flakey algae stuff in freshwater system?

[chris95040]

Hi folks,

I had winterized my freshwater system (bladder, diaphagm
pump, expansion tank, hot water tank, clear-ish hoses) with that pink stuff and when i went to flush it and recommission it, tank after tank I keep getting these brown and green flakes floating around in the water.

It seemed to be in both my hot water output and cold water. Anyone have any ideas about what it is and what to do? I let a weak clorox solution sit in it for a few hours, but I'm still getting occasional flakes as I flush the system with tankload after tankload of water.

-Chris

[JPA Cate]

Chris95040,

The other day, "weavis", who is a doctor (British), posted on another thread a good easy to understand method for sanitizing your tanks and hoses. PM him, and he should be able to copy out and send to you what he posted for common consumption.

Ann

[chris95040]

I read that, but I wonder if anyone has any specific instruction for the flakey algae/mildew/mold/whoknows. My bleach solution didn't seem to "dissolve" it as I had hoped.. It broke some of it up but there must be all sorts of this material just hanging out in various parts of the system. I'll go for a long time not seeing any of the crud, then all of a sudden it will burp some more out.

It seems like my only two options are taking the whole system apart and mechanically cleaning everything out, and probably replacing hoses, or hooking up to a hose and flushing the system for an eternity, and even then not knowing if some little nook is about to shake loose another bunch of crud.

Also, how to avoid this when winterizing? This stuff appeared in a system that was full of pink propylene glycol - perhaps I had more water in there than I thought and so it was too dilute? Will a proper concentration of propolyene glycol prevent this stuff from forming? Should I be leaving all my hoses _dry_ instead of full of glycol? (This will require some new plumbing strategies if so.)

[thinwater]

a. You may have killed the stuff, but it's going to take time for the bodies to come through.

b. Nothing (that you want to put in the tank) is going to disolve the bodies. They need to come through. This is normal for a severe case.

c. NEVER put glycol in the tank. Too much room for stuff to grow. Only put glycol in the pipes.

d. Anything less than 25% glycol (-50 burst point) is just algae/bacteria/fungus/yeast food. Just like canning food, it is ONLY when the sugar content gets really high that it becomes bacteriostatic.

Sounds like you had a bad case and simply need to keep repeating. Repeating the bleach should hasten the process. Then winterize better next year. Done properly, nothing grows.

[chris95040]

That sounds like the root cause, then.

I had looked up a table showing concentration of propylene glycol vs. burst protection temperature to figure out how cheap I could (safely) be with the glycol.

Didn't ever cross my mind that in doing so I'd be making a hospitable place for crud to grow. Damnit!

Thanks for the help, though!!!