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Closed Systems · BG29 · BG50 · BS8552

Closed-system treatment and sampling — keep what BG29 cleaned, clean.

Quarterly sampling, dosing top-ups, side-stream filtration and corrosion-coupon monitoring for closed heating and chilled water systems — to BSRIA BG50 and BS8552. The follow-through that protects what your BG29 clean delivered.

BSRIA BG50BS8552BSRIA BG29/2021CIBSE CP1
What it is

Closed System Treatment & Sampling

Closed systems aren't really closed. Oxygen leaks in through air separators, pump seals and joints. Microbiology survives flushing. Inhibitor depletes. Iron and copper concentrations climb. By the time the chiller seizes or the LTHW pump packs up, the chemistry has been telling you the story for years.

Our closed-system programme reads that story quarterly and acts on it. BS8552 sampling, BG50 acceptance limits, written corrective actions for anything trending out — and side-stream filtration or magnetic separation where particulate is feeding bacteria.

This is what a real water treatment programme looks like — not a quarterly dose-and-go, but a quarterly diagnosis with a corrective action plan that closes the loop before next visit.

We're based in Birmingham, so closed-system sampling and dosing across Birmingham and the West Midlands fits easily around your maintenance windows — with the same BG50 programme delivered UK-wide.

When you need it

  • You've just completed a BG29 clean and need to keep the chemistry in spec
  • Your closed-system chemistry is trending outside BG50 limits — iron, total bacteria, SRB, inhibitor residual
  • Pump seals, AHU coils or chillers are showing signs of corrosion or fouling
  • You're running quarterly sampling that produces a number with no recommended action — just data
  • You need permanent side-stream filtration designed and installed
  • An insurance inspection or audit is asking for closed-system records you don't have
Our scope

What's included as standard.

A typical engagement covers every line below. Where your scope needs more — multi-site rollout, white-label delivery, framework KPIs — we build it on top of this baseline.

01

Quarterly Sampling

BS8552-compliant samples — chemistry (iron, copper, inhibitor, sulphate, chloride, conductivity, pH) and microbiology (TVC, SRB, NRB, pseudomonas).

02

Dosing Programme

Inhibitor (molybdate, nitrite or tannin), biocide (slug or continuous), dispersant — designed to system chemistry and dosed during visits.

03

Side-Stream Filtration

Hired or permanently-installed bag filters, magnetic separators or cartridge filtration sized to the system.

04

Corrosion-Coupon Monitoring

Carbon-steel and copper coupons rotated quarterly with mass-loss analysis to quantify metal loss rate.

05

Corrective Actions

Written corrective actions for anything trending out — flushing, partial drain-downs, biocide slug doses, mechanical investigation.

06

Reporting & Trending

Per-visit report with sample certificates, trend chart vs BG50 limits, photographed exceptions and a 12-month trend summary.

Standards we work to

The compliance map for closed systems.

BSRIA BG50The acceptance chemistry — what 'clean' looks like ongoing, with action levels for each parameter.
BS8552Sampling and monitoring water in heating and cooling systems — the methodology for taking a meaningful sample.
BSRIA BG29/2021Pre-commission cleaning — what got the system clean in the first place.
CIBSE CP1Heat networks code of practice — relevant where closed systems are part of a district heat scheme.
How we work

From brief to audit-ready evidence in five steps.

STEP 01

Brief & Survey

Free site walk-through with a senior engineer — scope, plant, risk, gaps.

STEP 02

Quote & Scheme

Itemised quote plus written scheme of control, dosing logic and reporting cadence.

STEP 03

Mobilise

Risk assessments, method statements, HSE paperwork and induction — turnkey.

STEP 04

Deliver

Engineers on-site with digital reporting, photos, lab links and live PPM tracking.

STEP 05

Evidence

Certificates, logbooks and HSE-ready audit packs — issued within 48 hours.

Frequently asked

Answered by engineers.

What's the difference between BG29 and BG50?
BG29 is how you get a closed system clean; BG50 is how you keep it clean. BG29 acceptance is a one-off chemistry target at handover; BG50 acceptance is the ongoing chemistry your quarterly samples are measured against.
How do I know if my closed system has a problem?
If you don't sample it, you don't. The most common symptom is plant failure that nobody saw coming — pump seals, AHU coil leaks, chiller approach temperatures drifting. By that point the chemistry has been wrong for 18 months. Quarterly BS8552 sampling reads the problem before the plant does.
Should I install permanent side-stream filtration?
If your closed system is showing recurring particulate-driven issues — bacterial counts climbing on filters, magnetite accumulating, pressure drops creeping up — yes. Permanent side-stream filtration with a magnetic separator pays for itself in pump life and chemistry stability. We design and install where the system needs it.
Do I need both chemistry and microbiology samples?
Yes. Chemistry tells you what's eating the metal; microbiology tells you what's accelerating it. Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and nitrite-reducing bacteria (NRB) drive microbial corrosion that pure chemistry monitoring can't see. BG50 expects both.
Can you take over from our current provider?
Yes. We start with a chemistry baseline and a written gap analysis against BG50 — including any historic results we can recover. If there are gaps, we tell you in writing rather than papering over them.
Free site survey · No obligation

Audit your closed-system chemistry.

Send us your last four sample results — or tell us you don't have them. We map them against BG50 and write you a position statement inside two weeks.