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Ignoring manufacturer's specs

JProbber
JProbber Member Posts: 25
I've come to find that my Weil McClain 478, which has failed after 10 years, was installed with 3" cast iron header and risers rather than the 4" recommended by Weil.



Has this cost me a significant amount of steam loss to the radiation? And is this a common practice?



Thanks!

Comments

  • RDSTEAM
    RDSTEAM Member Posts: 134
    thats a whole lot of boiler

    many things could have added to the destruction of your boiler, but yes a 4" header would have eliminated a lot of system problems that you may have been having. without seeing the rest of the header and riser piping its impossible to determine if that is the only culprit. What happened to the boiler? cracked section or corrosion?
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    Not sure....

    Haven't done a post-mortem yet; gotten progressively worse over the past couple years - steam billowing up chimney, not heating, etc.



    The dealer insisted that their was a leak in the return, so the boiler was constantly filling with fresh water leading to scaling, etc. Some length of the return is hidden, so I couldn't completely disprove his assertion.



    When I had the same dealer over to evaluate the situation, he flooded the boiler to find the leak. Water began to blast out of the burner housing. Basic FUBAR.
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,318
    Every short life

    Weil McLain I see is not piped as it should be. I am not saying there are not other causes but poor near boiler piping I feel leads to unsteady water lines that then increase corrosion at the water line.
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,318
    The 478

    has the option of using 2- 3" risers or one 4" riser. What is the size of the return piping and the equalizer? Do you have photos?
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    edited May 2011
    WM Pic

    Can't post pic for some reason (file too big?) .... will try later.
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,318
    Jpeg photos work best

    if you want to post them here save them as Jpegs then post.
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    try again...

    It was a huge jpeg...here's the cut-down version.....
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,318
    can you give us a view

    of the equalizer and return piping. What you have is "normal" , as in it is commonly done. It is not correctly piped but is closer to correct than the worst I have seen.
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    Will do

    I'll shoot some pix tomorrow. I appreciate your advice, sir.
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,318
    I was curious

    Can you tell me what area this boiler is going in? I would hate to miss out on fixing another bad Weil McLain installation.
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    edited May 2011
    Near boiler piping

    This beauty is in southern Westchester County, NY.
  • Charlie from wmass
    Charlie from wmass Member Posts: 4,318
    I did a repair in White Plains back

    in the winter of 2010. It was a 680 miss installed where a 480 would have worked fine. After a bit of work we ended up with a down fired 580. Why is there a boiler feed pump?
    Cost is what you spend , value is what you get.

    cell # 413-841-6726
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/charles-garrity-plumbing-and-heating
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    It's a condensate pump.....

    ..which I guess is the older-fashioned way of returning water.......
  • Rod
    Rod Posts: 2,067
    Condensate Pump

    The question is whether you really need a condensate pump. Quite often you will find a pump installed when actually the system doesn't really need one. Without the  pump, things are a lot simpler/reliable and you save on electricity. The first thing to determine is whether you have an adequate  "A" dimension ( measurement from the boiler water line to lowest steam carrying pipe (the end of the dry return) - Page 24 TLAOSH)

    - Rod
  • JProbber
    JProbber Member Posts: 25
    Gotcha

    Thanks Rod....
This discussion has been closed.