Wednesday 20 June 2012

How to Prevent Corrosion in Bottle Washers and Coolers


Corrosion of stainless steel parts in your bottle washer, or in watercooler reservoirs, is something that you may not have considered. In fact, if good quality stainless steel is used, there should be few problems. However, in certain circumstances problems may arise.


Acidic products are used for descaling bottle wash equipment and watercooler reservoirs. Selection of the correct acid is important in a spring-water or mineral-water environment because the scale comprises salts from the water. The salts which potentially can be involved in corrosion are the chlorides. If the correct acid is used, for example phosphoric acid, there should be no problems, but if certain other acids, such as nitric acid, are used there is a grave danger of corrosion, leading to perforation in the worst cases.



The picture shows a microscopic image of stainless steel after exposure to nitric acid and chlorides. The preferred acid to use is phosphoric acidIn all applications of acidic products it is always recommended to rinse thoroughly after use.

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