Smith Mills 4500

targetman

Company is giving estimate on repairing leaking boiler. One leak is on the front left and a bigger leak on the rear right sections. We did not install the boiler. I'm looking for any advice on dealing with repair.

nicholas bonham-carter

repair or replace

i hope this is not their only boiler at this time of year! i can only speak from the owners point of view, but in such a case, i would want to know why it failed. i assume it may not be that old, and so would be interested in:

cost to replace the leaking sections only,  vs. all sections. if replacing only the leakers, then some time for examining the other sections, should be factored in.

plus there might be some re-piping to be done to give future protection  against thermal shock, or excessive oxygenated feed water. you might want to keep the exact re-piping details to yourself, until you have the job.

i believe this Mg's boilers have a very good reputation as being sturdy. so if parts are available, i would not consider a whole new boiler made by someone else, unless there is another boiler, and then i would try to end up with a matched  pair, with identical waterlines. let us know how it comes out!--nbc

Al Letellier_21

leaking smith boiler

A fun boiler to install and work on as all the sections are separately connected to the headers. The sections are very heavy and you need to do some rigging to change them out. I like the fact that you can plug off the sections if emergency dictates and you can still run the boiler with a plugged off section. Just cut out the nipples and plug the headers.....leave the sections open.

If you have never done one of these boilers and don't understand how they go together, get the local rep to give you some training. It's easier than it looks when you know how......this can be a tough job if you don't have the space to work and the abililty to use chain falls or similar lifting devices.