Need new boiler in Detroit area. Want to try a stopleak first.

j a_2

I dont mind helping the needy, but do mind helping the greedy...

ProblemSolver

My retired partner once bid on a Unico system. They said he was too high - by 2,000. 10 years later, working for himself, he was asked to bid the same job; but this time it was to get the thing to work right. The HO had replaced the compressor once, the condenser once, the blower motor twice, and they were never comfortable. Our bid was to re-work all the duct main and add 5 runs. We never heard back from them. But when you add up the cost of the compressor / condenser / and 2 motors / plus the labor; my partner was actually cheaper.

icesailor

@Hatterasguy:

"" Good luck with your project. I seriously doubt that "Problem Solver" is your contractor. ""

Other than yourself, do you ever have a good word to say about anyone?

vaporvac

@icesailor,I think he was actually paying a compliment.

@Anne , don't be put off by all these comments. Many of us are homeowners like yourself who've gone through similar. It's really hard when it happens suddenly and one needs heat. It happened to me, but I was able to limp through the season. I actually went without heat during the polar vortex. Please take the time to pause and consider the options. We all get so emotional because it's so often the same story, but most don't discover this site until AFTER the install. We've also recently seen some awful and problematic installs where folks ignored the advice given here and came back to try to salvage it. It's best just to pay once.
If you are going with the HD crew, it doesn't mean THEY can't do you justice, but they have to be willing, to size it right and pipe it right. The folks here are willing to help ensure that. Encourage them to visit, ask questions and learn something. The best pros here do that still.

Anne_5

I will call ProblemSolver next week. Delta Mechanical gave me a quote. Does anyone know anything about them? I got another quote from another company, the guy seemed to not believe my boiler is leaking. I was honestly shocked and didn't quite know how to respond. I just totally forgot about the 'flood test' that was unknowingly completed by the guy who never worked on steam before.

Fred

It maqy be leaking at one of the nipples between the sections. leak opens up when the boiler is hot and closes as the boiler cools down. If water is dripping down on the pilot/burners, there is a leak there somewhere.

Anne_5

I found the leaks, they are on all the brass connectors around the sight glass and the low water cut off. Now to find someone to fix it. I think it is leaking whenever it begins heavily on the inside jacket but not the actual cast iron.

Jamie Hall

Hey guys! IceSailor is back! HOORAY!!!

Fred

Don't put stop leak in the boiler for a leak around the sight glass or Low water cut-off. It will just gunk up your boiler and smell up the house. Get someone in to replace the gaskets on the top and bottom of the sight glass and check out the Low Water Cut-off. Those kinds of leaks are easy repairs, if that's where the leak actually is.

Anne_5

Fred the gaskets were replaced last year. I had trouble with it leaking then and had the dTE program. I have no idea what the guy did they sent me but it seems all the joints have water at one time or another now, and come to think of it I have noticed water once in awhile on the brass unions before, that's why I called DTE out. You can't see them leaking when the boiler is on though, and no one in their right mind is going to touch that brass when it's cold out. Well, maybe others would but I won't. lol Every bit of brass unions have leaks, even near the low water cutoff. Once in awhile you can see a drop hit the floor and disappear so fast you think you are nuts. At different times putting my hand on the brass I can feel moisture. Hopefully this is what is causing my boiler to lose so much water. I thought it was the gaskets too, but it's not. I think the unions may need to be re-taped? Just guessing.

KC_Jones

Anne have you contacted @ProblemSolver yet?

Anne_5

yes.