Boiler leaking

EmJayDee

I recently installed a separate hot water heater and shut my 20 year old Weil McLain boiler off for the summer. A while later I noticed water leaking from the boiler. I shut off the water supply and looked inside the boiler and saw water in the fire chamber! So I disconnected everything, removed the burner, removed the fire door and cleaned the insides of the fire box. There are no apparent cracks in any of the three sections, so I'm thinking there's a leaking seal.



I'm low on cash right now and am hoping I can replace the seals after splitting the sections. Any opinion on whether this is feasible and if so tips on doing it?

icesailor

Leaks:

That was/is common for Weil-McLain 68 series oil boilers when run as cold start boilers. the Kibble & Bits fall between the sections and over time, pry the boiler sections apart. If you fire off the boiler and maintain the boiler at 140 degrees, it will stop leaking. At least so that you notice. They have EPDM gaskets for section sealing. Do NOT put in unapproved boiler stop leak in the boiler. If it has any Petroleum Distillates, it will destroy the seal rings and the boiler will turn into a drip irrigation device in its present location.

Many of us often noticed this when going on a "No Heat" call where the system went way below the room temperature of the house or froze up because no one was around. Peerless JO/JOT's are also known for this but they have steel push nipples.

You must have had a tankless coil in the boiler for your hot water. If you had installed the new water heater as a storage tank, you would be using less money for heating DHW, had more of it, and not be replacing your boiler. Set the "LO" on the boiler control to 140, the "HI" to 160 or 170, and turn the boiler back on, once you have gotten the water out of the chamber. See if the leaking stops when the boiler is hot.

Start saving your Sheckles.

Emjay

Boiler leaking

So, you're saying that if I put it all back together and run it then the boiler should "re-seal" itself and I should be OK?

icesailor

Might's:

It MIGHT seal. And it might not.

Its like warranties. A water heater usually comes with a 6 year warranty. Therefore, it will start to leak any time after the last day of the warranty, 6 years from the date of installation. How long after? It will last "indefinitely". From five minutes after I leave to it might outlast both of us.

I once replaced a 80 gallon stone lined electric water heater that had been in service for well over 40 years. I replaced it not because it was leaking, but because an element went and I couldn't get it out without it leaking.

Emjay

Might

OK, that's really what I figured. It's probably worth a try. If it works - great, if not then I'm only out my time.

icesailor

Plans:

Sounds like a plan. A good learning experience.

Emjay

Update

So, I put most everything back together and started filling the boiler with water. After about a minute or so it started leaking into the fire chamber from what appears to be the seal between the middle section and the front section up by the DHW chamber. It also leaks from the same area on the exterior of the boiler. I ensured all the tie rod nuts were torqued up pretty good.



From the tip you gave it seems like heating the boiler up again might allow the seals to reset. But if it's leaking I don't see how I can get it heated up again. Any thoughts?



If this isn't going to work can I split the sections, replace the seals and try again? If so, any tips how to separate the sections?

JStar

Leak

If the boiler is actively leaking, I wouldn't attempt to fire it up.



It won't be worth the effort and time to replace the gaskets. The sections may be badly rotted and unable to be reused. If you want to attempt it, go ahead, but have a new boiler right next to it when it doesn't work.