It’s a common belief that strainers aid water quality, but in reality, without the right maintenance, they may end up causing more problems than preventing them. This is where Marflow Hydronics’ Filterball can really help.
The main purpose of a strainer is to catch larger debris, for example after flushing, such as pipe scale. It’s not true at all that by adding a strainer, good water quality will be maintained. Strainers do nothing to improve water quality, in fact they could actually cause water quality to decline. Too many users simply pop a strainer in and consider the job done, and through this misunderstanding strainers become detrimental.
For a strainer to properly serve its purpose and catch the debris, regular checks need to be made on them and this needs to be built into the planned maintenance schedule of any system. If these checks aren’t made then it’s inevitable that the quality of the system and the products fitted within it will be affected. It’s a long term problem and normally by the time anyone notices, it’s too late and the water quality has been compromised.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way. Manufacturers put in measures to stop this happening, there just needs to be the right understanding and consideration upfront to ensure the correct products are used to eliminate these sorts of problems further down the line.
Maintenance
When the strainer is checked, water will always be lost from the system and, as a result, air is introduced. If the air is not quickly removed, by degassing, for example, then it can and most probably will cause corrosion in the pipework system. Venting alone is not enough, as the air will be dissolved, the air needs to be properly removed.
The best way to stop these problems is to minimise the introduction of air in the first place, reducing the potential of corrosion. This would also make maintenance far easier. This is where products like the Marflow Hydronics’ Filterball have been designed to help.
Filterball
The Filterball is a compact combined isolation valve and strainer unit. Being a straight-through design, the valve offers the benefits of a lower head loss than more conventional valves, and it has been deliberately designed so that it can be easily accessed for cleaning or maintenance through the side port of the valve, when the ball is in the isolation mode.
The screen is manufactured in high quality 316 marine grade stainless steel for extra durability and excellent resistance to corrosion, and the in-built strainer screen removes the need for separate isolating valves up and downstream of traditional Y strainers. This reduces the capital and installation costs over more traditional strainers and isolating valves used in these systems.
The valve is also quite versatile and compact. It can be installed in any horizontal position as well as in vertical installations, providing the directional arrow on the body is pointing downwards. As long as the direction of flow is in line with the stamped arrow on the body, then the valve will operate as intended and designed. All of Marflow Hydronics’ valves are designed to be placed where is best in the system, rather than the valves having to slot in to more difficult spots.
Users of the Filterball have found it to be a far simpler approach to cleaning a system. Accessing it and working with it is very easy and so many of the issues connected with more traditional solutions are completely eradicated with the use of just this valve.
If a strainer must be used in a system, then it’s best to use it with a product like Filterball. Not only will it help to reduce the well-known problems in a system, but it will make life much easier in the process.