What happened to the water leg and boiler?

tim smith

No, the water leg had nothing to do with the gas control failure. The only concern I would have about the water leg is if the boiler were hot and the water leg had been off for quite some time and then turned on and shocked the boiler with cold water. I don't think it is likely but just a word of caution.

Robin_2

Boiler Failed and cost a bundle..Reasons??

I had (until yesterday) an old snowman boiler. In order to supply heat to a finished basement room my ex-husband had a "water leg" run off it to a small baseboard heating unit. Many years ago running it caused my boiler stop sending heat to the main floor. Last week a friend of mine was here and turned the heat on in the basement. I warned that it may cause boiler problems. In a matter of a few hours I was without heat on the main floor. Rapair man came, relit the pilot and fired up the furnace. He warned me that parts are no longer available for the unit, and it may fail again. Less than 24 hours later it did, and another repair man confirmed that it could not be repaired. Seems that there was a 'safety valve' which shut and would not open to allow the gas to fire the boiler. That part is not longer available, and no one could find a used or rebuilt one either. In the middle of a very cold spell, I am the proud owner of a brand new boiler. The price was fair, but not something I could afford right now, but had no choice.
I choose not to reactivate the 'water leg' fearing that was the reason the old boiler failed. I simply cannot understand why this old boiler simply went kaput, could it have been because of reactivating that 'water leg'? I know things like this fail in old homes, but I have not had one bit of trouble in over 25 year except maintainence and a few minor repairs. Maybe I just need to know what happened?
Any ideas??