During the late, great Les Nelson’s last AHR conference in Chicago back in 2018, he asked me what our hydronics industry needed the most. He was on a mission to increase the visibility of the Radiant Professionals Alliance and give the industry something that it could really use. At the time, I was the service manager for a large hydronic concern here in Colorado. We had just replaced a bunch of mechanical equipment on a large complex that had failed within its warranty coverage period. The equipment manufacturer had required a copy of the water quality analysis report for the property. They wanted to see the pH, total dissolved solids, conductivity, oxygen content, total suspended solids and concentration of chlorides.
Fortunately, when this system was originally sold, it included a comprehensive water treatment program utilizing some chemicals that ensured we were in compliance with their companies’ water quality standards. Prior to this time, closed-loop system water quality was not on top of mind as it pertained to closed-loop hydronic systems. The general attitude of hydronic contractors was, “It’s just water, isn’t it?”