Heat exchanger cleaning

[Ken Juul]

Very interesting article on heat exchanger cleaning in the C47 section of the Feb Technotes.  Recommends the use of product called Rydlyme Marine.

The MSDS sheet says it' active ingredient is Aqueous HYDROGEN CHLORIDE that is environmentally friendly.  Might be a good alternative to the old standby CLR (Lactic Acid) or muriatic acid.

Supposed to be available at most chandeliers or on line.

[Ted Pounds]

Aqueous hydrogen chloride is hydrochloric acid.  Probably no more or less environmentally friendly than any other acid...

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

What's the active ingredent in Limeaway?

[Ted Pounds]

Acids:

Citric acid   
Hydroxyacetic acid   
Sulfamic acid   

[mainesail]

Rydlyme is great stuff. It is the only stuff that will clean out my engines. It is specifically engineered and concentrated to not cause harm to the engine metals if used as directed. Engines are expensive and using a product specifically engineered for the process, at the DIY level, is a good approach. I always have a gallon on hand in my barn and a have flushed many engines with it with great success.

For HX's I simply drop them at the local radiator shop for a boil out and pressure test. Costs me about $30.00 and hardly seems worth doing it your self..

Flushing my engine with Rydlyme / HX removed:


Supply & Return (remove t-stat to circulate)

[Ron Hill]

Guys : As I recall the CLR bottle specifically says not to be used on aluminum and copper.  The inside of the HX is copper tubing!!  That's why I used Lime-A-Way and found it works well. 
Much easier than removing the HX and taking it to a radiator shop.  A thought

[Stephen Butler]

My chemistry may be off, but in my chem classes, Hydrogen Chloride, HCl (aq) is another name for hydrochloric acid.  Additionally, one of the classic tests for a metal, at least the reactive ones like Cu and Al, is to place a sample in HCl and observe the bubbles of H2 coming out of solution.  Perhaps the product is something else? 

[Ken Juul]

Apologies Ron, 
I get CLR and Lime away confused all the time.  It is a good practice to read labels before using any chemical.