Commercial Liquid Active Armor (LAA)

How It Works

Crusader Active Armour is not a water softening technology. It acts as a "Boundary-Zone Inhibitor", preventing hardness compounds from sticking to themselves or anything else to form scale. The advanced proprietary formulation of Active Armour allows it to function uniformly from 40°F to 140°F instead of breaking down like so many other phosphate compounds. In addition to effectively controlling scale, the safe chemistry of Active Armour bonds to exposed metal components of plumbing, faucets, water heaters, and other appliances, and protects them from corrosion.

Two Kinds of Active Armour

Crusader offers two different kinds of Active Armour: Traditional Active Armour and Liquid Active Armour (LAA). Traditional Active Armour uses flow-through technology — no electricity required and no control valve needed — with cartridges that are simple in design and easy to replace. Liquid Active Armour is electronically controlled: water usage is monitored electronically and dosed accordingly to ensure maximum efficiency and protection, and it is easy to monitor and refill as needed.

Boiler & Facility-Wide Protection

Liquid Active Armor can protect a boiler and recirculation system (hot water only) or an entire facility (hot and cold). In boilers and water heaters, scale acts as an insulator — calcium and silica deposits conduct only a fraction of the heat that clean steel does — so even a thin layer forces equipment to burn more energy and raises the risk of hot spots and downtime. By keeping scale-forming minerals in solution, LAA helps maintain heat-transfer efficiency, reduce reheating costs, and extend equipment life. Reducing scale in the recirculation system also restores flow. Scale chemistry in commercial systems isn't limited to calcium carbonate — see calcium sulfate (gypsum) scale for why dense sulfate scale is especially hard on boilers and heat exchangers.

Electronic Dosing & Monitoring

Water usage is monitored electronically and dosed accordingly to ensure maximum efficiency and protection, with BTU monitoring and recording available. The system is easy to monitor and refill as needed, so your facility stays protected, and programs are available to descale existing plumbing where needed. The result is scale reduction and corrosion control at a lower operating cost than many alternative technologies.

Secondary Benefits for Facilities

Beyond scale and corrosion control, facilities using Active Armour phosphate treatment commonly see secondary benefits such as: reduced chlorine demand, lower color and turbidity, less staining, removal of existing system scale deposits, control of biofilm regrowth, better valve operation, improved meter accuracy, fewer complaint calls, and reduced maintenance and service costs.

Product Health Information

• Liquid Active Armor is NSF/ANSI/CAN 60 certified for potable water (Cert. C0616283).
• Active Armour comprises four food-grade phosphate compounds used as boundary-zone scale inhibitors that provide corrosion control for metallic piping and heat-contact surfaces.
• Phosphate technology has been used safely in the US for almost 70 years in municipal, commercial, and residential applications.
• The typical dosage of Active Armour is 0.25–1.5 ppm in residential applications, and the recommended maximum limit for water treatment is 13 ppm.
• Your maximum phosphate consumption in a typical glass (12 fluid ounces) of Active Armour-treated water would be ~0.5 mg — to put that into perspective, the same amount of Coca-Cola contains 60 mg of phosphate, and a typical large egg contains 95 mg of phosphate. Learn more on our phosphate technology & safety page.