Leaking tubes

Ron Gillen

And only leaking at the tube sheet, we would just reroll the tubes. If that didn't work, the welder would back weld the ends until the next retube. Gotta be better than putting junk in the boiler. My $.02.

mark ransley

I have an old big Kiwanee, a few tubes started leaking. Can soldering, brazing, high 600f silicone or anything be used until I retube.

nicholas bonham-carter

leak-stop

in the good old days, some people put flax seed into a boiler to stop leaks. it would be interesting to know if it works!--nbc

mark ransley

How about Auto Radiator Stop leak, I would think the is boiler amounts sold

nicholas bonham-carter

radiator stop leak

when the old american standard began to leak 8 yrs ago, i used a solder-seal product for boilers[like radiator stuff]. it made a VERY strong smell during the curing, so if you can get everyone out for a couple of hours, you may be lucky.

of course flax seed is a health food, so no problem there, if it works. there are other stop leak products available, from rectorseal the pipe dope people.

someone here must have had this problem and found a temporary solution....nbc

tim smith

Is it leaking at the ends of the tubes or inside of the tubes.

Our vessel people would plug off a tube or two to get by sometimes. Thread rod through tube with plug at either end. May just want to bite the bullet and have the few tubes done right now.

Unknown

In the Navy,,,

we used little cone shaped wooden plugs pounded into the ends of the leaking tube(s). Water side of our condensers only. If you go the leakstop route the best approach is to add a little at a time and see how it goes rather than dumping a whole load in there at once. the less you have to use the better. I've also heard of using oatmeal or pepper. Good luck!

oil-2-4-6-gas

tapered cast boiler tube repair plugs --pound them in both ends of the tube --if its in the tube(if its the outside of the bead of the tube it won't work) be prepared to do some around it --the pounding may loosen up more how about a picture

Perry_5

Possible fixes - outside of tube plugging exist...

Is this boiler a firetube boiler or a watertube boiler (what is inside the tubes).

If it is a watertube boiler then there are cleaning and coating techniques to stop leaks and extend the life of the boiler tube. They are not necessarily cheap (i.e.; this is an industrial service and cost a minimum of 4 figures - and 5 figures is possible).

Otherwise, the old and long term standard is to pound in some tapered boiler tube plugs. Do a web search and you will likely find some suppliers of them.

There are some new-fangled "expansion plugs" on the market - but the pound in plugs generally work the best - and rarely can be messed up.

I advise against welding the tube to the tubsheet (or welding a plug) - unless you really know exactly what you are doing. It is too easy to mess up the tubesheet such that you cannot retube the boiler. You may also mess up the adjacent rolled joints as well (I've personally seen approximately $1/2 Million dollar+ HXs destroyed by improper welding of tube ends and/or tube plugs - several different times).

Perry