Descaling a geyser

[BullyBlue]

I live in Gauteng and I've had a few geyser elements broken in my geyser and when those were removed, the limescale build-up was evident. I now have a Geyserwise element and it has been working since 2019, but I am worried that it is building limescale up and is losing efficiency.

Should I be worried and what are the best descaling options available?

 

[soulie]

I live in Gauteng and I've had a few geyser elements broken in my geyser and when those were removed, the limescale build-up was evident. I now have a Geyserwise element and it has been working since 2019, but I am worried that it is building limescale up and is losing efficiency.

Should I be worried and what are the best descaling options available?

Just replace the element and sacrificial rod ,if it has one ,descaling will lead to other problems in the tank as it will require huge amounts of acid and may damage the tank ,fittings,pipes etc if you remove the element you can clean it in kettle cleaner or a light solution of pool acid ,only if it's a stainless element ,if copper ,dishwasher and a stiff brush ,if it's the titanium one ,then nothing ,but you shouldn't have a calcification problem with a ptc element .

 

[PaulGherkin]

I live in Gauteng and I've had a few geyser elements broken in my geyser and when those were removed, the limescale build-up was evident. I now have a Geyserwise element and it has been working since 2019, but I am worried that it is building limescale up and is losing efficiency.

Should I be worried and what are the best descaling options available?

What type of water heater is it?
Steel ones are engineered to last no longer than 5 years. Kwikot/FRANKE/Electrolux managed to get this down to a fine art to make plenty of profit. They usually start leaking anyway before the 5 years are up.
Copper is the long life option, but expensive AF.

 

[me_]

What type of water heater is it?
Steel ones are engineered to last no longer than 5 years. Kwikot/FRANKE/Electrolux managed to get this down to a fine art to make plenty of profit. They usually start leaking anyway before the 5 years are up.
Copper is the long life option, but expensive AF.

They are engineered to last longer, but no-one maintains them properly. You need to replace the sacrificial anode every 2 - 3 years for them to last. The sacrificial anode corrodes in place of the steel. Once it's gone, there's nothing to protect the tank from corrosion and it doesn't take long for the tank to fail.

It's included in the documentation of the geysers, but almost no-one does this. When our geyser element went, I asked the plumber to replace the anode at the same time, he said I was the first customer to ever ask for it.

 

[PaulGherkin]

They are engineered to last longer, but no-one maintains them properly. You need to replace the sacrificial anode every 2 - 3 years for them to last. The sacrificial anode corrodes in place of the steel. Once it's gone, there's nothing to protect the tank from corrosion and it doesn't take long for the tank to fail.

It's included in the documentation of the geysers, but almost no-one does this. When our geyser element went, I asked the plumber to replace the anode at the same time, he said I was the first customer to ever ask for it.

I do it, unfortunately faulty welds, and general corner cutting by the manufacturer doesn't help either.