Ideal boiler water treatment: what the Logic and Vogue manuals actually say

Can you fill an Ideal heating system with softened water?

It depends which heat exchanger is on the wall. The Logic installation and servicing guide records an aluminium alloy heat exchanger, says the boiler can be used with a water softener, but states that the heating system should not be filled with softened water, because softening chemicals could enhance corrosion of certain materials in the system including aluminium and steel. Its instruction is to always fill from the bypass on the water softener installation. The Vogue Max System and Vogue Max Combi guides say the reverse for their stainless steel heat exchangers: the use of artificially softened water is permitted when filling the system, where the cold supply is fitted with a water softening device. Neither instruction transfers to the other boiler.

Which inhibitors does Ideal actually name?

Both families point at the same standard, then list slightly different products. Each guide recommends water treatment in accordance with the Benchmark Guidance Notes on Water Treatment in Central Heating Systems, and each warns that the application of any other treatment to the product may render the guarantee of Ideal Heating invalid. The Logic guide names Scalemaster SM-1 PRO, Fernox, MBI, Adey MC1, Sentinel X100 or Calmag CM100. The two Vogue Max guides name Scalemaster SM1-PRO, Fernox, MBI, Adey MC1 or Sentinel X100, with Calmag appearing only in the contact list at the foot of the same section. All three add that the correct concentration must be maintained in accordance with the treatment manufacturer's instructions.

What does BS 7593 require before the boiler is fired?

A clean system, and a record that says so. Every one of these guides states that where the boiler goes on an existing system, any unsuitable additives must be removed by thorough cleansing, and that BS 7593 details the steps necessary to clean a domestic heating system. The Logic guide cites the 2019 edition by number. All three then repeat the same sentence: under no circumstances should the boiler be fired before the system has been thoroughly flushed. The Benchmark checklist in the front of each book carries Flushing to BS 7593 and Inhibitor as line items for all boilers, so this is not loose advice. It is what the signed checklist claims you did.

What about hard water on the hot water side?

Read the combi guide rather than remember it, because it prints two thresholds in the same paragraph. The Vogue Max Combi guide says that where mains water can exceed 200 ppm total hardness, as defined by BS 7593 Table 2, a scale reducing device should be fitted into the boiler cold supply within the requirements of the local water company. The next sentence says a water softener should be used where site hardness is above 154 ppm, or 9 grains per gallon, and then caps the cold supply at 154 ppm, with a minimum of 80 ppm and a pH between 6.0 and 8.5. Ideal names Fernox Quantomat, Sentinel Combiguard and Calmag CalPhos I scale reducing devices, or the Scalemaster Inline Scale Inhibitor branded Ideal. Heat only boilers have no equivalent section.

Where does the Ideal System Filter sit in the warranty?

The filter has its own cover and registration conditions. Ideal's current System Filter guide states ten years, or twelve when installed with an eligible Vogue Max, when registered with a new boiler within 30 days. Check the guide supplied with the filter and the registration confirmation for the cover that applies to that installation. The boiler terms tie the two together from the other side: for Max boilers both the boiler and the included system filter need to be registered simultaneously within 30 days, otherwise cover extends to only 12 months from installation. On those appliances the filter is in the box, and both Vogue Max guides ask that appropriate access is left to it for draining, cleaning and dosing.

What quietly voids the filter cover?

• No inhibitor in the system. Ideal's filter terms require a quality inhibitor to be used in conjunction with the filter, and void the warranty if a system with a filter fitted is found not to have contained one. Levels are to be checked annually.
• Running outside the envelope. Cover is void if the operating temperature exceeds 95 degrees C, system pressure exceeds 4.5 bar, or flow exceeds the figure in the product data sheet.
• Assuming ten years covers everything. Non-metal parts, including rubber seals and the connection valve O-rings, carry two years from installation rather than ten.
• Expecting the clock to restart. Replacement under warranty does not restart the period, and cover runs for up to ten years from registration or the life of the boiler the filter is fitted to, whichever comes first.
• Expecting the boiler warranty to catch water damage. It excludes descaling and any work required as a result of hard water scale, or damage caused by aggressive water or sludge from corrosion.

How do you service the filter on the annual visit?

Water treatment only counts if somebody can find the evidence two years later, when the claim goes in. Manifold builds the service record from the check on your phone, reads the make, model and GC number off the data plate with PlateScan, and keeps the appliance history against the property, so the inhibitor check and the filter clean sit with the job rather than in a van door pocket.