kettle, so please spare me from the madness and give me some definite answers:

Has anyone I know actually used a household electric water softener?
Was the experience worthwhile?
Are they any better than the magnetic or salt based ones?

Barry Foster Says:
January 7th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

It’s been interesting reading the comments. My career is limescale. I dissolve it using acid from combination boilers and thermal store heaters.

I have found that water softeners are not too popular as a means of preventing it. Many consumers are put off by the purchase and installation costs, and also put off by advice from friends that they forget to refill them with fresh salt!

We manufacture a magnetic limescale inhibitor which is proving popular with our customers simply because we offer a money-back guarantee with it. That and the fact that it’s only £39!

The one piece of advice I’d give is to cure dripping (or running) taps. I’ve seen a brand new boiler, here in Reading, ’scaled-up’ in three months because of this.

To Reply 54, I’d say that limescale drops out of the water even at low temperatures (look in your loo cistern). However, limescale forms rapidly above 63 degrees C. Washing the kettle out each time definitely helps, by the way. And when it does scale up, use lemon juice, not vinegar.

Albert Doh Says:
January 18th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

I have asked Cambridge Water who is supplies water to my house and got a reply ;

Dear Mr Doh
Thank you for your query about water hardness treating.
I am afraid that I am not going to be able to give you a definitive answer. Cambridge Water is indeed “HARD” as it is abstracted from chalk aquifers.
Using an ion-exchange will soften the water but you are advised to have a drinking water tap which bypasses the softener. As a chemical change has taken place it is possible to measure the effectiveness of the device.
Using an electro-magnetic scale inhibitor does not change the chemistry and so the only way of measuring effectiveness is over a period of time. If you carry out further investigations you will almost certainly find that some people think they are very effective, others do not think they work at all. In my opinion inhibitors fitted immediately befor a heating device are more likely to work better than those fitted at the inlet to the property but I have no data to back this up. As the chemistry is not changed there is no need to have a special drinking water tap.
I am sorry that I cannot be of more help to you.

Regards
Valerie Miller
Water Quality Officer

Albert Doh Says:
January 18th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

let’s have a look at this article;

Mike Says:
January 31st, 2008 at 9:53 am

I installed a wicks unit five years ago on the rising main
cost about £40
All i seem to get from it is a flashing light to say its on
and costing money
limescale still about on taps
i have not turned it off yet as like every one i hope its doing something in the pipes
would not recomend
we are going to put a magnet ball in the washing machine to see if it works but thats only £5.50 down the drain

MaxC Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 10:32 am

I’m glad I came across this page because I’m thinking of installing an electronic conditioner. All the comments have been extremely useful. Thank you.
I would say to K Moorman (5/8/07/that my own experience of Thames Water is that they are a completely unhelpful organisation and are utterly clueless. As to them investing in a conditioner upstream in the water mains itself, your water supplier is only interested in profit at minimum investment. So I wouldn’t use their absence from the game as a measure of the effectiveness of this gadget.

The advice that seems to ring true for me is Gavin’s (9/8/07/ that a second unit should be installed near the water boiler cold water inlet.

I am impressed that the MoD and industry use electronic descalers.

Has anybody got any data as to which is the most powerful (ie best value for money that really works)?

SimonTempler Says:
February 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Do not be impressed that the MoD or Local Gov use magnetic conditioners. The MoD buy loads of stuff that doesn’t work - I know, I work for them. They probably just bought a job lot in the hope they might work, and it would cost too much money to remove them all now.

I am tempted to get a kit from magenta2000 for £23 just to see if will help my home in Winchester - a very hard water area. If it works I’ll let you know. I did buy a time share once though…..

Nigel Hadley Says:
February 13th, 2008 at 12:33 am

Electronic descalers DO work but only under certain circumstances. I live in East Kent a very hard water area. I fitted a Water King ‘Sentry’ unit at the inlet to my copper cylinder (about a year after it was installed) some 8 years ago. I did notice an immediate improvement to the kettle which used to scale up terribly with the very hard damaging crusty limescale. In that period we did get scale build up around taps etc but not as bad as before.

In the last couple of weeks we have just replaced our old conventional boiler and cylinder with a new condensing Combi boiler. The plumbing was obviously all ripped out and the ‘water king’ disconnected and removed. In just 10 days I noticed the kettle had become very badly scaled again. Totally descaled it and refitted the ‘water king’ sentry at the inlet to the new combi. Since I did this, a few days ago, the kettle has remained totally scale free. I shall continue to monitor it!

I work for a well known shipping company and several years ago we dispensed with the conventional water softening plant on my ship and fitted the industrial ‘Water King’ plant at the main potable water inlet prior to calorifiers. Also WK ‘Sentry’ units were fitted to all three main calorifier inlets and to all galley ‘combi’ ovens. It proved a disaster. Although the scaling in the combi oven calorifiers was reduced to a soft type scale, elsewhere (EG industrial dishwashers in galleys) scale became a nightmare. It was only when we returned to softening type plant that the problems disappeared.

Am convinced that the effect of electronic conditioners is not good where stored water is involved.

Jim Says:
February 16th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

Gary - I would love to hear an update from you as I also live in the states.

57 Gary Williams Says:
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Loved the back-an-forth on this site. I purchased a “Super Imp” today, will be
sure and provide results when appropriate. I live in Utah, can’t say for sure,
but I suspect my water is not nearly as hard as many who have posted. Issue here
in the states has become the environmental aspect of softeners. Many areas have
banned them. Praying my new purchase helps.

Tony Says:
March 12th, 2008 at 9:57 am

Hi, I’ve found it fascinating reading through the different opinions on this subject. I have been a plumber for 20+ years and we have fitted many of these devises as a low cost alternative to installing Water Softners. The proof is in the pudding so it may help if I said that I have two ‘Electronic Water Conditioner’, very important to stress there is a difference, in my home. With our customers we have seen the positive effects and maybe a few ‘not sure’ but all in all we think they work.
The main reasons for expensive plumbing repairs often points to limescale build up of some kind or another, so to do nothing is fine if you can afford the consequences. Apart from needing a safe electrical supply and about an hour of spare time to connect each unit (we always recommend one on the incoming main and one on the hot water storage), that’s you protected. If they had no effect, they would not still be selling 15years on by major manufacturers’ as well as small independents. If a plumber cares about you as a customer as well as the newly fitted appliances he would always recommend some kind of water conditioning.