Is the new Spirotech MB3 the answer?

[Catmandoo2]

Having experienced deposits in my CH pump recently, I have been ploughing through info on the various filters available with a view to installing one.

The Spirotechs seemed to be coming out top of my list, but they didn't have a magnet - until now!

Does the new MB3 take the biscuit I wonder?

http://www.spirotrapmb3.co.uk/?portfolio=key-features

(The little video of it on that site is quite good)

 

[petit_pablo]

Mb3 is ok but cannot take as much out of the water as a larger plastic based filter (Like the TF1 or dare i say it, the magnclean) does.

 

[JohnD]

it doesn't need a magnet, it spins the particles out in a vortex (like a Dyson vacuum cleaner does) and they fall into the sump.

the new model has a magnet to satisfy the public who don't understand how it works.

it capures particles of limescale, brick dust and rust as well as black corrosion (unlike the older Magnaclean which only captured the black).

Unlike a Magnaclean it doesn't have a bad reputation for leaking.

 

[Catmandoo2]

Mb3 is ok but cannot take as much out of the water as a larger plastic based filter (Like the TF1 or dare i say it, the magnclean) does.

It would be nice to see some comparative tests on the effectiveness of the various models, wouldn't it?

Do such comparisons exist?

 

[JohnD]

my early model

View media item 3406
some dirt

View media item 3783

 

[Catmandoo2]

it doesn't need a magnet, it spins the particles out in a vortex (like a Dyson vacuum cleaner does) and they fall into the sump.

the new model has a magnet to satisfy the public who don't understand how it works.

it capures particles of limescale, brick dust and rust as well as black corrosion (unlike the older Magnaclean which only captured the black).

Unlike a Magnaclean it doesn't have a bad reputation for leaking.

Even if the new magnet doesn't extract much more of the crud from the system, it can't really do any harm I suppose, and its addition does not seem to have increased the price to any great extent.

I think my main concern over the Spiratech design in that, unlike a Dyson, it incorpoates an internal mesh.

Will that mesh really last 20-years+ without either clogging-up or disintegrating?

And doesn't it create a greater resistance to flow than its competitors?

 

[JohnD]

the water spins round above the trap. It does not flow through it. So flow is unobstructed.

Mine has a "labrynth" that the particles fall down through into the sump, its purpose is to stop the water spinning and disturbing the particles that have settled. I don't recall a mesh in the later versions either, perhaps it is a new introduction.

 

[mickyg]

it doesn't need a magnet, it spins the particles out in a vortex (like a Dyson vacuum cleaner does) and they fall into the sump.

the new model has a magnet to satisfy the public who don't understand how it works.

it capures particles of limescale, brick dust and rust as well as black corrosion (unlike the older Magnaclean which only captured the black).

Unlike a Magnaclean it doesn't have a bad reputation for leaking.

Yes we have heard their sales patter, but in practice large magnets in the water way are far more effective at removing iron particles.
There was an independant study conducted which had first pass capture for magnaclean, TF1 and spirotech at something like 85%, 75% and 30% respectively. Adey used to promote the study on their website but it seems to have gone missing somewhere.

 

[JohnD]

In the white dishes you see the non-magnetic particles collected from my Spiro after a day's use.

yes, i agree a Magnaclean is spectacular at collecting black sludge (but nothing else). After a month or two there is very little left to collect so they don't need cleaning often.

trouble is they leak.

here's one I did earlier

View media item 3408 View media item 12015 View media item 12016

 

[mickyg]

yeh i agree the magnacleans leak, thats why i fit the TF1, best of both worlds. There is a noticable difference in what comes out of spirotechs compared to magnacleans and TF1s when Im servicing. Your experience is limited to one install

 

[Catmandoo2]

the water spins round above the trap. It does not flow through it. So flow is unobstructed.

Mine has a "labrynth" that the particles fall down through into the sump, its purpose is to stop the water spinning and disturbing the particles that have settled. I don't recall a mesh in the later versions either, perhaps it is a new introduction.

OK John. Maybe my terminology is not that accurate, but it looks rather like a "mesh" in their info doesn't it?

I thought the little video I quoted in the root post showed the operation quite well. Did you get chance to look at it?

It is towards the bottom LH side of this page:-
http://www.spirotrapmb3.co.uk/?portfolio=key-features

 

[Catmandoo2]

yeh i agree the magnacleans leak, thats why i fit the TF1, best of both worlds. There is a noticable difference in what comes out of spirotechs compared to magnacleans and TF1s when Im servicing. Your experience is limited to one install

Thanks mickyg. It's the plastic of the TF1s that bothers me.

Can they really remain trouble-free throughout the life of the boilers they are protecting?

 

[mickyg]

yeh i agree the magnacleans leak, thats why i fit the TF1, best of both worlds. There is a noticable difference in what comes out of spirotechs compared to magnacleans and TF1s when Im servicing. Your experience is limited to one install

Thanks mickyg. It's the plastic of the TF1s that bothers me.

Can they really remain trouble-free throughout the life of the boilers they are protecting?

Yeh why not?? Its solid enough, 70% of boilers on the market are full of similar types of plastic.

 

[Catmandoo2]

yeh i agree the magnacleans leak, thats why i fit the TF1, best of both worlds. There is a noticable difference in what comes out of spirotechs compared to magnacleans and TF1s when Im servicing. Your experience is limited to one install

Thanks mickyg. It's the plastic of the TF1s that bothers me.

Can they really remain trouble-free throughout the life of the boilers they are protecting?

Yeh why not?? Its solid enough, 70% of boilers on the market are full of similar types of plastic.

Really? In contact with the circulating water?

 

[JohnD]

After seeing the leaky plastic Magnaclean, I was particularly attracted to the chunky brass Spiro.