The Centre Scientifique et Technique de la Construction (CSTC, France's equivalent of the CSTB) has conducted a full-scale test of the various techniques available to combat limescale: salt, CO2 and magnetic softeners.
Here's the conclusion of the report available here :
"Among the devices tested, the CO2 injection device proves particularly effective, offering a result quite close to the softener set at 15 °f"
Injecting CO2 into water transforms limestone (calcium carbonate) into calcium bicarbonate.
This is a well-known chemical reaction that is guaranteed up to 95 degrees Celsius:
CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O → Ca (HCO3)2
Limescale is actually calcium carbonate, which is annoying because it clings everywhere: on heating elements, on the shower wall...
Calcium bicarbonate is interesting because it's:
- Water-soluble: so it's dissolved in water and goes away with the flow of water
- Non-incrusting: it doesn't know how to cling anywhere .
And bicarbonates are excellent for your health.
The SoluCalc only injects CO2 to treat limescale and rid you of its inconveniences.
Therefore, it uses no salt and does not regenerate.
Result: thousands of liters of water saved for you and a healthier planet.
Fairly not, the SoluCalc is designed to send out the smallest dose of CO2 needed to treat limescale without making your tap water fizzy.
It uses a dose of CO2 10x smaller than that used for soft drinks.
Yes, since the CO2 used by SoluCalc is a food-grade gas, the same used to make soft drinks and in all the world's beer pumps.
Many customers immediately feel the difference on their hair, others even see their skin concerns disappear (until the bottle of CO2 runs out).
Yes, you'll be able to reduce the amount of cleaning products you use.
The taste of your water is not altered as no minerals are added to the water.
In contrast to a conventional softener, SoluCalc does not remove calcium from water.
The level of water hardness, expressed in French degrees, represents the number of milligrams of calcium per liter of water.
With the action of SoluCalc, calcium carbonate is transformed into calcium bicarbonate.
The amount of calcium therefore remains the same but you no longer have limescale in the water.
It's true that injecting CO2 into water has an impacton the pH of the water.
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For over 10 years, SoluCalc has been specially designed to inject the smallest dose of CO2 to have the least possible impact on the pH of the water.
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SoluCalc lowers pH by 0.5, so there's no risk to your installation.
The reaction is stable up to 95 degrees Celsius, so hot water is also treated and your system protected. When the water evaporates, the calcium bicarbonate remains (since a mineral can't evaporate) in the form of a small white powder that can be removed with a simple wipe. So no more litres of anti-scale products and elbow grease to get rid of traces.
CO2 is an inert gas, which means it does not explode. The CO2 used by SoluCalc is food-grade CO2. So it's the same CO2 used to make sparkling water (Sodastream,...) and in cafés and restaurants for beer pumps.
It's just worth noting that CO2 is a heavier gas than air, so it tends, to fill rooms from below.
In the hypothesis of a 10 kg bottle of CO2 being emptied at once into a sealed room located at the very bottom of the building, the volume of CO2 would be 4.5 m³ of CO2 in the air.
That's about 30 cm from the floor in a 15 m³ room in which there would be no oxygen.
So remember to avoid rolling on the floor next to the bottle.
It's very simple: when the cylinder's left-hand pressure gauge falls to 0, it's time to replace the cylinder.
The average consumption is 10 kg of CO2 for 100 m³ of water.
The average selling price of a 10 kg CO2 refill is 39 euros.
The SoluCalc therefore costs around 5 euros per year per inhabitant.
You can also ask your installer to intervene as part of a "Service Confort Gaz", which includes: delivery of a full cylinder, removal of the empty cylinder and verification of the SoluCalc's settings and proper operation.
Food-grade CO2 is readily available throughout Europe from various suppliers: Air Liquide, Westfalen...
You can also order CO2 from us, and we'll deliver a 10 kg bottle directly to your home.
The SoluCalc is guaranteed for 5 years.
You can use this simulator to define the model you need.
By setting the SoluCalc in curative mode (+ 1 bar pressure instead of + 0.2) for up to a month, you will send too much CO2 compared to the amount needed to treat the incoming water flow.
This excess CO2 will circulate through the system and dissolve any limescale it finds in its path, so your system will be cleaned.
The SoluCalc requires one adjustment to be made manually only once start-up: a pressure difference of 0.2 bar between the CO2 pressure and the dynamic water pressure.
When the kitchen tap is fully open, the CO2 pressure must be set 0.2 bar above the water pressure to give the CO2 the strength to be able to be injected into the water.
The complete setting procedure is available in the user manual.
The SoluCalc is a very simple device to install.
You can:
- Call a SoluCalc installer .
- Have it installed by your plumber, allow two hours of labor .