Leaking Boiler

eergin

I have a Burnham V8 steam boiler with a water heating coil that developed a leak from one of the sections.  The leak is at the top so I can fill it to about 2/3 and not see a leak.  However it has to be filled up 2 to 3 times a day. This boiler was installed by previous owners at the end of 2003,  It has been well maintained and had no issues until this winter.  I had a few people check it out and couple of them suggested there was an installation error where the pipes coming out from the top should have been installed differently to reduce pressure. They expand and shrink causing the crack in the boiler.  One of them opened up and pointed out the leak on the nibbles (I am not sure if that is the correct term)  In any case they all suggested replaving the whole unit.  I am looking for suggestions on the following:

1- Can I use a sealant to delay the replacement and would this cause damage to the other parts of the system? (any suggestions on a sealant?)

2- Would you suggest reparing existing unit or replacing (Burnham is selling the whole jacket for $500 as a good will gesture) Replacment with a compareable oil or a gas unit with separate water heater will run ~$7K.  I am not sure what the total cost or reparing would be.?

3- Any recommended contractors in Newark/South Orange NJ area?

  Thanks



Erhan

eergin

pics of my boiler

Here are some pics of my current setup.  Couple of the people that checked it out suggested the piping on the left caused the boiler to crack/leak.



Erhan

BobC

Chlorides

That piping looks ok from what I can see in your pictures. What exactly did they say might have caused the failure?



If your water has high chloride content that can cause a boiler to fail prematurely. That condition is all to common in portions of Eastern Mass and RI. That boiler should still be under warranty but if chlorides really did cause the damage the mfr might balk, I would still try filing a claim with them but you will be stuck with the installation charges in any case.



The other possibility would be if there was an automatic water feeder that was adding water to the boiler too often to mask a system leak anywhere.



Find out if the water in your area has high chlorides; if nobody knows send a sample out to be tested.



Where are you located?



Bob

Mike Kusiak_2

No swing joints

The header is piped incorrectly in that there are no swing joints between the two boiler risers and the horizontal header pipe. There should be at least elbows between the risers and header to absorb the thermal expansion of the header. A drop header would be even better in absorbing the expansion.



The present piping may not have actually caused the failure, but certainly may have contributed to it.

Dave in QCA

Piping Error, perhaps Chlorides, or both.

There is a piping error according to the manufacturer's drawings for steam piping.  The want the risers to 90 off to the side before connecting to a header so that there is the ability of swing joints in the pipe to release expansion and contraction.  Here is a link to the manual.  http://www.usboiler.burnham.com/pdf/101269-01R4%20(web).pdf



However, it is likely that the problem, if it is a hole that has rotted through the section at the water line, as opposed to a crack, has nothing to do with the piping, but is rather a chlorides problem.

eergin

leaky boiler

No swing joints was the diagnosis that the people that looked at it said.  I did have hard water but I put in a water softener about 4 years ago.  Also the leak is not from a rust hole.  At the top there is the little pyramid like sections.  The water is seeping thru the points.  I am not sure what this is called. 

Can you comment on use of sealant even as a short term solution? 

Also as you can see in the pics everything looks in good shape it is a shame to throw the whole thing and put a new one.  Can the burner be recycled? 



thanks



Erhan

BobC

Salts

I completely missed the lack of swing joints, but if section didn't crack it is probably due to using softened water in the boiler. I believe that causes graphitic corrosion and those corroded cast nipples may well be proof of that. Most water softeners use salts which are not kind to boilers.



The boiler manufacturer should be asked about the cause of boiler failure.



Bob

eergin

sealant

I thought about the salt causing harm to the boiler but the amount of salt left in the water is very small. 

Is it OK to try a sealant and try to extend the life of the boiler for a few months?

Is it a good idea to try to repair this or replace the whole thing?

Thanks,

Erhan

BobC

It's going to be expensive

One rule on this board is we don't usually talk price.



i am not a pro but if they are offering to replace the entire cast boiler for that price it's going to save you money but your still on the hook for the lions share of the repair. You will still have to foot the bill for swapping out all the other parts AND adding the swing joints. At that point you will have a new boiler with 6 yr old auxiliary parts. You have to decide if this is worthwhile vs a new boiler. If you don't correct the cause of this boilers failure it all may well be in vain.



Can you add anything to the boiler to extend its life? That is a tough call, if it's only one point that is leaking it might work, if it's multiple leaks, your chances are not at all good. In any case you MIGHT buy a few months.



In this case the real challenge is to find out exactly why that boiler failed. See if the manufacturer or can send someone to tell you what caused the corrosion, otherwise you may face the same problem in 6 years.



good luck,



Bob

Jamie Hall

Couple of thoughts here...

First, you shouldn't be using softened water in the boiler, unless your water supply is unbelievably hard.  Unless you are adding water very frequently, the amount of scale from even pretty darn hard water isn't enough to affect the boiler -- but the sodium and chlorides in the softened water, together with the usually high pH, are likely to cause corrosion, which you don't need.  So repipe the boiler feed to come off the raw water, not the softened water.



Second, you ask if the burner can be recycled.  Possibly -- particularly if the replacement boiler is the same model.  But why?  Newer burners are more reliable (usually!) and more efficient (almost always!) than old ones.